Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

RC Laser Northern Summer Series Round 8 at Fleetwood Model Yacht Club

by Tony Wilson 9 Oct 2017 07:48 BST 8 October 2017

The wind was 12mph from the West North West, which is good for Fleetwood. It then should be straight down the lake enabling us to start near the hut.

On arrival it looked like it was going to be a busy day. The car park was starting to fill up and there was even the sight of the odd camper van. Peter Isles was well underway with the row boat and strategically placing buoys around the lake for the best usage of the wind direction.

After registering for this double bonanza bumper day, most skippers were debating whether to use A or B rigs as it looked bang in-between. One or two were trying out both. The problem being either not having enough horse power or with the bigger sail causing the boat to heel too much. The consensus in the end, after a half an hour of fiddling, had all boats using the big suit.

Trevor set a course that would allow for a large triangle followed by sausage and finish on a run towards the clubhouse and, for a large fleet of 16 skippers that had entered for the day, a long nice stretched out start line was used.

To have so many boats nicely lined up at the beginning of each race is a great sight, and it just goes to show that the RC Laser seems to be coming back into fashion.

Unlike other classes, where it could take you a while to change rigs, the RC Laser has the simplicity of just lifting the mast out and unclipping one hook - it's as easy as that.

The first race was sent underway and there was no longer any doubt as to which was the correct rig was to be sailing with. The wind started to ease until everyone was just drifting near the top windward mark. Were we ever going to finish this, just the first race?

Eventually, after what must have seemed a lifetime with folk starting to think about lunch, everyone finally made it in. John Sharman jumped in the boat this time and brought in a couple of the outer marks towards the centreline. The sand hills were blanking off too much of the wind on the far bank as there was more North in the wind direction than anticipated.

A 'W' shaped course was set for the next couple of races and just one lap to be sailed. Believe it or not, we managed to get in a total of six races before lunch as they were now starting to speed up a touch.

After the break it was back to the original course as the lake had filled in and everywhere was looking to be sailable. There was no doubt as to who the leading guys where, but to who was winning was guesswork. We had a mixture of Fleetwood skippers, a couple from Burwain and the two regulars from Furness. It was also nice to see that we had a couple of newbies to join in for the day and they were certainly coping well.

Another six races were held and a spreader had been included near the finish to separate the boats towards the finish to help Trevor on his sometimes daunting task of recording. Shaun Holbeche was the winner for the day, but who was up for the Northen Series as this was the last event? All had a weed-free day and there was nothing said about any of our resident jellies. The only hint of a smaller sail being used was when Eric Reid had decided to use his B rig for one race half-way through the afternoon. He actually did alright in this race as the wind had got up, then it was back to normal as the wind abated.

The prize giving and a short raffle revealed Dave Fowler to have won the series with a clean 300pts for the best of 3 from eight race days.

Thanks to all that helped out on the day and to those for providing some worthy raffle prizes including bits to help maintain our boats and transmitter muffs to keep our little handies warm in the coming Winter months.

Overall Results: (top three)

Northern District Round 8
1 Shaun Holbeche (Fleetwood) 21pts
2 Rob Wheeler (Blackpool and Fylde) 24pts
3 John Sharman (Burwain) 25pts

Summer Series:
1 Dave Fowler (Blackpool and Fylde)
2 John Sharman (Burwain)
3 Rob Wheeler (Blackpool and Fylde)

For a more in depth breakdown of the scores please visit the Fairhaven website at sites.google.com/site/fairhavenlasers/results

The next RC Laser event is Sunday 15th October at West Lancs with the start of the Link Trophy Series for Autumn/Winter.

Related Articles

Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 9
Where was the wind? Where was the wind? Not a breath for the course setting but for the 10am start there was just enough. Posted on 23 Mar
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 8
Gusty and shifty with a Sail GP type course With wind from the N- NE and 14 - 20kts providing a drag race to the first mark before the long run to a leeward mark, a sausage leg and a reach to the finish. Posted on 16 Mar
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 7
Fog, no wind, postponement but still 10 races Setting up the course was delayed for fog and no wind. Eventually a trickle from the west allowed a triangular course to be set. Posted on 3 Mar
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 6
Big waves and gusty winds up to 35 knots As forecast, we would see winds from the SSW and starting at 15 knots. The direction SSW and with the gusts it felt more like 18-20kts. No question on rig size - the smallest D rig. Posted on 24 Feb
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 4
With no race officier, you need an honesty box Five warmly dressed skippers met at Barton's Point on Sunday morning for week five, another gripping episode in the Medway RC Laser Club winter series. There were several absentees, most notably our RO. Posted on 10 Feb
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 4
More light and shifty winds at Barton's Point Coastal Park For today's racing the wind was very much in the lower numbers. The forecast was for 5 knots and direction SE. No question on rig size - the biggest A rig. Another light wind meeting. Numbers were down with folk away and recovering from the lurgy. Posted on 5 Feb
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 3
Light and shifty at Barton's Point Coastal Park For today's racing the wind was very much in the lower numbers. The forecast was for 5 knots and direction SE. No question on rig size - the biggest A rig. Posted on 20 Jan
RC Lasers at Fleetwood
With a race within a race for the Johnson family The wind was blowing from the clubhouse direction for the ten RC Laser entries. It looked to be a stock 'B' rig all-dayer, but with the light patch at the entry point, a bit of extra sail cloth helps you get through the lulls. Posted on 6 Oct 2024
RC Laser Summer 2 Series at Fleetwood week 2
Two multiple National RC Laser champions lead the battle With a forecast predicting rain for most of the day, we were pleasantly surprised to arrive at the lakeside and still not a drop of rain. A westerly breeze and the few remaining large sails were put aside after practice. Posted on 8 Jul 2024
RC Laser Summer 2 Series at Fleetwood week 1
With the wind forever increasing in strength a couple of 'D' rigs were brought out The showers had just about died out on arrival, to leave us with a nice Blowy Westerly. No need for the big sails today and it was a decider for the next 2 sail sizes, giving us a mix for the first couple of races. Posted on 18 Jun 2024