Laser 4000 & Laser 5000 UK Series at Southwold Sailing Club
by Jeremy Taylor 15 Jun 2005 09:23 BST
11-12 June 2005
Action from the Laser 4000 and 5000 UK Series at Southwold © Southwold SC
Laser 4000 and 5000 UK Series at Southwold.
Southwold Sailing Club hosted the Laser 4000 and 5000 fleets over the weekend of 11th/12th of June for round 4 of their UK series.
Many of the crews arrived at the club on Friday evening, pleased to find the bar still open and a pot of Chilli on the stove. In total there were 29 Laser 4000’s and 3 Laser 5000’s taking part.
The first race on Saturday started promptly at midday, with the windward leeward course set in the Walberswick Bight. First away was the Laser 5000 fleet, with Class Chairman Iain Lewis crewed by brother Matt leading the way round from Southwold locals Mark Nowell and James Farman in Persimmon Homes and Dirk Bougard and Jeremy Taylor.
The Lewis brothers stretched out a sizeable lead by the finish, only to discover they had been judged OCS and handing the win to Nowell/Farman.
The laser 4000’s started 5 minutes behind the 5000’s and were led round by Andy Palmer-Felgate and Jon Modral, with John Reynolds and Fran Howell 2nd and Hugh Watson and Susanna Bickford 3rd.
The second laser 5000 race was a local affair, with Bougard/Taylor leading off the line and taking a big lead by the windward mark, they were chased down by Nowell/Farman who snatched the lead on the second lap, before surrendering it on the final beat to give Bougard/Taylor their first victory in the Class.
In the Laser 4000 fleet, Watson/Bickford began to stamp their authority on the event winning from Tom Glanfield and Kevin Barnard, with Paul Robertson and Fraser Hayden 3rd.
Racing was stopped for the day to allow the fleet to get back into the river before the strong ebb tide began, so the rest of the afternoon was taken up with exploring the town, playing ultimate Frisbee or sampling the local brew Adnams!
Racing on Sunday started promptly at 10 am in order to fit in the remaining 4 races, this surprised the majority of the fleet who were still sailing out of the river. Luckily for them the race was subsequently abandoned as the committee boat broke its mooring and drifted off station.
After a short delay racing resumed in the Walberswick Bight and the remaining 3 races were held.
In the Laser 5000s the Lewis Brothers took two 1st places and a 2nd to secure victory, with Nowell/Bougard taking a win and 2nd place, Bougard/Taylor were 3rd.
The Laser 4000s Watson/Bickford won again from Glanfield/Barnard. Reynolds/Howell took another 3rd.
In Race 4 Chris Gould and Jo Morris won ahead of Reynolds/Howell, with Watson/Bickford taking a 3rd place and securing the overall win.
The final race saw gusts of over 25 knots and many of the 4000 fleet capsized on the line as the 5000’s came back downwind to pass through the gate and found nowhere to go. The race was won by Glanfield/Barnard, with Robertson/Hayden 2nd and Huw Powell and Paul Eden 3rd.
Southwold Commodore Greg Brown presented the prizes and thanked the sailors for making the long trek to the East Coast, he also thanked the Race Officer Ian Johnson and his team, the rescue boat crews, catering team, bar staff and all those involved in making the event happen.
The club now look forward to hosting the Fastsail fleets for their East Coast Open in 2 weeks time (25th/26th June). With entries expected to top 25+ this should be another excellent event.
This weekend the club holds the first passage race of the season, with Dinghies and Cruisers racing to the Barnard buoy off Pakefield and back.
For more details, results and photos see the clubs website, www.southwoldsailing.co.uk
Overall Results:
Laser 4000:
1st Hugh Waston & Susanna Bickford (Stokes Bay)
2nd Tom Glanfield & Kevin Barnard (Exe SC)
3rd John Rynolds & Fran Howell (Grafham Water SC)
4th Paul Robertson & Fraser Hayden (Datchet Water SC)
5th Chris Gould & Jo Morris (Island Barn Resevoir)
Laser 5000:
1st Iain & Matt Lewis (RYA)
2nd Mark Nowell & James Farman (Southwold SC)
3rd Dirk Bougard & Jeremy Taylor (Southwold SC)