Laser 5000 Inlands at Rutland Sailing Club
by Iain Lewis 26 Sep 2005 16:39 BST
24-25 September 2005
Action from the Laser 5000 Inlands at Rutland © Martin Hollingshead
Rutland Sailing Club played host to a competitive fleet of Laser 5000’s over the weekend of 24/25 September. The Mckees unable to attend the Nationals 2 weeks before had something to prove and managed to pull something special out of the bag.
Saturday dawned with a very light and very shifty southerly breeze. With the breeze swinging 90 degrees at the drop of a hat playing the shifts was key and this was done to perfection by the new pairing of the Linnell brothers rounding the mark 1 boat length behind the McKee’s. What followed was a highly tacktical race with the McKee’s just pipping the Linnels on the final leg. The first race also found the return of ZIM5151, however after hitting an underwater obstruction they were forced to retire and make for repairs.
Races 2 and 3 were again sailed in a dying and shifty breeze there was however very close racing with the leading 4 boats all rounding the top mark with 2 boat lengths of eachother. The end of the day found the McKee’s with only 3 points and the next 3 boats all scoring 9. Day 2 was going to be a battle for second.
The second day dawned with champagne sailing in mind 18 – 20 knots and sun, just what the fleet ordered after the snakey B drinking games the night before.
Race 1 saw the Lewis’s retire with a broken tiller and making for shore for repairs while on the race track the KcKee stamped their authority by winning by over 8 minutes. The next 3 boats came in with the Linnels in second and Thomas 3rd.
With a building breeze and the Lewis’s now back on the startline carnage started to happen with the less experienced crews feeling the pain. The Linnels were forced to retire with a broken crew and Thomas was forced out after blowing up his port shroud. The McKee’s posted their 5th first ad it was looking like a clean sweep. However 2nd was still up for grabs.
The final race of the day saw what can only be described as the America's Cup of 5000 sailing. The only teams capable in the 20 knots of breeze and those vying for the top place battled it out. The Mckee’s winning the start and round each mark with a delta of less than 15 seconds. The Lewis brother managed to do something special and split gybes at the final top mark and pip the McKee’s by under 2 seconds bring their reign of firsts to an end. This however was not enough to stop the McKee’s being crowned National Inland Champions with the Lewis’s coming in second.
Overall Results:
1st Andy McKee & Alex McKee 5pts
2nd Iain Lewis & Matt Lewis 12pts
3rd Toby Linnell & Justin Linnell 17pts
4th Thomas Sauvel & Alistair 21pts
5th Dog & Jonathan Hulls 30pts