Audi Laser Quattro Cup - Stokes Bay Overall
by David McNamara 19 Jul 1999 09:22 BST
REPUTATIONS MADE AND LOST ON THE SOLENT
The Solent has been the scene of many historic sailing races, from the original America's Cup race to countless high profile Cowes Week events, but few will have been harder fought than the Audi Laser Quattro Cup event at Stokes Bay this year.
In the Laser 4000 fleet there 78 boats battling in a light shifty wind, perilous starts and crucial downwind legs, where one mistake could see a whole pack of boats come past you. In the end, no-one could match the consistency of Douglas Baker & Hilary Sutton in Preferred IT, with only one result outside the top ten discarded they ended the series counting a highest score of six - astonishing with the level of competition.
Chasing Preferred IT, Zap! Sailing and Kongsberg Simrad tied on points, with only the fact that Hugh Watson & Lil had a better count back awarding Kongsberg Simrad the second spot. Zap's! Paul Brotherton & Richard Bailey had to be content with third, no doubt cursing the block failure that dropped them to 41st in the second race.
Previously leading the Quattro Series, Adobe dropped back to fourth in this event and relinquish the series lead to Preferred IT, with two events yet to be sailed.
The Laser.eps fleet saw a new name come to the front. Harvey Hillary showed that it doesn't take long to get to know the boat, when he jumped in for the first time and won the first race ... then the second ... and the third. A perfect score that saw him hiking, bouncing and working the waves in a way that left the rest of the fleet standing. Emma Paull was the closest to him, beating him in the fourth race when possibly a foggy head prevented him from getting many bits of the race right. Emma fought off a late charge by hawk's Adrian Brunton for second place, but there was very little doubt about the winner.
New names were winning in the Laser 5000 fleet too, with Peter & Mark Tait proving that if you keep it clean and stay in the top few boats you will be hard to beat. In the end they won the last two races to move ahead of Aquatonic's Andy & Dave Richards by one point.
Aquatonic are used to getting things more there own way, but a capsize on Saturday and then an appalling start in the final race left them too much to do, despite winning three of the six races. Only one point behind again were Organic's Dave Bull & Steve Greaves, who proved again the consistency is the key, beating Holt's Rob Wells & Ali Hall score by another solitary point.
Overall this is but a blip in Aquatonic's progress however, with two wins and tow second places putting them firmly atop the leader board.
Next event in the Audi Laser Quattro Cup sees the action move to Felixstowe Ferry, where strong tides and big waves could provoke more upsets.
More news and results at www.lasersailing.com/audi-laser-racing