Laser Open Meeting at Yorkshire Dales SC

by Jonathan Lister on 7 Jun 2012 Laser Open Meeting and Northern Tour 2012 was held at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club. A good turnout of 34 Lasers from 15 different clubs came and were treated to a solid F3 breeze and although the cloud was threateningly low, it didn't rain and was actually suprisingly bright for brief spells.

Race officer Jonathan Lister set a P course with a good mix of reaches and runs, and a long beat to test the sailors muscles and stamina. The race one start was won by Laser Youth squaddie Hector Simpson, but Keith Escritt shook off the years (well some of them) to squeeze past at the windward mark. Escritt worked a decent gust to extend away offwind as Hector came under pressure from Graham Tinsley and Ian Escritt. Both passed Simpson on a shift and set off in pursuit of a tiring Keith. The finish came just soon enough for him as fast closing Ian took the second from Graham and Hector (all Yorkshire Dales SC). It was breezy enough for the Radials to be competitive, and in the Radial battle, Henry Wetherell (Beaver) took fifth from Keiran Hill (Scaling Dam) in sixth.

Race two started b2b. Ian won the pin and soon crossed the fleet - never to be challenged again. Keiran Hill in his Radial, John Simms (YDSC), and Martin Barrett (Ripon) and Hamish Gledhill (West Riding) followed round the windward mark, but Keith Escritt had passed them by the leeward mark. Keith couldn't catch his brother but finished second as Tinsley and Gledhill set about each other rather than chasing before finishing in that order. Hector recovered from a poor start to get fifth from Keiran.

Lunch (and an opportunity to take on oxygen in some cases) was welcomed and, as usual, was both excellent value and tasty. At this point, the Escritt brothers both had a 1, 2 while Graham Tinsley had two thirds. The next three races were to be back to back so stamina / fitness was going be increasingly important.

Race three saw Ian E break his kicker during the countdown, and quite a shift in the last minute that caught some out - including Keith E who had to gybe out. Simpson and Gledhill nailed the first beat, as did Jim Backhouse (YDSC) and Christopher Spencer (Welton). After a tight battle that Tinsley threatened to join but never quite did, Simpson won from Gledhill, Tinsley, Wetherell and Spencer. Keith E recovered to sixth to now share the lead with the ultra consistent Graham Tinsley.

Race four started in a tad more breeze, and really started to sort out the fit from the 'thought I was fit' brigade. Tinsley shot away from the start as did Malcolm Marsden (BFYC). They had a narrow lead over a bunch that included Darren Neild (Elton), Wetherell, Simpson and Gledhill, but neither of the Escritt brothers who had not started well. Marsden hit the front for a while, but Tinsley came through for the win with Marsden holding off Gledhill for the second. Simpson just pipped Neild for fourth and Wetherell just about sewed up the radial battle with a sixth. Keith E passed Ian E late in the race to keep a narrow advantage over him overall as they both fell behind Tinsley, while Simpson and Gledhill came into overall contention.

After a hard days racing any of four boats (Tinsley, Simpson, Keith E and Gledhill) could still win, so it was game on for the final race. Ian E's gear failure had lost him the chance overall, but he showed what might have been by winning the last race after a close battle with Tinsley. Not far back, Simpson, Gledhill and Marsden traded places while behind them Keith E clawed his way into a final effort that was just enough to pass Marsden on the last leg.

So overall, Graham Tinsley - who was never outside the top three, deservedly won the event. Ian Escritt's last race win gained him second on the same points as Hector Simpson in third while Hamish Gledhill beat Keith Escritt for fourth by a point. Henry Wetherell was the first Radial in sixth, and Keiran Hill the second Radial in ninth. First lady was Georgia Booth from Scaling Dam SC.

A great selection of prizes - down to 10th place - were gratefully recieved before Graham thanked the superb galley, race officer, all the helpers and especially the race recorders who had to cope with 30+ boats all finishing within a couple of minutes. Even with video, tape recordings and good old paper it was a difficult task.

Results - Top Ten