Sailboat.co.uk Laser UK Nationals at the WPNSA - Overall
by Alison Boyd, Jack Wetherell & Hannah Snellgrove 15 Aug 2016 12:58 BST
6-12 August 2016
Standard Rig Report by Jack Wetherell
The final day of the Sailboat.co.uk Laser Open and National Championships was held in Portland Harbour in fantastic conditions. Jack Wetherell nailed the pin end of the line and continued his form to lead around the windward mark closely followed by Harry Gozzett. But the chasing pack were very close behind. Wetherell managed to get away whilst there was an intense battle behind with positions changing all the time. By the finish line, Alistair Goodwin had got through to second with Jack Hopkins taking third.
The final race started with the top two positions already guaranteed to Wetherell and Goodwin. But the final step on the podium was still up for grabs. Wetherell continued his dominance to lead start to finish and cap off a great week with a final race win. Michael Atkinson was in sync up the first beat to round second but Gozzett and Hopkins, going at each other full tilt, got past on the first downwind. It was neck and neck throughout the race with Gozzett eventually finishing second and Hopkins in third. But it wasn't enough for Gozzett to overhaul Hopkins overall.
Jack Wetherell is the new National Champion with Alistair Goodwin and Jack Hopkins rounding of a solid week in the top three. After the racing, Wetherell commented: 'We've had amazing conditions this week. Weymouth really put on a show, aided by the great work from Ken and his team of volunteers on the water and onshore. It's an honour to be National Champion again and I look forward to seeing everyone for the fight in Abersoch next year.'
Standard Results: (top three)
1st Jack Wetherell, 10pts
2nd Alistair Goodwin, 22pts
3rd Jack Hopkins, 35pts
Radial Rig Report by Hannah Snellgrove
The final day of the Nationals brought one brilliant finale of glamorous sailing conditions, with bright sunshine and a strengthening south-westerly sea breeze. Hannah Snellgrove had sewn up the National Champion title with a day to spare but was looking to go out with a bang on the last day.
In the first race, a strong start from Snellgrove at the pin end saw her play the shifts up the left-hand side of the beat to take an unassailable lead at the top mark from Tom Renny. A yellow flag for Renny on the final downwind nearly threatened his chance for a podium finish in the race, but he managed to hold on to second with Ireland's Johnny Durcan nipping at his heels.
Snellgrove again hit the pin end with speed on the second start of the day, playing the shifts up the middle of the course and trying to defend some big shifts coming in from both sides, with the left again looking particularly strong. A few boats, including Ireland's Fionn Conway, initially started sailing towards the wrong gate mark downwind, and Snellgrove capitalized on this by sailing a shorter course to pull away from the field to take her eleventh bullet from twelve races. It was Conway who held onto second, leaving him in third place overall, with Durcan's third place finish in the final race proving enough for second overall.
Snellgrove said of the Championships: 'It has been a fantastic week of sailing – sunshine and wind every day – everything a sailor can ask for! I have had a blast jumping back in my Laser again after quite a long break from serious competition and it has been a lot of fun, though a bit of a baptism of fire for my hiking legs! On behalf of all the Laser Radial competitors, I would really like to thank everybody who helped the regatta run so smoothly.'
Radial Results: (top three)
1st Hannah Snellgrove, 10pts
2nd Johnny Durcan, 28pts
3rd Fionn Conway, 47pts
4.7 Rig Report
The overall winner in the 4.7 fleet was also decided going into the final day, but this did not stop Matt Beck from competing hard right to the end. The first race of the day saw Beck win from Chloe Collenette and Daniel Wellbourn Hesp. Collenette had the satisfaction of winning the final race of the Nationals and taking second overall (despite missing the first day's racing due to her commitment at the 4.7 Worlds), Thomas Parkhurst was second and Matt Beck third.
With all the races completed, Matt Beck is the new 4.7 National Champion. Chloe Collenette finished in second and Daniel Wellbourn Hesp was third.
4.7 Results: (top three)
1st Matt Beck, 15pts
2nd Chloe Collenette, 28pts
3rd Daniel Wellbourn Hesp, 38pts
Full results can be found here.