Laser Grand Prix at Rutland Sailing Club
by Rutland Laser Fleet 29 Jun 2015 17:35 BST
28 June 2015
Rutland Sailing Club Laser Grand Prix prize winners © Evan Williams
Sunday the 28th June provided yet another full day of full on close Laser sailing in perfect conditions for round 13 of the Midlands area Laser Grand Prix. The Wind Guru Spot only registered a sheltered 10 – 16 knots on the lee shore which out on the course area was well over 20 knots at its peak. The fleet comprised of 15 standard rigs, 10 radials and 2 4.7's. head out to take the start.
Race 1 got away first time with Richard Pratt and Craig Williamson arriving at the first mark overlapped with the radial of Rob cage and Joe Scurrah right behind, closely followed by a clutch of Rutland boats led by Andy Mckee with his new sail working to perfection. The race ended with Craig and Joe just in front of the next 3 boats who were 3 abreast out of the leeward mark with a tack required to cross the finish line. As usual in a laser fleet, a few quick manoeuvres and a 720 saw Andy Mckee take 3rd.
Race 2 got under way in much stronger winds, at the top mark a constant stream of lasers rounded one after another with Craig leading the way. Rutland sailor Charlie Jeynes in his 4.7 rig rounded in 7th on his way to a 12th overall on the day, a notable feat considering handicaps are not used in this series. The fleet stayed together until the last beat where the top 3 pulled out a sizeable gap on the rest.
Race 3 began with a general recall, there had to be one with 6 masters in the fleet fresh from multiple general recalls at the Pevensey bay Laser Masters Nationals the weekend before. Again about 5 boats ended up at the windward mark together with the rest inches behind. Craig and Joe were just ahead at mark 2 of Richard, Rob and Mark Williams. By now Andy's new sail was blown out and not performing as well as in race 1. Mark managed to get by Richard and Rob to hold onto 3rd for most of the race until the last beat where Richard hauled himself back into third by not going left as the leaders had done and heading off right on some friendly shifts.
Throughout the fleet the standard of sailing in the conditions was extremely high, no one adrift of the fleet at all so no delays in getting the next races underway. Notable mentions for perseverance go to Will Rhodes and Oscar Morley in their first Laser Grand prix and Ryan Lettinger who despite a couple of spectacular swims was still in the pack in each race. After all that, a 1.7 mile beat home from the far corner of the dam finished everyone off nicely.
In addition to this for the last 3 years the Rutland Laser Fleet have run a Top Club prize for the combined score of the top 3 boats from each entered club. Defending champions Staunton Harold brought a full team leaving runners up for the first 2 years Rutland worried as their top sailors were away on hornet and triathlon duties. Many battles throughout the fleet and more importantly just behind the leaders saw the Rutland Fleet take 6 of the top ten places in race 1, Rutlands Charlie Jeynes getting into the top ten in his 4.7 in race 2 and the Grafham boys getting into their stride as the day progressed.
In the end it was a very jubilant Rutland Laser Fleet that narrowly pipped defending champions Staunton Harold scoring - Rutland 26 pts, Staunton Harold 60pts and Grafham in 3rd scoring 84 points.
Overall Results: (full results can be found here)
1st Youth and 4.7, 12th Overall– Charlie Jeynes (Rutland)
1st Lady and 17th overall – Rebecca Grimshaw (Staunton Harold)
1st Master and 3rd overall – Richard Pratt (Rutland)
1st Radial and 5th overall – Rob Cage (Thames)
2nd radial and 7th overall – Richard Major
1st overall – Craig Williamson (Staunton Harold)
2nd overall – Joe Scurrah (Carsington)