Laser Radial Qualifier at Pwllheli Sailing Club

by Jon Emmett 30 Sep 2014 08:12 BST 27-28 September 2014

75 sailors travelled to sunny Wales for the first of the Autumn qualifier series on the last weekend of September. Numbers were down, maybe due to an extremely light wind forecast or maybe just due to an extremely packed summer schedule, so everyone raced as one fleet. Although there were more than a few black flags, this worked well with all the top sailors competing against each other in every race.

Karyna Manuel was a worthy winner of the weekend, never finishing out of the top three. She was simply the fastest sailor on the water and definitely a name to look out for at any light wind regattas.

In the first race there was a huge mess at the port end which saw many of the top sailors tangled up. Chloe Martin who had avoided the mess took an early lead followed by Jon Emmett who had missed the worst of the mess on the left hand side. However it was Manuel who was on the charge but Martin kept her cool to hold to the finish.

On the final beat Emmett ended up too far to the left, getting pipped on the line by Youth World representative Jamie Calder and Olympic representative Ali Young, the three boats finishing within centimetres of each other.

The second race again saw a pin end biased line and Emmett managed to avoid the mess completely this time and lead the race from start to finish, with Young leading the chasing pack. However it was Manuel's upwind speed that pulled her through to third place from a poor first beat, but anyway this turned out to be her discard. Georgina Povall who had been black flagged in the first race, sailed her best race of the event, finishing fourth, with Youth World representative Ellie Cumpsty in fifth.

The final race of the Saturday (and looking at the forecast many may have thought the final race of the regatta) decided the event. Martin led the race initially but Manuel's upwind pace saw her snatch the race win. Ben Elvin who has recently spent more time on a bike than in a boat took third place. A fourth place for Emmett was enough to keep him in third overall. Jack Cookson took fifth.

Sunday, and the wind arrived and stayed long enough to give one final race. Going into the last day it was Manuel from Martin and Emmett. Race four was initially led by Emmett before being passed by Ben Whaley and Manuel at the top of the beat, but Emmett retook the lead down the run before losing it again on the final beat. This meant that the overnight results stayed the same! Whaley took his first Qualifier race win and Manuel took her first Qualifier win: Martin did enough to stay in second with Emmett third, Young fourth, Elvin fifth and Cookson sixth.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	169852	Karyna MANUEL	2	3	1	2	5
2	201124	Chloe MARTIN	1	7	2	4	7
3	201509	Jon EMMETT	5	1	4	3	8
4	206251	Ali YOUNG	4	2	8	16	14
5	199861	Ben ELVIN	6	8	3	11	17
6	206918	Jack COOKSON	7	13	5	5	17
7	204536	Matt WHITFIELD	9	6	7	BFD76	22
8	195779	Jamie CALDER	3	10	18	10	23
9	204122	Ben WHALEY	BFD76	12	12	1	25
10	206954	Hanna BRANT	8	32	9	12	29
11	207800	Ewan MCMAHON	19	11	40	7	37
12	204386	Georgina POVALL	BFD76	4	11	24	39
13	165292	Joe WOODLEY	BFD76	19	14	8	41
14	207786	Ellie BROWN	BFD76	9	15	17	41
15	206853	Ellie CUMPSTY	11	5	42	27	43
16	200225	Will BEDFORD	13	61	19	15	47
17	203973	Daniel MARTIN	18	45	6	25	49
18	203581	Edward HIGSON	17	18	BFD76	14	49
19	201873	Dominic HALL	21	37	23	6	50
20	206886	Hannah SNELLGROVE	14	23	13	NYF76	50
21	197716	Alice WOODINGS	10	27	25	20	55
22	201020	Adam STONE	BFD76	16	20	21	57
23	198827	Jake FARREN‑PRICE	20	20	17	40	57
24	203975	Joseph MULLAN	BFD76	22	21	18	61
25	203906	Frankie DICKENS	15	49	30	22	67
26	206783	Adam RUSS	25	35	51	9	69
27	203967	Lewis SMITH	26	48	33	13	72
28	196714	Alistair GRANT	49	14	10	50	73
29	182593	Ciaran RANDERIA	16	47	27	30	73
30	201125	Chloe BARR	22	28	47	23	73
31	205649	Sophie HERITAGE	12	24	39	39	75
32	204670	Sam THOMAS	44	15	16	51	75
33	204765	Tom JOICE	23	54	35	26	84
34	205770	Aoife HOPKINS	27	42	22	37	86
35	206856	Isaac MARSH	24	36	38	28	88
36	203976	Lucy GATES	30	29	29	42	88
37	206782	Clementine THOMPSON	37	25	32	32	89
38	191800	Daniel WHITELEY	BFD76	21	44	29	94
39	204269	Aled GODDARD	34	33	28	35	95
40	204540	Merrick STANLEY	BFD76	17	48	31	96
41	201836	Tom FENEMORE	BFD76	34	45	19	98
42	198574	Angus LAWSON	33	50	37	34	104
43	205129	James DRIVER	40	41	24	BFD76	105
44	183239	Rebecca CLARKE	36	57	34	36	106
45	184315	Jordan GILES	28	52	36	45	109
46	207804	Calum ROSIE	BFD76	40	26	44	110
47	183264	Savva TRETYAKOV	53	30	41	41	112
48	204914	Stephanie WINGEATT	47	39	43	33	115
49	206470	Rhiannon MASSEY	32	31	53	55	116
50	206295	James BISHOP	31	43	46	57	120
51	203966	Simon WEATHERSPOON	BFD76	38	31	52	121
52	204975	Haydn GRIFFITHS	29	58	49	56	134
53	202458	Hamish ECKSTEIN	38	66	54	43	135
54	154767	Jack SHEPHERD	42	44	50	49	135
55	204209	Daniel JONES	43	26	68	67	136
56	183242	William TARN‑CHAPMAN	BFD76	46	55	38	139
57	174115	Kieran GRAHAM	39	62	60	48	147
58	191306	Thomas HARDIE	46	55	67	47	148
59	207749	Robby BOYD	41	60	52	66	153
60	184970	Ted BLOWERS	45	65	58	53	156
61	195034	Tom GRAHAM	48	51	59	61	158
62	193266	Ben JOHNSON‑ROLFE	50	56	57	54	160
63	207803	Niccolo VETTA	BFD76	53	62	46	161
64	192835	Ross SLATER	35	69	63	65	163
65	183469	Andrew ROBINSON	51	70	56	58	165
66	198904	Alexander DAVIES	56	67	61	60	177
67	194877	Sam LAWRENCE	57	64	65	59	180
68	190614	Thomas WOODINGS	54	63	64	64	181
69	193702	Georgie HOUSTON	55	68	69	63	186
70	136613	James BURTON	59	59	72	70	188
71	195294	Iona DIXON	58	72	71	62	191
72	176716	Tadhg O'FARRELL	52	73	73	71	196
73	201860	Harriot PULMAN	60	74	70	68	198
74	200746	Ben GEORGE	BFD76	71	66	69	206
75	206365	Rheanna PAVEY	NYF76	NYF76	NYF76	NYF76	228