Laser South East and South Coast Grand Prix at Lancing Sailing Club
by David Trout 6 Jun 2017 15:42 BST
4 June 2017
21 Lasers launched into the waves of Lancing Bay with a force 5 touching 6 already blowing and forecast to stay that way all day. Three back-to-back races of around an hour each were planned and so endurance was always going to play a big part in the outcome. Fortunately, R.O. Barry Goacher's course required little alteration between races and his team turned the starts around promptly.
In the Standard fleet, Stuart Hudson (Keyhaven, Spinnaker), Simon Barrington (Weirwood) and Joel Walker (Lancing) were ahead of the pack for most of the day. Hudson took the first race followed by Barrington and Walker, but Barrington turned the tables in race 2 and then added race 3 ahead of Walker and Andy Shaw (Itchenor) to win overall.
The first two Radial races were dominated by Jimmy Carter (Lancing) 1, 1, and Tim Hartnell (Lancing) 2, 2, with 3rd going to David Trout (Lancing) in race 1 and to Claire Lasko (Lancing) in race 2. Carter and Hartnell, having battled each other to a standstill, retired from race 3, leaving the possibility that either Trout or Lasko could move into 2nd overall with a win in the last race. Unfortunately for them, Sue Ritchie (Newport) saved her best till last and took the bullet, followed by Lasko and Pippa Horne (Itchenor).
Two 4.7s started with the Standard fleet but had their own race series with Arthur Farley winning out over Alex Cole (Spinnaker) each time. Farley, clearly at home in the conditions, even gave a few Standard competitors a scare. A name to watch?
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 4.7 Fleet |
|---|
| 1st | 208186 | Arthur Farley | | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 190567 | Alex Cole | Spinnaker SC | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Radial Fleet |
|---|
| 1st | 198605 | Jimmy Carter | Lancing SC | 1 | 1 | (DNC) | 2 |
| 2nd | 206471 | Tim Hartnell | Lancing SC | 2 | 2 | (DNC) | 4 |
| 3rd | 0 | Claire Lasko | Lancing SC | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4th | 152585 | Sue Ritchie | Newport Boat Club | ‑7 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 5th | 202547 | David Trout | Lancing SC | 3 | 5 | (DNC) | 8 |
| 6th | 209935 | Ollie Page | Lancing SC | 5 | 4 | (DNC) | 9 |
| 7th | 63934 | Pippa Horne | Itchenor SC | ‑9 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 8th | 169182 | Karen McGrath | Lancing SC | 6 | (DNC) | DNC | 17 |
| 9th | 205 | Bob Aldridge | Lancing SC | 10 | 7 | (DNC) | 17 |
| 10th | 177861 | Alison Stevens | SESCA | 8 | (DNC) | DNC | 19 |
| Standard Fleet |
|---|
| 1st | 209138 | Simon Barrington | Weirwood SC | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 204644 | Stuart Hudson | Keyhaven YC & Spinnaker SC | 1 | 2 | (DNC) | 3 |
| 3rd | 174565 | Joel Walker | Lancing SC | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4th | 204005 | Andy Shaw | Itchenor SC | 4 | ‑8 | 3 | 7 |
| 5th | 147122 | Craig Palmer | Lancing SC | ‑5 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 6th | 181047 | Charles Porter | Chichester YC | ‑6 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 7th | 179660 | Will Apps | Lancing SC | 7 | 5 | (DNC) | 12 |
| 8th | 122211 | Richard Bradshaw | Weirwood SC | (DSQ) | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 9th | 165483 | Edward Dyer | Lancing SC | 8 | 7 | (DNC) | 15 |