Police Sport UK Laser and Dinghy Nationals at Rutland Sailing Club
by Brendan McGrath 23 Sep 2012 06:58 BST
19-21 September 2012
Laser Day (September 19)
Thirteen sailors from seven forces took part in the annual Police Laser National Competition, hosted by Leicestershire Police at Rutland Water on September 19.
All three races (two to count) were sailed in strong conditions on lengthy courses. This allowed competitors to test their skills and their boats to the full, resulting in several capsizes and some very tired participants.
The biggest shock of the day was that defending champion Simon Hawkes (Avon and Somerset) finished last. He was disqualified from the first race for being over the line at the start. He then suffered equipment failure in the second race, making competing in the final race a pointless exercise.
However, later in the day he was given a certificate of excellence from Police Sport UK in recognition of his contribution to the sport over three decades.
Paul Heath (Greater Manchester Police) won the first two races, thereby securing the title. He also decided not to take part in the final race of the day.
Second place overall went to Nick Mason (Metropolitan Police Service) who won that final race, and came second in each of the earlier races.
Third was Ash Johnston (Lancashire) with two third places.
The organisers are considering extending the day to non-Laser single handed boats from next year, when West Midlands Police will be hosts.
National Dinghy Championships (September 20 and 21)
The legacy of the Olympics is being blamed for a relatively low turnout for the Police Sport UK National Dinghy Championships this year.
Most officers and police staff in the country were subject to restrictions on the amount of leave they could take during the build-up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. As those restrictions lifted, it seems many put family time on the beach ahead of a few days away with sailing colleagues.
So 20 boats took part in the five race series (four to count), compared with 35 the previous year. The event was hosted for the second successive year by Leicestershire Police at Rutland Water, assisted by the Metropolitan Police Service who provided some of the safety boat cover.
It attracted a wide range of craft, ranging from an Enterprise to an Osprey. Organisers decided to retire the trophy for the highest placed GP14 as there had been no entries of GP14s for several years.
Conditions on the first day were strong, although there were only two retirements.
On the second day the problem with the wind was working out which direction it was coming from. However, the beauty of sailing on an enormous stretch of water such as Rutland is that if conditions in one part of the lake are less than ideal you can move to another, which is exactly what happened for the final race of the series.
The overall winner was Frances Gifford and Pete Walker (Metropolitan Police Service) in a Merlin Rocket. They were first three times, and second twice.
They just edged out Nick Mason (Metropolitan Police Service) and Simon Hawkes (Avon and Somerset) in an Osprey, who had two first places and three second places.
Next was Geoff Norman (Nottinghamshire) in a Contender, followed by Tony Hyland (Metropolitan Police Service) in a Laser.
Sean Moore was the highest place entrant from the host force (eighth overall), as he had been in the Laser Championship held earlier in the week (seventh out of 13).
Participants, organisers and volunteers also raised £122 for the Jubilee Sailing Trust in a raffle held during the main social evening of the event.