Laser Open at Papercourt Sailing Club sponsored by Guildford Marine

The 6th of April saw the return of Papercourt Sailing Club's Laser Open Meeting which was generously sponsored by Guildford Marine. The sailors were greeted by a good 10-15 knots of breeze which was scheduled to build throughout the day, a great change from last year's drift around the lake. 25 sailors were attracted down to Papercourt for these great conditions, with 20 of them opting for Standard rig and 5 for the Radials.

The first race saw some great, tight racing right from the start with David Jessop, from Papercourt, quickly establishing his dominance, by taking first place in the race; this was set to continue throughout the day. Rob Hardwick, back in his Laser for the first time in ages clearly hadn't lost his touch and managed to battle it through to second place, with a tight race between him and Paul Robinson who took third place. Two clear leaders were established in the Radial fleet with David Nickalls winning the first race with Papercourt's Rebecca Clarke getting second.

The second race was similar conditions with a bit more breeze. The first lap was led by Nigel Rolfe but he was not able to hold onto this lead and could only hold it back to a fifth place in the race. David Jessop was once again showing his ability right at the front of the fleet, but however was beaten by Clive Eplett who managed to get first place from him in the final lap of the race. David Jessop was second with Ian Dobson coming third managing to battle back from being eighth in the first lap with a great effort. Rebecca Clarke and David Nickalls once again were battling it out at the front of the Radial fleet but with Rebecca coming out on top in the second race; it was all to play for after lunch with them on joint points.

After lunch the breeze dropped off a bit and was starting to become even more shifty and gustier. The third race saw David Jessop once again lead the fleet round the course with a great performance. Tom Key of Papercourt was having a great race up in third place until a swim dropped him right back down the fleet. Fraser Hayden was therefore able to take advantage of this coming in third in that race, with Clive Eplett in second. Rebecca Clarke managed to get the third race under her belt in the Radials, this meant that going into the last race whoever won between David and Rebecca would be the winner of the event on count back.

The final race started and George Beck had an incredible start, and built himself quite the lead from it; however with David chasing him down he was not able to maintain it and a nail biting last few legs saw David finally get past, putting George into second and Clive Eplett in Third. This meant that David Jessop came out on top with Clive Eplett second overall.

Third place was in the end joint by four people all on 15 points but with all the rules put into place it saw Fraser Hayden put into third. David Nickalls managed to get Rebecca in the last race and therefore they were both joint on four points but having won the last race it saw him come first. Natasha Fairweather managed to have a better afternoon and get third place in the Radials, finding that putting battens in her sail at lunch does actually help!

Papercourt sailors therefore held two of the top three positions in both fleets which was a great result for the club. Fantastic prizes were provided by Guildford Marine and a big thank you goes to them for their generosity.

Overall Results: