Noble Marine Laser Spring Qualifier at Mount Batten Centre, Plymouth
by Jake Farren-Price & Jon Emmett 28 Mar 2019 15:11 GMT
23-24 March 2019
Prize winners from Laser Qualifier at Plymouth © UKLA
Standard report by Jake Farren-Price
The final Laser Spring Qualifier saw a more moderate forecast from the previous weekends, with average wind speeds hitting single figures at times. This meant all six races were completed and we got sailing on both days. There were 22 Standards battling it out this weekend in what was expected to be a high-scoring regatta, with an offshore breeze trying to figure out its route over the hills.
The first race saw a pin-end biased line. Sam Whaley executed this well, meaning he was the first to a new band of pressure and left shift on the left-hand side of the course, which slowly filled to the rest of the course. The size of this shift meant a lot of the people on the left ended up reaching into the top mark, well over the lay line, after hardly sailing any starboard. After this, due to the wind being offset, it was a bit of a procession and there were not many place changes. Whaley held the lead, with Jack Cookson and Joe Mullan following respectively.
Race 2 was still pin favoured and, after seeing the power of the left in the first race, the pin end was much more packed. The best start came from Joe Mullan because he held out to the left, patiently waiting for the right time to cross the fleet. Towards the top of the beat, it became very patchy and boats only metres apart could be in completely different wind. Ben Flower managed to round the mark first but with much of the fleet in close proximity. Jack Wetherell sailed the next few legs very well to get up into a close match for first between him and Daniel Whiteley. On the final downwind, Whiteley was pipped to the finish line by Wetherell.
The final race of the day saw the strength of the tide start to decrease and some more right shifts come into play. The leaders at the top mark came from the right. Joseph Drake capitalized on this to round the mark with a clear lead. He held this all the way round very well, considering a very shifty second beat. He was followed by Jack Hopkins and Whiteley. After the end of the first day, it became apparent the winner of this event was going to be the person who made the fewest mistakes. There were some mixed results across the board and some people in need of a discard.
The second day got under way after a short postponement, with the breeze around 90 degrees further left from the previous day but just as shifty. Up the first beat, it was the sailors who played the right-hand side who came out on top. Wetherell and Whaley were amongst these. The breeze was starting to build, making huge differences across the course between the gusts and the lulls. Wetherell sailed well to secure his second win of the event.
In Race 5, there was more breeze down the left-hand side of the course and the people who played that side came out ahead, Dan Whiteley did the best job of this and rounded the top mark first. Down the run, there were some place changes as people got stuck in lulls and couldn't get out. Up the second beat, Jack Cookson played the right very well to catapult him up the fleet and into second. Whiteley held onto first, with Cookson following and Wetherell in third.
For the final race of the event, it was all to play for at the top. Half way up the first beat, the race was abandoned as the left shift and extra breeze made it unfair. However, we got away again quickly. The left-hand side played very well, and all the top boats were in close contention around the first mark. The downwind saw a few place changes, but the breeze was coming down both sides so there was nothing too catastrophic. By the final downwind, Wetherell was in close pursuit of Whaley, followed by Cookson and Whiteley. The win was still up for grabs, and by the bottom mark, Cookson had just scraped ahead of Whaley to secure the win. Over the whole weekend, it was Jack Wetherell who sailed the most consistently to came out on top.
Standard Results: (top three)
1st Jack Wetherell (16pts)
2nd Daniel Whiteley (19pts)
3rd Sam Whaley (21pts)
Full results here
Radial report by Jon Emmett
The 2019 Spring Laser Radial Qualifiers have been the closest series from memory, with every single event decided on tie breaker! In the end, it was Hannah Snellgrove who walked away with two wins from two events, but it was a tough series, and with double Olympian and 2016 World Champion Ali Young currently out with injury (but back in time for the Olympic trials which start in Palma), the series is only going to get tougher.
The ever-popular mentor scheme continued this year, with multiple National Champion Hannah Snellgrove being mentor for Plymouth (Ben Elvin was mentor for Stokes Bay and Jon Emmett for WPNSA).
Mentoring is for all Laser rigs and the mentee was chosen at random from a social media competition. Hannah's mentee was Ben Flower and Hannah said: 'I think the mentoring scheme is a great initiative. I have only got to where I have in sailing because I've been lucky enough to learn from people along the way, so it's really great to be able to pass on some of the things I've picked up, and it's a cool learning experience as a mentor as well to see how somebody else thinks their way around the race course. It was a pleasure to work with someone as enthusiastic and passionate as Ben this weekend and try to address some of his key goals.'
You can also see live videos and post-sailing interviews on the UKLA Facebook page.
Saturday saw a light-to-medium, fickle northeasterly, which made for a high-scoring regatta. However, with a full six races sailed over two days, the cream rose to the top.
A name to watch for in the future is Finley Dickson who achieved an absolutely solid first race, where he defended the left by forcing his rivals to overstand and give him the bullet. Jon Emmett and Ben Elvin fought for second, but Emmett overstood more, giving Elvin some breathing space but no chance to catch Dickson.
Hannah Snellgrove, one of the few top female sailors doing the trials, was also at Plymouth and made a cracking start in Race 2, where again the left came out on top. She battled it through, this time with Elvin, who is still on a mission to win his first Qualifier, having just been beaten by Emmett at WPNSA and Snellgrove at Stokes Bay. Another second for Elvin moved him closer to his goal, with Arthur Fry coming third.
In Race 3, and just as the fleet thought they had cracked it, it was the right-hand side which came out best and with it Mila Monaghan. With such a commanding lead at the first mark, she made it look easy as she sailed away into the distance.
Sunday and a northerly wind, while maybe steadier, caused some interesting tidal situations, which resulted in no one getting six races inside the top ten. The wind was once again light to medium but, with a long sail out, it was still a tough weekend.
Race 4 was initially led by Arthur Farley, before he was chased down and overtaken by Emmett on the first downwind. Farley then chose the wrong gate at the bottom, allowing Arthur Fry and Stephanie Wingeatt into second and third respectively. With Snellgrove and Elvin out of the top ten, everything now opened up again.
Snellgrove had other plans and immediately came back with a win in Race 5 after starting well down the line at the favoured pin end, whereas the majority of the fleet, including Elvin and Emmett to their detriment, chose the up-tide Committee Boat end. So, as Snellgrove did a horizon job, the fleet had their work cut out to get back in the race. Matilda Nicholls (please check out her Facebook interview) showed that she had her head firmly screwed on and why she had so much success last year, to take second, with young Dickson, who took no less than four top-five results over the weekend, coming in third.
After a great start, Nicholls was, once again, in the driving seat in the final race, but Emmett just got the better of her by the windward mark to grab a win. However, Elvin and Dickinson were on the charge to take second and third respectively, but the fight for the event was happening further back with Snellgrove pulling though to fifth. It was enough to, once again, win on a tie break, counting 1, 1, 2, 5, 6 to Emmett's 1, 1, 3, 5, 5. What a way to end the series!
The next set of Qualifiers begins in Autumn 2019 and will decide the places for sailors at the World Championships in the Olympic year. Watch this space.
Radial Results: (top three)
1st Hannah Snellgrove (15pts)
2nd Jon Emmett (15pts)
3rd Ben Elvin (31pts)
Full results here