Laser EPS Nationals at Burton Sailing Club
by Simon Bates 11 Sep 2008 12:37 BST
6-7 September 2008
The Laser EPS National championships took place at Burton Sailing Club over the weekend of 6-7 September. The close racing resulted in 4 different race winners in the 6 race series.
Race one was indicative of the main battle to come with Matt Jones (Haversham) winning from Rob Dangerfield (Llangorse) second and John Codner (Whitefriars) third.
Race 2, in blustery conditions, was lead from start to finish by Simon Bates (Dee) with last year's champion Howard Astley-Jones (Milton-Keynes) second.
For race 3, Matt successfully executed a port end start to cross the fleet and was never headed, leaving him leading boat at the half way point.
Race 4 saw Rob take the win to lead the series with Matt scoring a disappointing 5th place.
Race 5 saw Howard take the win with Matt second and Rob third.
This set up a thrilling final race for the title with Rob and Matt tied on equal points. Rob would be champion if he could put one boat between himself and Matt. The race started with Matt crossing on port and soon became a match race between the leading pair. Rob had the advantage upwind with Matt overtaking on the downwind legs. At the finish, Rob took the win with Matt second ensuring that Matt became the 2008 national champion.
Overall Results:
1st Matt Jones (Haversham) 10pts
2nd Rob Dangerfield (Llangorse) 10pts
3rd Howard Astley-Jones (Milton Keynes) 12pts
4th John Codner (Whitefriars) 15pts
5th Simon Bates (Dee) 20pts