UK National and Open Laser Championships at Mount Batten Centre for Watersports - Day 3
by James Foster & George Povall 25 Jul 2018 15:52 BST
21–28 July 2018
UK National and Open Laser Championships at Plymouth day 3 © Paul Gibbins / pgc.pixieset.com
Supported by Tideway Investment Partners LLP and Phoenix Marine
To begin with, the wind on Tuesday did not look too hopeful, but clouds soon formed over the land and a sea breeze of 8–10knts came in from the southwest. All three fleets then launched and the racing began.
4.7
A strong tide pushing against the sailors caused plenty of line sag in the 4.7 fleet. Race 3 started in a left phase causing many sailors to tack off onto port. As the wind continued to shift left throughout the race, gusts came from the left making this the main gain feature. James Foster played the conditions best and won the race, Finley Dickinson was second and Lorcan Knowles was third.
The second race of the day began with another clear start and in a right phase making it the opposite to the first race. Throughout the race, the breeze continued oscillating to the right with some small shifts from the left. Due to the different directions of tide and wind, going right of the fleet on the run was a quicker route to the mark instead of joining the 'banana'. On the second beat, there were many gusts on the right, these were in between the Standard and the Radial fleets who were going downwind at the time. Lorcan Knowles came first, James Foster was second and Finley Dickinson third.
The Race 5 start had a massive pin bias allowing some boats with a good start to easily tack over onto port. As the wind was still in a right phase, the fleet stayed on port tack and sailed to the right-hand side of the course; this was where all of the leading boats came from. Trying to sail straight to the leeward mark allowed for many sailors to gain places. However, as the wind had begun to oscillate back to a left phase many gusts came from this side. First was Elizabeth Beardsall, second was James Foster and third was Finley Dickinson.
Radial
After a short delay on shore waiting for wind, a light 7–9kt breeze filled in. The first race was pin biased and had a long tack port with tide against the fleet. Povall led to the finish followed by a tight battle between second to fifth with Oliver Blackburn coming out on top.
Race 2 was dominated by the sailors who played the right-hand side of the course where there was favourable tide. George Graham won his first Nationals race by a good margin, with French sailor Alexandre Kowalski taking second.
The last race of the day saw the fleet split to both sides of the course, with Povall coming in from the right and Arthur Farley from the left. Tide seemed to favour the right, but those on the left benefited from more pressure. Povall took the win, Beck followed in second and Tom Pollard third. However, the day was won by Jon Emmett with three consistent races in tricky conditions.
Overall, George Povall is still leading the fleet, with Jon Emmett in second and Alexandre Kowalski in third.
Standard
As with the other two fleets, the Standards enjoyed three races on Tuesday. Sam Whaley had a good day with two firsts and a third to enable him to jump to the top of the fleet at the end of the day. Dan Whiteley's first, second and third meant he is in second place and, with a third and two seconds, Joe Mullan is in third.
Overall today's wind conditions were challenging for many sailors, but the key priorities today included; not tacking unnecessarily; staying on the lifts as long as possible and sailing towards the pressure. Although these were the main priorities of today, boat speed and a good start were paramount.
Full results: www.kbsuk.com/laser/events/index.asp?EventID=107
Images: pgc.pixieset.com