Laser South Coast Grand Prix at Dell Quay Sailing Club
by Liz Sagues 17 Jul 2007 08:11 BST
15 July 2007
The standard fleet on the reach during the Dell Quay Laser open © Charlotte Dawber
It was almost four seasons in one day at Dell Quay, with the wind ranging from force 5 gusts to calms and varying almost as much in direction, and with a violent thunder shower a chilly interruption to the sunshine.
The South Coast Grand Prix series event, rescheduled from April due to water contamination, drew competitors from eight clubs, but full-rig winner was not even on the entry list as the first of the three races started.
Mark Powell sailed up from his home club, Hayling Island SC, arriving at the committee boat just after the gun. Unperturbed, he passed his entry fee to the race team and started well over a minute behind his rivals. But by the finish line he had overhauled all but two – and he went on to win races two and three by a healthy margin.
Given Powell’s third place in race one, the full-rig result depended on the final race, its start delayed by course resetting caused by a shifting wind. First race winner Alex Ekstrom (Bowmoor SC) and Ian Morgan (Weston SC), with two seconds, were rivalling Powell for top place. But Ekstrom had to be content with second, in both the race and overall, and Morgan with third.
In the slightly smaller Radial and 4.7 fleets, winners were decided earlier, with Kerry Tucker (Weston SC) and Josh Irons (Spinnaker) each unbeatable after winning the first two races.
Overall Results:
Full-rigs:
1. Mark Powell (Hayling Island SC) 2pts
2. Alex Ekstrom (Bowmore SC) 3pts
3. Ian Morgan (Weston SC) 4pts
4. Matt Reid (Spinnaker C) 7pts
Radials:
1. Kerry Tucker (Weston SC) 2pts
2. Chris Jones (Sutton Bingham SC) 3pts
3. Chris West (DQSC) 6pts
4.7s:
1. Josh Irons (Spinnaker C) 2pts
2. Simon Bell (DQSC) 3pts