Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series - Day 9
by Jamie Blair 22 Feb 20:52 GMT
22 February 2026
After the cancellation of racing the previous week the prospect of racing Round 9 today was in the balance. The forecasted wind showed W 15 - 20 knots, no rain. For the course set in the rain and with a SW a SailGP option was adopted giving the six sailors the opportunity to practice their time on distance.
A number of OCS with the wind between 12 & 15 knots. All, however, opted for C rig. Waves were big so power over the waves was important.
Jon Moon (84) started the day exceedingly well with four race wins out of the first five races. One of our usual up front racers Jamie Blair (51) was having a terrible start missing marks, penalties and OCS plagued his first five races. A better morning for all the others, especially Mark Penn (03), driving his boat with borrowed batteries to bag a vast number of second places.
An entry from windward at the start did pay off most times. Bob Woodford (76), Roger Gibb (32) and Tony Alexander (04) equally as fast off the start with places changing on all legs of the course. After 5 races Jon led, followed by Mark & Roger.
Whilst the races were only 6-8 minutes it was good to have more starts rather than extend the gap in the fleet. In the period up to the break Jon gathered two further wins. Jamie three wins. The wind increased with gusts up to 24kts making life with a C rig unpredictable, particularly downwind.
At the break Jon was ahead by seven points but as the clouds rolled in it was time to go for the D rig. Jon (who said he was comfortable with the D) and Rony stayed with the C rig. Jon controlled the boat well especially on the downwind leg but the controllability of the D rig shone through. By race 12 even Jon decided the D rig was best.
After the break Jamie came out with more speed and in the six races he scored wins. After race 14 Jamie had taken the lead. For the last two races Mark and Jon were racing to see if they could catch Jamie and race each other foe second overall. Jon with a second and a fourth retained second overall. Jamie retained the first place.
The morning was described as extreme sailing but we did stay dry (just). Great results for Bob and Roger in a number of races with thirds to count and show that they can make it happen even in the worst of the breeze.
The next meet is 1st March. Usual start at 10.00.
Day 9 Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 51 | Jamie Blair | ‑5 | 1 | ‑6 | ‑6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 2nd | 84 | Jon Moon | 1 | ‑5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ‑5 | ‑5 | 2 | 4 | 25 |
| 3rd | 3 | Mark Penny | 2 | ‑3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ‑5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| 4th | 32 | Roger Gibb | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑6 | ‑6 | ‑6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 52 |
| 5th | 4 | Tony Alexander | 3 | ‑6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑5 | 4 | 4 | ‑6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 52 |
| 6th | 76 | Bob Woolford | ‑6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ‑6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ‑6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 63 |