SailingFast Laser 4.7 open meeting at Datchet Water Sailing Club

by Gary Finkelstein 21 Jan 2020 10:45 GMT 18-19 January 2020

SailingFast Laser 4.7 Open at Datchet Water © Keith Videlo

A fleet of 26 Laser 4.7s launched shortly before noon on Saturday 18th, in a reasonably steady sub 10 knots of wind, but with the odd gust topping 10 knots. A lovely brisk and sunny day; in the absence of tide, it was felt that it was better to get the boats on the water and try and get some races in, as the ripple seemed to be dissipating and the forecast for Sunday was even lighter wind.

The winds fortunately strengthened slightly as the day progressed, although there were some shifts as the temperatures dropped at the same time. Thanks to the experienced judgement of race officer Paul Jackson, the U-flag was used actively, and we managed to get four races in just before dark started to fall at 4pm.

The leaderboard changed hands as much as four times during the day, with Oliver Allen-Wilcox topping the table after the first race, Max Steele after the second, Jack Graham-Troll after the third, and Keijiro Kikkawa after the fourth. In the girls' fleet, Emily Elms was consistently at the top of the board except for the first race which went to Honor Proctor.

Sunday brought in even lighter winds, as predicted, and the decision was made to get the boats on the water as quickly as possible in case the winds did not hold out. Again, excellent judgement from the race officer, as he was able to steward two races by noon, at which point the wind all but died. However, it meant that we managed to achieve a full set of the six targeted races for the regatta.

In the boys' fleet, the leader board again changed hands, with the regatta being won in the end by Oliver Allen-Wilcox, with Keijiro Kikkawa in second and Jack Graham-Troll in third. The positioning in the Under 16 category was Jack Graham-Troll in first, Max Steele in second, and Tim Evans in third.

In the girls' fleet, Emily Elms won both the U16 category as well as the overall regatta, ahead of Dru Townsend and Honor Proctor in the U16, and ahead of Alice Snook and Dru Townsend overall.

A special thanks must go to Paul Jackson (Race officer) and the Laser 4.7 parents for running the event. Also, to SailingFast chandlery for sponsoring the event and providing the prizes.

The final results were as follows:

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	183117	Oliver ALLEN‑WILCOX	Chew Valley Lake SC	1	4	12	5	1	2	13
2	201699	Keijiro KIKKAWA	Stokes Bay SC	2	3	10	2	3	5	15
3	214007	Jack GRAHAM‑TROLL	GWSC	4	7	2	3	4	8	20
4	216648	Maximilian STEELE	WSC	3	1	11	10	6	7	27
5	212572	Emily ELMS	Chew Valley Lake SC	12	8	7	7	2	4	28
6	215835	Tim EVANS	Grafham Water SC	9	9	6	4	10	1	29
7	203084	Freddie HOWARTH	Parkstone YC	13	13	3	1	16	6	36
8	191330	Luke ANSTEY	Frensham Pond SC	5	5	4	8	DNC	DNC	49
9	21116	Josh LYTTLE	Datchet	11	2	13	9	22	15	50
10	213084	Alice SNOOK	HISC	8	OCS	5	13	12	12	50
11	173611	Oliver WOODLEY	GWSC	14	14	9	16	11	3	51
12	215414	Thomas WILLIAMSON	Weir Wood SC	19	18	24	6	8	13	64
13	211013	James CURTIS	Bosham	7	OCS	14	20	23	10	74
14	197361	Ben OSBORNE	Maidenhead SC	23	16	15	19	13	11	74
15	201587	Sam DICKINSON	HISC	15	11	1	22	DNC	DNC	76
16	176779	Findlay BIGNOLD‑KYLES	RLymYC	17	OCS	8	23	19	9	76
17	208325	Dru TOWNSEND	Portishead	16	12	19	17	14	17	76
18	190996	Honor PROCTER	Cardiff BYC	6	17	16	24	18	20	77
19	212008	Samantha EDWARDS	Papercourt	18	OCS	25	14	5	16	78
20	188461	James BARRETT	Burghfield sc	20	6	20	12	20	23	78
21	209425	Carys ATTWELL	Rutland SC	24	DPI	18	11	7	22	81
22	180712	Freddie JONES	HISC	25	19	17	18	9	19	82
23	165295	James KNIGHT	Draycote Water SC	10	10	23	15	DNC	DNC	85
24	170435	Ethan CHESHIRE	Draycote Water SC	21	21	22	21	17	21	101
25	214960	Lucy DAVIS	Royal Southern YC	22	OCS	26	25	15	14	102
26	215283	Millie LEWIS	Medway YC	26	20	21	26	21	18	106