Laser and Enterprise Open at Penarth Yacht Club
by Keith Whitfield 24 May 2017 18:53 BST
20-21 May 2017
Ed Higson (right hand of nearest boats) and Ben Flower battling for the lead during the Laser and Enterprise Open at Penarth © Tracey Dunford
Penarth Yacht Club's two main fleets decided to share a weekend for their Open Meetings this year, the Lasers holding theirs on the Saturday (as part of the Wessex Grand Prix), with the Enterprise fleet officiating, and the Laser sailors returning the favour for the Ents on the Sunday.
This event was a part of the Severnside/Dragon Trophy series. The new arrangement worked well, even though the turnout was somewhat down on previous years. The non-attenders missed some great racing.
The Laser event was sailed in a boisterous south-westerly blowing off the cliffs, making the approach to the windward mark more than a little tricky. The youth sailors showed their more experienced competitors how it was done. After a closely fought series of four races, Ed Higson won the Standard fleet, beating last year's winner Ben Flower on countback. John Ling was a close third.
The Radials were won by Haydn Lavender, again on countback, after local sailor Aran Pitter uncharacteristically dropped it in at the gybe mark in the final race. A gritty and determined performance by Keith Edwards saw him snatch third place.
The Ents enjoyed much more benign conditions, a steady 10 knot south-easterly that offered champagne sailing under bright blue skies. Ioan Lavery and Chris Keitley dominated proceedings, leading off every start line and jealously guarding the favoured right hand side of the beat. An intense battle behind them saw Richard Leach and Jane Pickford just pip Stephen Lucey and Claudia Haynes for second place.
A special mention should be made for Penarth's nonagenarian (90 years young, if you need to know), Peter Webb, who helped Steve Cranston give the hurry-up to the leaders on numerous occasions, finishing a creditable fifth. Fresh from their victory in the club's Frostbite series, the Cranston-Webb team relished the conditions, and Peter put a lot of his younger compatriots to shame by giving it everything in all four races. Sailing is truly a sport that can be enjoyed by 'youngsters' of all ages!