Sailing Chandlery Laser Thames Valley Grand Prix at Fishers Green Sailing Club

by Nick Pighills 19 Jul 2019 14:40 BST 13 July 2019

Fishers Green SC hosted 13 boats as part of the Laser Sailing Chandlery Thames Valley Grand Prix series on Saturday 13 July.

After bacon rolls and boat rigging, Commodore Kevin O'Brien welcomed the visitors and Race Officer Godfrey Clark set out the plan for the day: three, or four if we preferred, races with a break after two for lunch (a delicious curry - chicken or veggie). The Race Officer explained the lake's topography: in short, the club side was shallow and full of weed, but the deeper far side offered much better options.

Pleasantries out of the way, the boats - all bar one - headed off through the shrubbery. That left George Lane enterprisingly crossing the lake with his trolley on board having sailed down river from Broxbourne SC! He saved a few pounds on fuel, but I'm not sure how he did the return journey.

Out on the water, the wind was a light but sailable 8 knot north-easterly, and Race Officer Godfrey Clark did an admiral job setting a compact but competitive course while avoiding pretty much all the weed. The racing was close and friendly through the fleet - some sail numbers were even closer, making keep track of things a bit of a challenge!

In the end, Garry Bullock from Maidenhead SC took the honours with three firsts (discarding a second). Full results below. Many thanks from Fishers Green to the visitors. And to the race officer, safety team, galley crew, and others at the Green who make the club a friendly spot to visit.

Overall Results:

Pos	Rig	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	Standard	209998	Garry Bullock	Maidenhead	1	‑2	1	1	3
2nd	Radial	157710	George Lane	Broxbourne SC	‑4	1	2	4	7
3rd	Standard	181358	Adam Meekings	Maidenhead	3	‑4	3	2	8
4th	Standard	210357	Robert Blois	Maidenhead	2	3	‑8	6	11
5th	Standard	210356	Chris Nash	Maidenhead	‑6	5	4	5	14
6th	Standard	160347	Andrew Hillsmith		(DSQ)	7	5	3	15
7th	Standard	210139	Peter Edel	King George SC	5	6	‑9	7	18
8th	Radial	206466	Edward Brown	Broxbourne SC	‑8	8	6	8	22
9th	Radial	166388	Matteo Mancini	Fishers Green	7	‑9	7	9	23
10th	Standard	177447	David Hayden	Greenwich YC	10	10	‑11	10	30
11th	Standard	149316	Jeremy Clayden	Fishers Green	9	‑12	12	11	32
12th	Radial	210220	Claudia Mancini	Fishers Green	11	13	10	(DNS)	34
13th	Standard	164442	Nick Pighills	Fishers Green	12	11	(DNC)	DNC	37

Remaining events in the series:

31st August - Welsh Harp SC
14th September - Frensham Pond SC
21st September - Datchet Water SC
28th September - London Corinthian SC
12th October - Burghfield SC