Neil Pryde UKLA National and Open Laser Championships – Final day

by UKLA on 9 Aug 2015 Neil Pryde UKLA National and Open Laser Championships – Despite the forecast for very light winds today, the forecast was not as bad as expected and all fleets were able to launch for their intended races. However, whilst it was initially sunny, it soon clouded over.

The Standard, Radial Gold and 4.7 fleets all had an overall winner decided by the end of yesterday’s racing. By sailing consistently well throughout the week, Martin Evans, Hannah Snellgrove and Benno Marstaller all managed to secure their wins with a day to spare. However, if you thought the racing was over, you would be disappointed as those below first were all jockeying for their final position.

Even though he did not actually need to race, Martin Evans still managed to finish second in the Standard fleet’s one race today. In the end, he finished the Nationals on 14 points, with Jack Wetherell in second on 22 points and James Gray in third on 47 points. First Youth was Sam Whaley who sailed well all week and finished with a fourth place in the final face of the championships today.

Jon Emmett had a comfortable win in the Radial Gold fleet today. Overall, first and second in the fleet remained unchanged, but Matt Whitfield managed to overtake Ben Elvin to take third.

The only fleet not to have a winner decided before the final day was the Radial Silver fleet. However, Robby Boyd, who was leading the fleet going into the last day, secured the win in the Silver fleet by finishing seventh today.

With a total of six wins, Benno Marstaller won the 4.7 fleet, even though he managed one of Ken’s famous black flag’s today. Second to fourth place in the 4.7 fleet was very close with Gethin Owen, Ross Thompson and Alex Butler separated by only four points. Benno said, ‘The sailing throughout the whole week was very good, and we managed to sail all 12 races, despite the challenging conditions. It was great to win the event as I can keep the trophy in the county for Restronguet SC and Mylor SC.’

All in all it has been a great week. The location of the event could not be better and Mount’s Bay SC have been great hosts. The club has been very welcoming and the catering has been superb. The volunteers on the water and beach did a great job – even in the rather challenging conditions earlier in the week. PRO Ken Falcon did a sterling job and managed the three fleets in the difficult conditions admirably. Computer problems on the last day created major difficulties for Dot’s Race Office team. However, with a lot of hard work and determination, all the results were organized before the prize giving.

The event would not have been possible without the generous support of the sponsors – Neil Pryde, Harken, Noble Marine and Laser Performance. Two well-attended draws enabled many of the sailors to obtain some new goodies for their kit bags. The Godolphin Hotel, next door to the sailing club, very generously provided vouchers for a meal for one of the draws.

With over 180 participants having a great time, I am sure that next year’s Nationals, to be held at WPNSA, will be just as enjoyable and successful.

Final results:

Standard
1 Martin Evans
2 Jack Wetherell
3 James Gray

Radial Gold
1 Hannah Snellgrove
2 Jon Emmett
3 Matt Whitfield

Radial Silver
1 Robby Boyd
2 Lucy Gates
3 Noah McWatters

4.7
1 Benno Marstaller
2 Gethin Owen
3 Ross Thompson