Neil Pryde UKLA National and Open Laser Championships

Sponsored by Neil Pryde, Harken UK (Official Hardware Sponsor), Laser Performance and Noble Marine (Association Sponsors)

Mount’s Bay Sailing Club, 1–7 August

Thursday 6 August – Day Five

As predicted by the forecast, the sailor’s awoke today to clearer skies and a much lighter breeze than previous days. The winds stayed much lighter with the breeze ranging from about 8–13knts throughout the day, with the strongest winds in Race 2. After launching, all three fleets sailed out into the bay for a full day of three races.

Line honours in the three races in the Standard fleet today went to Harry Blowers, Jack Wetherell and Martin Evans. With results of the races and discards taken into account, Martin Evans has now secured the Championship with a day to spare. Jack Wetherelll said, ‘Roughly it was a light and tricky first race, I started at the starboard and got some good pressure on the right-hand side. In Race 2, I nailed the pin and led all the way round. In the last race of the day, I had to try and effect Martin’s start and execute a good one for myself which I managed to do. But, unfortunately, I went for it a little too much and was caught black flagged with a number of other sailors and Martin was able to take the race win and with it the Championship.’

In the Radial Gold fleet, Jon Emmett had a large lead in Race 1, but down the final run the wind died and he was passed by three boats including Hannah Snellgrove and Ben Whaley who took the win.

Both Hannah and Jon were at the pin end at the start of Race 2 which resulted in Jon hitting the mark and having to do penalties. Both of them struggled throughout the race but still managed to finish in the top ten. Georgina Povall, currently the top placed university student, won the race. Ben Whaley completed his best day so far by leading Race 3 from start to finish. Down the final run, Jon Emmett overtook Hannah, but Georgina overtook both of them to come second behind Ben.

Today, despite having her worst results of the Nationals, Hannah still managed three top ten finishes and is now the new Radial National Champion.

In the Radial silver fleet, Robby Boyd had a first and second to maintain his lead over the fleet. The other two races were won by Olivia Burt and Liz Sherwood.

All three races in the 4.7 fleet had a different winner today. Benno Marstaller won one, which saw him remain at the top of the leader board and, in fact, win the Championship overall. Benno said, ‘The light wind and the shifty conditions made today’s racing very difficult, as the results were very varied for everyone. Luckily, I still managed to sail three good races.’

Gethin Owen won one of the other races and Ross Thompson the third. Gethin Owen said, ‘It was very shifty day today, with very competitive racing. I won the first race then had a poor second race because of starting at the wrong end of the line. I finished fourth in the last race.’

After sailing, the competitors and their families enjoyed a gourmet BBQ prepared by Mount’s Bay SC. All week, the club have been providing excellent meals and snacks, and the BBQ was no exception. Once the meal was finished, Ken and Jon held another of their famous draws; this time for a large selection of items kindly donated by Neil Pryde. The final draw was for a new sail donated by Laser Performance.

Tomorrow, depending on the weather, one race is planned for both the Standard and Radial fleets, while two races are expected in the 4.7 fleet.

Results:

Standard 1 Martin Evans, 12pts 2 Jack Wetherell, 17pts 3 James Gray, 36pts

Radial Gold 1 Hannah Snellgrove, 12pts 2 Jon Emmett, 22pts 3 Ben Elvin, 25pts

Radial Silver 1 Robby Boyd, 150pts 2 Noah McWatters, 155pts 3 Lucy Gates, 160pts

4.7 1 Benno Marstaller, 12pts 2 Gethin Owen, 22pts 3 Alex Butler, 31pts