Laser Grand Prix at Sutton Bingham Sailing Club
by Mike Riley 21 May 2013 23:25 AEST
19 May 2013
Sutton Bingham Laser Grand Prix prize winners (l to r) Emily White, Kerry Morgan, Ian Morgan, Chris Jones & John Ling © Richard White
Laser win for Ling
John Ling added his name to the Sutton Bingham Sailing Club's Laser Open Trophy for an amazing tenth time on Sunday 19th May. The former national Laser Class Chairman from Bartley Sailing Club in the Midlands notched up his first victory in the event back in 1998.
The event brought together sailors from the South Coast and Wessex regions for a joint Grand Prix series competition which attracted sailors from as far afield as West Sussex. Sunday was an auspicious occasion for Yeovil Town FC, who triumphed at Wembley in the play-offs and the exodus from the town had an impact on participation by local club members, who were outnumbered by the visitors.
A light and fickle wind in the morning made for a challenging race, with much place changing as the 3-5mph breeze filled in from different directions and evaporated just as quickly. Sailors competed in two divisions the Laser Standard and Laser Radial, which has a smaller sail with a different sail cut, designed for lighter helms.
After lunch the breeze strengthened to 5-8mph enabling sailors to straighten their legs and hike rather than adopting uncomfortable positions in the centre of their boats and two further races were sailed back-to-back.
After two races the Laser Standard event was wide open with John Ling and Ian Morgan from Southampton sharing 3 points apiece with a 1st and 2nd place each. Meanwhile, in the Radial fleet Chris Jones, from Sutton Bingham secured an unassailable lead, clinching a win in the second race by less than a metre from Ian's wife, Kerry.
John put in a strong performance in the final race of the day to win the Standards and the trophy for overall winner from the two fleets, which was calculated on handicap.
Prizes were awarded by Sutton Bingham Club Commodore Alan Chinn, including first junior competitor that went to Emily White, 4th placed in the Radials. In accepting the perpetual trophy, John Ling complimented Race officer, Adrian Neal on good race management under difficult conditions, with such an oscillating wind and to everyone involved in organizing the event.
Overall Results:
Standard Fleet
1st John Ling, Bartley SC, (2,1,1)
2nd Ian Morgan, Hill Head SC, (1,2,2)
3rd Nick Forster, United Hospitals SC (3,3,4)
Radial Fleet
1st Chris Jones, Sutton Bingham SC, (1,1,1)
2nd Kerry Morgan, Hill Head SC, (2,2,2)
3rd Sue Ritchie, Newport SC (4,3,3)
Full results at www.roostersailing.com
More photos from Richard White
and Chris Bottomley.