Laser II Open at at Lancing Sailing Club
by Mike Croker 11 Jul 2006 07:26 BST
8-9 July 2006
The windy 2006 open meeting circuit continues for the Laser 2s at Lancing © Tony White
This year's string of windy Laser II Open Meetings continued at Lancing for the Southern Championships, part of Lancing’s Summer Regatta. Eleven boats enjoyed 2 pleasant races in a sunny SW4 on Saturday, but Sunday's onshore F5-6, occ.7 proved too challenging and racing was abandoned at lunchtime (this turned out to be a good call as the wind increased by 4 - 5kt in the afternoon). The RO's decision was aided by a local hero's (?) attempt at sailing his Topper (at least 3 assisted attempts before he could launch through the waves) - which soon pitch-poled...
And the Laser II racing? Nigel Skudder and Keith Hills confirmed their current form with 2 straight wins. Behind them, Terry Palmer and Caroline Cooper diced with Lancing’s Chris Foster and Jane Brown in Race 1, whereas in Race 2 it was Patrick and Virginia Bird who troubled, and eventually bested, Palmer and Cooper, with Lancing’s Roger Jamieson and Kate Fitzsimmons in 4th place. This was obviously thirsty work, as the beer nearly ran out towards the end of the evening’s excellent barbecue – but the Bar Manager was happy!
And so to the European Championships at Teignmouth, starting on 12th August – be there!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 10588 | Nigel Skudder | Keith Hills | Starcross YC | 2 |
| 2nd | 10331 | Terry Palmer | Caroline Cooper | Upper Thames SC | 5 |
| 3rd | 10057 | Patrick Bird | Virginia Bird | Oxford & Cambridge SS | 6 |
| 4th | 10594 | Chris Foster | Jane Brown | Lancing SC | 8 |
| 5th | 10330 | Roger Jamieson | Kate Fitzsimmons | Lancing SC | 10 |