Medway RC Laser Winter Series 2018-19 - Round 7

Medway RC Laser Winter Series round 7 © Jamie Blair

Round 7 brought a stark contrast to the previous week where gusty winds of 19-20 kts from the NW were replaced by ENE and below 10kts. The wind direction provided a course with a start line that was a little distance from the shore.

Unsurprisingly the A Rig was taken by all. The first start saw an early change of course with a 20 degree right shift but with a short line the start gave everyone a steep curve to get space. A number were over the line at the start but success landed with Phil Walker who stretched out a very commanding lead. Brian Lev'y found form too taking the second.

The course was altered to take full advantage of the shift and a more user friendly start line. A small port bias allowed Jamie to use speed off the line and a tack across the fleet to take the leading position and retain this to the end of the race. Pete Freeman brought 63 home in second and Jon Moon in third.

Races were taking on average 10 -12 minutes, allowing everyone to get starts right (or wrong!). The short races allow all to be amongst the fleet and not be left behind.

The fleet took note of the boats starting towards the pin end with speed and before the break there was a better spread along the line. So much so the early leader Jamie Blair found that starting was not in open water and was even forced over in race 5 and a return to restart.

Medway RC Laser Winter Series round 7 - photo © Jamie Blair

By coffee break whilst Jamie was out in front there were four sailors vying for second place (Phil, Pete and Jon Moon) and even 3rd to 10th only had a 6 point divide.

After the coffee we saw a slight reduction in the wind strength. The course was shortened to allow the leeward mark to be closer to the sailors and easier to see! Jamie and Pete continued to spar switching between 1st and 2nd places. As last week the coffee and bacon roll spurred Mark Penny forward with a second and a couple of thirds. Richard Stone too showed a good result in race 7, along with David Townshend a 4th place.

So competitive is the racing that the fleet also has a number of individual competitions - Brian wanting to beat Andrew Nicholls which he did!

Light winds meant that there were a reduced number of races. Eleven races were completed by the 12.30 cut-off. Jamie took the day with Pete Freeman second and Phil Walker in third. There was only two points between 3rd and 5th place, with Mark Penny just one point ahead of Jon Moon.

After the seven rounds in the Winter Series Jamie is our clear leader with Jon Moon in second, Phil Walker third and Richard Stone in fourth. Pete Freeman is catching up fast.

See you all next Sunday 27th January for Round 8. Details of location and start times on www.rclaser.org.uk/events

Round 7 Results: