Laserfest 2026 at Whitstable Yacht Club
by Steve Gray 29 Jun 18:50 BST
27-28 June 2026
Race 6 during Laserfest 2026 at Whitstable Yacht Club © Eyesky
WYC's annual festival of Laser/ILCA racing took place over the weekend June 27/28 - the objective being to activate as many as possible of the 80+ Lasers stored on the beach and invite friends from other clubs to join the fun.
The forecast was good, bright and sunny all weekend with light winds on Saturday and a stronger breeze on Sunday to encourage the reluctant. In fact, there was next to no breeze when folk arrived on Saturday morning but a moderate north easterly developed throughout the day that gave great racing for the 34 boats entered.
The race format for Laserfest is 5 sprint races each day with a quick turnround between races to give the fleet ample time to enjoy the social side which involved taking advantage of the well-stocked WYC bar, a live band and watching the England game.
It quickly became apparent that last year's winner, young gun Harry Newton had a job on his hands to retain the title when multiple National Youth Champion Chris Marsh borrowed a boat for the weekend.
The first race went to Chris with Harry 2nd followed by Vojta Nemec and Marc Dumas. Harry took race two from Chris with Nick Stephens 3rd and Niall Martin 4th to keep up the international theme!
The tide was ebbing strongly at the start of race three with four victims of the black flagged 2nd start, including Chris Marsh. Harry took the win from Niall with Mark Holweger in 3rd. Harry also took race four from Chris Marsh 2nd, Niall 3rd and Mark 4th. The fifth and final Saturday race saw more breeze, a black flag for Harry and a comfortable win for Chris with Niall 2nd and Marc Dumas in 3rd.
Following an excellent evening the sailors arrived to find a strong westerly breeze that varied between 16-25 knots through the day. A few opted to change down rigs and there were some additional entrants to try their luck against Harry and Chris. Laserfest rules allow for a discard once six races are completed and two discards if eight or more, so results could depend on how many races the excellent RO Tom Bruton to get away.
Race six saw consistent 20+ knot breeze which cleared a few heads! Harry went for a port end start but decided he was OCS, returned then set off after the fleet. The run was always going to be tricky with Chris Marsh leading Harry whose flamboyant style ended in a sequence of capsizes as he tried to chase Chris down. Mark Holweger sailed steadily to take 2nd with ex WYC chief sailing instructor Ruth Oliver 3rd in her radial.
Special mention must go to Mike Hanson, no stranger to a capsize himself, who assisted the recovery of a fellow competitor between races, putting himself out of race seven, eventually swapping boats and finishing race eight in the borrowed boat!
Race seven saw Harry on a charge taking a very narrow win from Chris to keep his series hopes alive - Niall was a good 3rd with the radial of George Massingham 4th who arrived late having passed his driving test earlier that morning.
Race eight saw a dual between Chris and Harry with Chris leading off the line and covering throughout to take the win - Nick Stephens was 3rd with youngster Charlie Weatheritt 4th in his ILCA4.
Having completed eight races and triggered the second discard, the race team decided to call it a day and let the tired sailors head back to shore - there were no complaints!
Overall, Chris and Harry finished with equal points, the tie decided on the last race in favour of Chris Marsh. Niall Martin finished 3rd, Mark Howleger 4th and Nick Stephens 5th. The leading radial was Andy Guerin with Erith Yacht Club visitor John Cant 2nd. Ruth Oliver was first lady and Jack Taylor from WYC first youth.
The weekend saw some great conditions for Laser/ILCA racing with the fleet enjoying the short windward/leeward race format. The racing was managed efficiently by Tom Bruton and his committee boat and safety boat teams who worked hard, particularly during the windy races on Sunday.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Type | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 195226 | LASER | Christopher Marsh | 1 | ‑2 | (DSQ) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 202316 | LASER | Harry Newton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (DSQ) | ‑12 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 196558 | LASER | Niall Martin | ‑6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑9 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
| 4 | 213962 | LASER | Mark Holweger | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ‑7 | ‑7 | 24 |
| 5 | 204548 | LASER | Nick Stephens | ‑7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | ‑8 | 3 | 24 |
| 6 | 192493 | LASER | Vojta Nemec | 3 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | (DNC) | 6 | ‑14 | 41 |
| 7 | 217828 | LASER | Mike Hanson | 10 | ‑12 | ‑15 | 6 | 6 | 7 | RDG | 9 | 47.3 |
| 8 | 191114 | LASER | Marc Dumas | 4 | 7 | 9 | ‑17 | 3 | 17 | ‑20 | 11 | 51 |
| 9 | 216730 | LASER | Paul Kelly | ‑12 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 12 | ‑15 | 52 |
| 10 | 198210 | LASER RADI | Andrew Guerin | 8 | 10 | ‑11 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | ‑17 | 54 |
| 11 | 164918 | LASER RADI | John Cant | 9 | ‑15 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 11 | ‑15 | 12 | 61 |
| 12 | 154760 | LASER | Ruth Oliver | 15 | 18 | 12 | (DNC) | (DNC) | 3 | 10 | 10 | 68 |
| 13 | 204653 | LASER RADI | jack Taylor | 13 | 16 | (DSQ) | 14 | 13 | (RET) | 5 | 8 | 69 |
| 14 | 217418 | LASER | Andrew Provan | ‑19 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 10 | ‑16 | 16 | 69 |
| 15 | 188353 | LASER | Matt Crockatt | 20 | 13 | (DSQ) | 9 | (DSQ) | 18 | 13 | 18 | 91 |
| 16 | 138164 | LASER RADI | Matthew WIlliams | 17 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 107 |
| 17 | 224547 | LASER RADI | George Massingham | 11 | 11 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 4 | 13 | 109 |
| 18 | 964419 | LASER RADI | John Gibbons | 23 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 19 | (DNC) | (DNC) | 109 |
| 19 | 224759 | LASER 4.7 | Charlie Weatheritt | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 6 | 9 | 4 | 124 |
| 20 | 152668 | LASER | Ian Dorsett | 16 | 19 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 16 | 18 | 20 | 124 |
| 21 | 204549 | LASER RADI | Tony Clements | 22 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 16 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 132 |
| 22 | 83R | LASER RADI | Dominic Wade | 24 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 17 | (RET) | (DNC) | DNC | 138 |
| 23 | 177578 | LASER RADI | Finn Crockatt | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 14 | 14 | 6 | 139 |
| 24 | 208514 | LASER RADI | Georgios Rafeletos | 26 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 15 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 139 |
| 25 | 19B | LASER | Tim Bentham | 21 | 21 | 10 | 22 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 144 |
| 26 | 130733 | LASER | Bevis Field | (DNC) | (DNC) | 4 | 7 | DSQ | DNC | DNC | DNC | 151 |
| 27 | 174574 | LASER RADI | John Phelan | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 15 | 19 | 19 | 158 |
| 28 | 192813 | LASER | David Liddicoat | 18 | 17 | (DSQ) | 21 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 161 |
| 29 | 161817 | LASER RADI | James Martin | 14 | (DNC) | 16 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 170 |
| 30 | 138296 | LASER | Anthony Middleton | 25 | 25 | 20 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 175 |
| 31 | 183125 | LASER | Edmund Wilson | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | RET | 17 | 21 | 178 |
| 32 | 217717 | LASER RADI | Ali Nicholson | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 13 | DNC | DNC | 188 |
| 33 | 123897 | LASER | Adam Freeman | 27 | (DSQ) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 202 |
| 34 | 212015 | LASER | Christian Brewer | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | RET | DNC | DNC | 210 |
