Laser Qualifier at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy - Standard fleet report

by Jake Farren-Price 25 Oct 2019 19:19 BST 19-20 October 2019

A 34 strong Standard fleet greeted the shores of Portland Harbour early on Saturday for the second Autumn qualifier of the year. We also had some foreign sailors joining us from Ireland and the Netherlands, a really good turnout for one of the most hotly contested competitions of the year. The weather was a lot more forgiving compared to the first day of Sunderland, the first Autumn qualifier, as we saw an air temperature above 15 degrees!

The first race of the series got off after a few general recalls but with a starboard bias line and the leaders coming from the left as they were able to hold their lane and be first onto the left shift sending them straight over the fleet and into the first mark. Micky Beckett played this the best and lead at Mark 1 with Finn Lynch close behind. Beckett managed to hold his comfortable lead around the course controlling the fleet well and after a shifty second beat, Elliot Hanson had managed to climb into second position ahead of Lynch. The order at the top stayed like this till the finish.

The second race of the series was under way after the race officer had pulled the pin end boat much further upwind causing a square to pin bias line. Again the guys who came off the line and managed to hold in comfortable lanes until the big lefty came in were the people loving life by the top mark. Was this a trend we would see throughout the day? As it happened the left side, if played well up the second beat again came through, with people hitching further gaining more of a lift. Nick Thompson played this race the best and came through for the victory with Beckett right on his heels.

The final race of the day and the wind had definitely moved further left throughout the day but was it going to keep swinging as the sun was on its way down now? In short, yes. The wind was more unstable in this race which lead to much more of a mix and a tighter fight by the top mark. Lorenzo Chiavarini managed to break away from the pack and finish the day with a bullet, but it was Micky Beckett with the consistency which meant he was the overnight leader. He finished the day with a 1,2,3.

The Sunday brought a cold northerly breeze to the harbour with grey skies. After a few general recalls the PRO had had enough and the back flag was out. After the next general recall, about 6 were cleared from the start. The standards hadn't learned their lesson though and after the next start even though we got away, another few boats were caught. Duko Bos from the Netherlands executed the best first beat strategy of the boats that were behind the line and lead round the windward mark. He kept this for the rest of the race and got his first bullet of the series. Thompson and Hanson followed respectively.

The penultimate race of the series and the standards were starting to respect the line a little more as no one was called over the line in this race. The leaders at the top mark came from the left to begin with and managed to hold until a hundred meters from the mark where the shift frequency increased and it was anyone's game. By the reach mark the fleet had spread a touch but with the patchy and shifty direction, you could never be happy that no one could catch you. After saving his legs from the first race Chiavarini showed up and made good use of shifts and gusts downwind to take his second bullet of the series, followed by Lynch and Beckett.

The final race of the series and some standards felt the need to push the line again, a couple of black flags down towards the pin end would change the outcome of the race for some. Dan Whiteley after jumping the gun slightly sailed a good first and second beat to be leading at both marks however unfortunately was over leaving the win for Lorenzo Chiavarini. The second beat of this race got very funky and unstable on the second beat with big place changes happening all over the course. Over the whole weekend, consistency was the king in the shifty close racing and Michael Beckett comes out on top with just 11 points to count.

Thank you very much to SailingFast and Noble Marine for supporting these series.

Overall Results:

Pos	Nat	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	GBR	210139	Michael BECKETT	Solva SC	1	2	3	‑6	3	2	11
2	GBR	216159	Lorenzo brando CHIAVARINI	Royal Northern Clyde YC	7	6	1	(BFD)	1	1	16
3	GBR	209134	Elliot HANSON	Redesmere SC	2	4	2	3	6	(DNC)	17
4	GBR	211921	Nick THOMPSON	WPNSA	4	1	5	2	‑7	7	19
5	IRL	210254	Finn LYNCH	National Y Clun	3	7	6	(BFD)	2	5	23
6	IRL	210101	Ewan MCMAHON	Howth YC	6	3	7	(BFD)	5	3	24
7	NED	212650	Duko BOS	RZV	5	5	8	1	‑11	6	25
8	GBR	215411	Joe MULLAN		10	‑12	9	5	9	4	37
9	GBR	216656	Sam WHALEY		9	10	‑17	4	8	9	40
10	GBR	212661	Jake FARREN‑PRICE	Chew Valley Lake Sc	11	11	10	8	‑14	8	48
11	GBR	214490	Daniel WHITELEY	Port Dinorwic / Trearddur Bay / Portishe	8	9	4	(BFD)	4	BFD	60
12	GBR	216065	Krishan BHOGAL	Manor Park SC	17	14	‑21	9	18	12	70
13	GBR	17361	Joe WOODLEY	Burghfield	19	16	15	10	‑24	10	70
14	CAN	213556	Norman STRUTHERS	Royal Canadian YC / Stokes Bay	‑23	13	12	12	19	15	71
15	GBR	215413	Joseph DRAKE	Rn&syc And Wobyc	16	15	14	13	‑22	13	71
16	IRL	210978	Liam GLYNN	Ballyholme YC	12	8	(DNS)	7	10	DNC	72
17	GBR	214004	Ben CHILDERLEY	Rsrnyc	15	‑18	13	14	16	14	72
18	GBR	214100	Jack HOPKINS	HISC	14	23	11	(BFD)	12	18	78
19	GBR	215304	Lewis SMITH	Royal Forth Yacht Club	‑22	22	20	11	21	11	85
20	GBR	211165	Mark LYTTLE	Queen Mary	18	20	19	17	23	(DNC)	97
21	GBR	211126	Ben FLOWER	HISC	TAL	17	16	(BFD)	13	BFD	99
22	GBR	215401	Charlie SOUTH	Stokes Bay SC	20	24	24	(BFD)	15	16	99
23	GBR	214074	James PERCIVAL‑COOKE	Rnsyc Nbyc Royal Hospital School	26	21	18	15	20	(BFD)	100
24	GBR	215272	Christopher JONES	Pwllheli	24	19	‑29	16	27	17	103
25	GBR	208853	Jack ACTON	Christchurch SC	25	‑28	22	18	26	22	113
26	GBR	214610	Tony WOODS	Qmsc / Sbsc	‑27	25	25	21	25	20	116
27	GBR	213590	George GRAHAM	Burwain SC	‑28	27	26	19	28	19	119
28	GBR	213699	Alan DAVIS	Oxford SC	21	26	23	(BFD)	17	BFD	122
29	GBR	209139	Tom BRINDLEY	Redesmere SC	30	31	28	22	‑32	23	134
30	GBR	211324	Rhys JONES	Cardiff YC	‑33	30	31	20	30	24	135
31	GBR	211133	Adam FERMOR	Stokes Bay SC	31	32	(DNS)	23	31	21	138
32	GBR	119856	Jake SCOTT	Dale YC	32	‑33	30	24	33	25	144
33	GBR	101484	Thomas PARKHURST	Beaver SC / Rlmyc	29	29	27	(BFD)	29	DNC	149
34	GBR	212109	Tom RENNY	Fishguard Bay YC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	175