Day 2 at the US Laser National Championship

by Glennon Stratton on 11 Aug 2008
International Laser Class 2008 US National Championship. Day two’s racing began in great conditions with approximately eight knots of breeze that continued to build throughout the day at the U.S. Laser Nationals Championship hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. Today’s breeze was lighter than yesterday which caused the racers to change their settings and tactics. The change in conditions also resulted in many changes on the leader board.

In the Laser Full Rig division, Lee Parkhill of Royal Canadian Yacht Club moved up from second place and is now in the lead. 'The sailing has been great. We have had a sea breeze on both days of racing which has continued to build throughout the day. I tend to do better in the lighter breeze and today’s conditions definitely favored me. I also had great starts where I was able to take advantage of the mid-line sag and was able to tack and cross the fleet.' Meanwhile, Chris Dold moved up to second place and Abe Torchinsky dropped from first down to third place. Still, there are only three points separating these sailors with at least two races remaining to be sailed.

The Laser Radial division has 86 sailors competing for their title. Like the Laser Full Rig division, the leader board was also mixed up in this class. Ryan Hoeven of King Harbor Yacht Club moved into the lead by finishing the day strong with a first and a third place. The most consistent sailor, Mateo Vargas, is now in second place only one point behind Hoeven. While Vargas is behind, he has an advantage because his discard is an eighth place while Hoeven is currently discarding a twenty-fourth place. Simply, if Hoeven has another bad race it will allow Vargas to move up quickly.

In the Laser 4.7’s, Cameron Hall of St. Petersburg Yacht Club was able to maintain his lead. While he has a solid five point lead, there is still a battle for second and third place. Abby Featherstone finished her day strong winning the last race and is currently in second just two points ahead of Jack Swilkart.

Principal Race Officer, Mark Townsend, plans to run another three races tomorrow. The racing is scheduled to resume at 12:00 P.M. on Sunday. The races will continue throughout the day and conclude at approximately 4:00 P.M. The regatta is being sailed in Laser Full Rigs, Laser Radials, and Laser 4.7’s which are all the same one person racing hull with varying sail sizes. For more information, results and regular updates go to: www.abyc.org.

More images at www.GTSphotos.com