Laser Open at Dell Quay Sailing Club
by Patrick Johnston 2 May 2006 12:51 BST
30 April 2006
Action from the Dell Quay Laser open © Patrick Johnston
The outcome of Dell Quay Sailing Club's Laser Open Meeting on April 30 was in doubt until the finish of the last of the three races.
The race officer's nightmare, a 180 degree windshift, meant a course redesign was needed before the first start, and more shifts caused more changes as the day continued. But there was competitive racing in the force 2-3, with separate starts for the 19 full rigs and 14 Radials/4.7s, from 14 clubs.
In race one, as in the following two, the more experienced full rig fleet got away cleanly, and Steve Cockerill (Stokes Bay SC) sailed into a commanding lead. Edward Morris (Spinnaker Club) and Ian Morgan (Weston SC) were a close second and third respectively. On the upwind leg passing through the gates proved troublesome to even the best sailors with disqualifications eating into valuable discards. The Chichester harbour weed was an additional challenge for the competitors.
Racing was much closer at the front in race two, with Matthew Read (Spinnaker Club) beating Malcolm Courts (Stokes Bay SC) and Morris, Cockerill having been disqualified. An ebbing tide made for a challenging third race. Cockerill headed the full rigs to take his tally to two firsts, with James Fifield (Emsworth Slipper SC) second and Read third.
So overall victory went to Cockerill, with Read second, Morris third, Courts fourth and Morgan fifth. Best placed Dell Quay full rig was Bill Dawber in seventh place, narrowly beating fellow club member Malcolm Buchanan. Overall Radial winner was Kerry Tucker (Weston SC) with a first and a second. She narrowly beat Ralph Bonfield (Weston SC), who had a first and third, followed by Matt Hill (Frensham Pond SC) and Peter Lord (Rickmansworth SC). Best-placed Dell Quay Radial was Helen Penfold. Michael Clark (Warsash SC) took all three 4.7 firsts with clubmate Ben Platten second.