Laser South East Grand Prix at Bough Beech Sailing Club
by Darren Steele 4 Apr 2006 15:10 BST
1 April 2006
40 Lasers attend the first event of the South East Grand Prix circuit at Bough Beech © Ian Heijne
Bough Beech Sailing Club welcomed 40 Lasers to the first event of the South East Grand Prix circuit. Also welcoming the fleet was a Force 5 westerly breeze, promising a good physical session.
Race Officer, Ian Heijne, made tremendous use of the full reservoir, setting a “figure-of-eight” shaped course for the first two races. For those who had not sailed over the winter, it had the unplanned benefit of having no forced gybes. The wind conditions however ensured an interesting dead run, with a few capsizes adding to the action.
The well deserved lunch break allowed the wind to switch to a south-westerly direction, pre-empting a change of course. Two afternoon races comprised a gruelling beat up the length of the lake, followed by three screaming reaches (with a gybe mark in front of the club house for good entertainment value).
Both morning races saw Peter Young of Weir Wood leading the Standard fleet of 22 boats to the finish line. Peter went on to beat the strong competition of David Binding and Sergio Messina, eventually discarding a second place to take overall honours.
Fifteen Laser Radials were dominated by Nicholas Tienen of Stokes Bay, winning all but the first race. Thomas Wright (BBSC) and John Bradley (Bewl Valley) took second and third places respectively, followed by the first lady and youth, Chloe Martin (BBSC).
Three Laser 4.7’s also competed, with Daniel Alldis of BBSC taking line honours in three races, and overall victory.