Laser Open Meeting at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club
by Paul Allen 25 Jul 2017 08:21 BST
Ten visitors joined a strong field of seventeen home boats for the 2017 North West Laser Grand Prix at Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club. Sailors arrived to a mirror like Flash. Thankfully as bacon butties and tea were consumed from the famous galley, a gentle westerly breeze settled in.
Race officer Paul Allen left the jetty with plans for long courses, however once on station the forecast westerly breeze was up and down and left and right. Following a small postponement the fleet were underway with a north west course set in the middle of the two breezes – a westerly for 50% of the time and a northerly for...
A clean start and a shifty first beat offered many snakes and ladders. Unsurprisingly Ian Jones (Dovestone) found conditions familiar to those when he won the 2017 Streaker Inland Championship at Leigh & Lowton, and lead from start to finish, winning by a considerable margin. Keen as mustard after a break from sailing, Neil Skellam (LLSC) claimed second place ahead of club mate Stuart Belfield in 3rd. Oliver Blackburn (LLSC), kept great pace to finish fourth sailing a Radial.
Following lunch the breeze settled into a westerly direction and the course was extended, offering almost a one mile leg to windward. Race two was a battle of the gingers, with Neil Skellam and Gary Knott (Pennine) building a considerable lead on the pack. However Ian Jones slowly but surely caught them and by the finish had done enough to claim the overall win with a race to spare. The consistent Garry Knott finished just ahead of Neil Skellam, both excited by the final race showdown for second overall.
The final race was sailed in the best breeze of the day. This time Graham McWhirter found form and pushed Ian Jones round the first lap. Close behind the fleet was tightly packed with less that 30 seconds between the top twenty. What was set to be a long tactical run turned into a broad reach as the breeze often flicked right. This allowed Ian Jones to put the turbo on and claim his third win of the day with Graham McWhirter a clear second. The race for third went down to the line, with Gary Knott just finishing pipping veteran Glyn Purnell (LLSC).
A tricky day for race team and sailors alike. Several new to racing LLSC members enjoyed the thrills and spills of their first open meeting.
In his speech, Ian Jones thanked Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club for a welcoming return.
Top 5 Results:
1st Ian Jones 3pts
2nd Garry Knott 5pts
3rd Neil Skellam 5pts
4th Graham McWhirter 6pts
5th Stuart Bellfield 10pts