Laser Masters Inland Championship at Oxford Sailing Club

Laser Masters Inland Championship at Oxford - winners Jon Emmett and Alan Davis © Jon Emmett

Laser Masters Inland Championship at Oxford - fog © Jon Emmett

Laser Masters Inland Championship at Oxford - no fog © Jon Emmett

A poor forecast both days didn't deter the 26 Standard and 21 Radial sailors (some from as far away as South Africa) who made the trip to Oxford Sailing Club on the second weekend of November, for the end of season event.

Day one and the threat of gales never materialised, indeed it rarely got above 20 knots. In the Standard rig it was local sailor and current Masters European Champion Alan Davis who set about a commanding lead, with second place going to former Weir Wood member Neil Peters, now from Pevensey Bay the home of the 2015 Masters Nationals.

Steve Cockerill, who now sails out of Hayling Island, having looked at the no wind forecast for Sunday decided it would be much more fun to play with the big boys in the Standard rig, recovered from a poor start to take third place, with Simon Barrington from Weir Wood in fourth.

Race one for the Radials really did set the tone for the weekend, with Emmett from Weir Wood winning the pin end of the line and leading from start to finish but behind him was Steve Smith from Chew Valley, Andy Bryne from King George and Kevin Pearson Thames SC. Amazingly this was the final overall finishing position of the regatta, so perhaps they could have had just one race then spent the rest of the weekend in the bar.

Race two and Simon Barrington was Master of the shifts in the Standard, working the right hand side to great effect to build a commanding lead. Although by the end he was passed by Steve Cockerill and Oxford local Gareth Greenfield. Alan Davis did enough to pull back to fourth, his worst result of the whole weekend.

The wind was still hard right for the start of the Radials and it was Mike Kinear who won the committee boat end and was in control of the race but he failed to tack early enough and it was Jon Lewis who led around the windward mark before eventually being passed by Emmett on the second reach. Kevin Pearson from Thames Valley took second but many of the top sailors from the previous race struggled and it was Richard Ellis from Gurnard who took third from Sarah Cockerill from Hayling Island (both Steve's wife and Rooster 4000 crew) in fourth.

The final race on Saturday saw Davis and Cockerill battling again but a win for Davis left him leading overnight and with the forecast for no wind the following day, maybe that was it for the weekend? Nick Livingstone finished the day with a third, after a consistent two first races and a fourth for Ashley Deakin made it a good first day for him also.

In the Radials the start line was once again more even and Emmett took the shifts best to lead from start to finish but a second from Smith kept the pressure on for what could be a very tricky next day. Likewise a third for Byrne kept him in the running. Sarah Cockerill took her second fourth place, enjoying the strong wind but she was far from enthusiastic about the possibility of three light wind races the following day.

Sunday started with thick fog which gradually cleared to reveal first the lake (which was hidden as if in a cloud when we first arrived) and then finally the wind, giving sailors hiking and even marginal planing conditions at times.

The first race on Sunday saw the wind start off left and Peters nearly crossed the fleet but he couldn't make it and had to tack back. Cockerill who had a good start ended up on the far left and struggled to get back across. Whereas Davis was able to make his way to the right and grab the lead. Again Cockerill showed why he has won so many National titles over the years but he couldn't claw his way back this time and with the wind staying hard right the race was shortened after only twenty minutes as the course was so lopsided.

Greenfield made it a 1,2 for Oxford putting the pressure on in the final race, with Peters taking third and a further Oxford Man; top Grand Master, Nick Livingstone taking fourth place.

For the Radials it was a somewhat easier task as although the start line started heavily port biased, just as it did for the Standards they could see the huge right shift as it was coming down the course. Emmett won the pin end but was quick to tack and rounded the windward mark first to sail away from the fleet.

With such a short race it was very hard for those who had a poor first beat to catch up, and this brought some new faces to the front of the fleet. Lesley Hotchin who revelled in the lighter conditions seemed to have an outboard motor on the back and was able to stick with Emmett. Richard Ellis led the chasing pack with Lewis, who had been improving all weekend in fourth.

With the deadline for starting the final race of 15:00 looming the race committee sensibly decided to go for one more longer race, rather than to try and squeeze in two more. So with the breeze holding, the usual faces returned to the front of the fleet.

In the standards Davis had the better of the first beats and made no mistakes, working hard to keep Cockerill behind him as he loose covered him around the course. However second was more than enough for Cockerill to secure second overall. In third overall and third in the final race was Greenfield. Fourth in the final race was fellow Oxford sailor Phil King with his best result of the weekend, meaning that half the top ten were from the home club.

Emmett had already won the weekend but elected to stay out on the water for the final race. Once again the wind started to clock right and this time Emmett couldn't get across as he traded tacks with Bill Stean allowing Byrne to sail off into the lead. However once he passed Stean, Emmett caught and passed Byrne to take his sixth win of the weekend. A second for Byrne secured him third overall as his nearest rival Pearson scored a seventh (so he had to be content with fourth overall). A third for Smith was more than enough to keep in him second overall.

Overall the weekend was dominated unsurprisingly by Inland sailors, despite the low numbers (most likely due to forecast). The weekend was a great success with five races completed by the time limit. Next year's Inland Championships will be at Graham Water SC on 11/12 April and will be part of the 2015 Masters Super Series (and world qualification).

Standard fleet results:

Radial fleet results: