Laser South Coast Grand Prix at Dell Quay Sailing Club
by Liz Sagues 12 Apr 2005 09:17 BST
9 April 2005
The Laser Radial start at the Dell Quay South Coast Laser Grand Prix © Terry Williams
Dell Quay SC hosted the first meeting in the 2005 Laser South Coast Grand Prix series, and welcomed 33 entrants from 17 clubs.
The shifty and blustery west-north-westerly was a race officer's nightmare, the worst direction for course setting between the points and shallows of the upper reaches of Chichester Harbour.
The chosen figure-of-eight course gave beats and reaches taxing enough to exhaust even the fittest.
Racing was close in all three fleets, with Ian Morgan (Weston SC), Mac Courts (Stokes Bay SC) and Chris Rattray (Weston SC) contesting the full-rig lead in race one. But Rattray had to do penalty turns and then capsized, allowing Dell Quay's Malcolm Buchanan into third place, while Courts passed Morgan for victory.
Behind, the Radials and 4.7s raced together and David Carter (St Catherine's SC) proved his journey from Jersey was worthwhile. Despite a capsize, he led the Radials home, ahead of club-mate Martin Speller and Alison Stratford (Frensham Pond SC), while Edward Morris (Spinnaker Club) headed 4.7 rival Nick Redding (Oxford SC).
A squall blew through the second full-rig start, capsizing some competitors and forcing others into irons as they avoided upturned hulls. Richard Horn (Weston SC) sailed away into the distance, finishing more than 90 seconds ahead of Morgan, with Courts third.
In both the Radials and 4.7s, the race one first and second positions were reversed, while Karen Littlejohn (Lancing SC) was third-placed Radial.
So there was all to sail for in each fleet in the final race, and in the full rigs the finish could not have been closer. Morgan steadily eroded Rattray's lead, but missed first place - and overall victory - by an inch. Under the three-way tie-break, Courts emerged as winner, with Horn second and Morgan third. Rattray, a point behind, took fourth.
In the Radials, Stratford overhauled both Carter and James Anderson (Spinnaker Club) to win race three, and take third overall behind Carter and Speller, while a second victory for Redding gave him the 4.7 prize.
Overall Results:
Standard Rig:
1. Mac Courts (Stokes Bay SC) 4pts
2. Richard Horn (Weston SC) 4pts
3. Ian Morgan (Weston SC) 4pts
4. Chris Rattray (Weston SC) 5pts
5. Malcolm Buchanan (Dell Quay SC) 9pts
6. Peter May (Spinnaker Club) 10pts
Radial Rig:
1. David Carter (St Catherine's SC) 3pts
2. Martin Speller (St Catherine's SC) 3pts
3. Alison Stratford (Frensham Pond SC), 4pts
4. James Anderson (Spinnaker Club) 7pts
4.7 Rig:
1. Nick Redding (Oxford SC) 2pts
2. Edward Morris (Spinnaker Club) 3pts