Laser open meeting at Maidenhead Sailing Club

With a strong south south-westerly wind the 25 strong fleet got off to a clean start. Rob Beere (Frensham Pond SC) took an early lead followed by John Peck (Silver Wing SC) and Phil Taylor (RYA). By the end of the second lap the fourth placed sailor, Steve Jannering (Maidenhead SC) had taken the lead followed by Peck and Beere. Jannering struggled to keep the lead for the third lap however, by the end of the fourth lap he regained the lead which he kept till the end of the race. He was followed over the finish line by Beere and Nigel Rolfe (Parkstone SC).

In the Radial / 4.7 fleet Paul Cook managed to take first place followed by Deborah Hughes (Burghfield SC).

After lunch there was a slight change in course to allow for an additional reach. Once again the fleet got away cleanly. This time Jannering led the fleet, followed by Beere and Colin Carver (Aldenham SC) who had broken his tiller extension early in the lap. This four lap race saw local sailor Ian Stone nip into third place during the final lap. The final placings of this race meant that Jannering was already the series winner with two firsts, but the remaining podium slots were still up for grabs.

In the Radial / 4.7 fleet, Hughes started well but the smaller sail lacked the power needed to keep ahead of Cook in his slightly bigger sail. By the end of the second lap Cook had increased his lead, but as the wind strengthened Hughes kept close enough to have the benefit of the handicap advantage. During the last lap Hughes managed to get ahead of Cook to take line honours for the smaller fleet.

The final race was held back-to-back with the second race. With the wind increasing just before the start sequence the committee boat was blown out of position. After resetting the starting line, the fleet tried optimistically getting away, however any thoughts of three clean starts was soon put to rest as half the fleet were on the wrong side of the start line forcing a general recall.

The second sequence saw two boats over the start line and the remainder got away as planned. Jannering completed the first lap in first place followed quickly by Ben Rolfe (Reading University) and Peck. The wind, varying in strength and direction, made the windward mark interesting and as Jannering crossed the line at the end of the lap he was beaten in the short distance to the windward mark by 5th place Stone. However, Jannnering managed to regain the lead during the lap which he kept for the remaining three laps. Stone wasn't going to let any others pass him and he took second place.

Jannering took first place for the series followed by Beere and Stone. In the smaller-sailed fleet Cook got away cleanly after the general recall and showed good pace to get him well ahead of Hughes, but as the race continued Hughes kept close enough to Cook to beat him on overall handicap.

Radial & 4.7 Fleet Results:

Standard Fleet Results: