Laser 2 Nationals at Felpham Sailing Club

Mike & Diana Croker win the Laser 2 nationals at Felpham © Roger Belton

Felpham Sailing Club hosted this year’s Laser 2 Nationals, held in conjunction with the OK class 50th Anniversary Nationals. For a change the weather decided to buck recent trends and gave the competitors a range of mainly light winds.

The first two races were held in a shifty offshore force 2, which kept competitors on their toes. Felpham sailors Mark and Izzy Ponsford used their local knowledge to rapidly open out a 100 yard lead, which was squandered in a misunderstanding about the course configuration. This let Nigel Skudder & Keith Hills (Starcross), Mike & Diana Croker (Lancing) and Jude Baird & Fred Fuller (Loch Ryan) through to contest the lead, with Skudder/Hills eventually coming out on top. The Crokers had obviously been watching the Ponsfords, and led Race 2 from start to finish from Skudder/Hills, the main challenges coming from threading a way through the OK fleet, which had several general recalls, and various pot bouy lines near the leeward mark.

Bright sunshine on Saturday morning gave a SW sea breeze, which increased slowly during the first 2 races. In the first, Baird/Fuller contested the lead with the Ponsfords, just keeping the Crokers in 3rd place. The stronger breeze suited the Crokers better in Race 4, who picked up a right side wind shift on the first beat, and they led from start to finish, despite a strong challenge from Gary and Jackie Kinch (Pevensey Bay): Skudder/Hills also appreciated the stronger breeze to finish in 3rd place. The breeze started to fade during Race 5, the Ponsfords again got away from the chasing fleet, which was led by Baird/Fuller; the Kinch’s again putting in a solid performance to finish in 3rd place.

Going into the final day, several teams were still in the running. A sunny morning for Race 6 with a light offshore wind threatened a sea breeze, the onset of which caused consternation throughout the fleet, especially in conjunction with the appearance of of the OK fleet at the leeward mark. Early leaders Skudder/Hills and Baird/Fuller both sailed into one of the larger ‘holes’, allowing Iain & Imogen Carpenter (Northampton), and Tim & Sally Cutsforth (Felpham) to sail around the left side and into the lead.

The fleet then waited for 90 minutes while the sea breeze established itself. Skudder/Hills made a belated bid to retain their National Champions title, and stormed into an early lead.

Mercifully the OK fleet had a serious of general recalls and an abandoned start (when the Laser 2 fleet rounded the leeward mark just in front of the OK start line): the Race Officer then gave up! This left the Laser 2 fleet to cope in a rapidly decreasing breeze, Skudder/Hills finishing1st ahead of the Ponsfords, with the Crokers in 3rd place, just ahead of the Cutsforths.

This gave the Crokers the Championship, which was the most tightly contested for several years, the title being decided on a tie-break count-back to most thirds.

Overall Results: