Laser Open Meeting at Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club
by Bruce Mager 29 Sep 2014 17:20 BST
27 September 2014
Twenty Lasers from 12 different locations assembled at Hollingworth under blue skies with no wind. OOD Dave Smith delayed proceedings until a light westerly filled in from the forecast direction. In the first race a group of four boats broke away from the pack with Ian Jones leading the way, finishing first with Ian Lees second and Wendy Jones third.
After lunch the wind increased and moved to the SW giving better conditions, however after the start the wind tracked to the right giving starboard bias beats. Graham MacWhirter established an early lead chased by Ian Jones and these two opened out from the pack, doubling their lead on the run. Oliver Whitehead, from the home club, sailed clear into third place and the leading boats finished in that order with Graham narrowly in front of Ian at the finish line.
With a first and second Ian Jones had wrapped up the meeting however this did no stop him from stamping his authority on the fleet in the third race sailed in a lightening wind, by choosing the right shifts to establish a narrow lead in the early stages from Ian Lees. These two were joined by David Gambol and Wendy Jones to form a small breakaway group, though the main pack were not far behind. Ian Jones kept his lead taking line honours with Wendy Jones showing great speed in the light conditions finishing closely behind and Ian Lees coming in, in third place.
Overall, Ian and Wendy Jones were first and second respectively with Ian Lees and Graham MacWhirter third and fourth, showing that keeping up with the Joneses can be quite a challenge at times!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Club | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 180031 BLUE | Dovestones | Ian Jones | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | 180031 BLACK | Dovestones | Wendy Jones | 3 | ‑8 | 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 182223 | Scammoden Sailing Club | Ian Lees | 2 | ‑7 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 166 | None | Graham Macwhirter | ‑14 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 5 | 194782 | Blackpool and Fleetwood Y.C. | Malcolm Marsden | 4 | 4 | ‑7 | 8 |
| 6 | 189541 | HLSC | Oliver Whitehead | 6 | 3 | ‑8 | 9 |
| 7 | 182292 | Elton Sailing Club | David Gamble | ‑11 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 8 | 185302 | LLSC | K Tickle | 5 | ‑10 | 6 | 11 |
| 9 | 189082 | Leigh and Lowton | S Belfield | 8 | 5 | ‑10 | 13 |
| 10 | 140942 | Scammoden Water Sailing Club | Paul Cornish | 7 | ‑9 | 9 | 16 |
| 11 | 196383 | HLSC | Gary Butler | 10 | ‑14 | 11 | 21 |
| 12 | 195987 | Bolton | Zena Martin | 9 | ‑19 | 13 | 22 |
| 13 | 196384 | Hollingworth Lake Activity Centre | Stephen Mason | ‑12 | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| 14 | 163353 | HLSC | Julian Parry | 13 | 12 | ‑19 | 25 |
| 15 | 163467 | HLSC | Craig Broadbent | ‑15 | 13 | 14 | 27 |
| 16 | 207009 | HLSC | Richard Whitehill | 16 | 15 | ‑18 | 31 |
| 17 | 178748 | Winsford Flash Sailing Club | Sandy Mill | ‑17 | 17 | 15 | 32 |
| 18 | 196385 | HLSC | Ben Glynn | ‑18 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| 19 | 178491 | HLSC | Will Smith | ‑19 | 18 | 17 | 35 |
| 20 | 160544 | HLSC | Harry Daniel | ‑20 | 20 | 20 | 40 |