Please select your home edition
Edition
North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Laser Open at Bough Beech Sailing Club

by Peter Young 7 May 2019 05:55 PDT 4 May 2019
Bough Beech Laser Open © BBSC

Despite a feisty forecast, 20 sailors arrived to be greeted by clear skies, sunshine and a cup of tea at Bough Beech Sailing Club on Saturday 4 May. The line-up included racers from the South Coast and plenty of inland specialists, such is the draw of Bough Beech's shapely and picturesque waters. All three flavours of Laser variant were represented with the Standards drawing the largest crowd.

The race officer, Karen Irons, set a "d" shaped course which allowed for all points of sailing and a start-line with a few degrees of port bias. Race 1 saw Olly Bush from Weir Wood set the pace to the top mark ahead of local lad Peter Young, only to leave him swimming after the next turning mark. Dave Freeman, a QMSC exile, moved forward to snap at Bush's heals but failed to reel him in. In the Radials, veteran Rob Cage set the tone with a win, despite some sparring with Steph Wicken. It was Caspar Barton who was to draw first blood in the smaller but competitive 4.7 fleet.

Race 2 was to be Freeman's. He led it from start to finish, extending his lead as lesser mortals practised their swimming in the 25 knot gusts. Few had noticed that Pevensey's Neil Peters had posted a second and a third as the fleet headed to shore for lunch. Another bullet was posted by Cage in the Radials but it was Luca Franklin that took line honours in the 4.7s.

After a sumptuous lunch, the fleet hit the water in a strengthening breeze. Bush worked the beat ahead of Young to the top mark, but threw it away with a nasty capsize to windward. Behind, Peters worked to close the gap and was rewarded with some pressure on the downwind leg to take the lead and post his first race win. In the Radials and 4.7s it was bullets for Cage and Franklin respectively.

Anemometers hit more than 30 knots as Race 4 got under way and all the fleets battled to windward amongst white horses. In the Standards, Peters led only to the top mark. Struggling to bear off in the squall, he found himself having to tack around to get back on course. Young, in second place, showed characteristic bravery and went for a gybe and found himself death rolling and swimming quite a common feature of the event. Peters hiked through to take line honours from Bush and an exhausted Freeman. Again, it was Cage and Franklin that showed their mastery in the Radials and 4.7s respectively.

Ashore, Neil Peters thanked BBSC's Laser Captain, Peter Winbourne, the Race Officer, kitchen team and volunteers during what was to prove to be a long and marginally entertaining acceptance speech. In all, it was another excellent, fun, and extremely enjoyable Open at Bough Beech SC.

Overall Results:

PosHelmClub
Laser Standard
1Neil PetersPevensey Bay SC
2Olly BushWeir Wood SC
3Dave FreemanQueen Mary SC
Laser Radial
1Rob CageWeir Wood SC
2Steph WickenWilsonian SC
3Miles VidlerCrawley Mariners YC
Laser 4.7
1Luca FranklinBough Beech SC
2Caspar BartonBough Beech SC
3Ed RonstoneNewhaven SC

Related Articles

20 Canadians set for Long Beach Grand Slam Event
The Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta will be held July 12-20 20 Canadian sailors will take part in the fourth and next-to-last event of the 2025 Sailing Grand Slam Series, the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta, to be held July 12-20 at one of the two Olympic venues for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Posted on 10 Jul
2025 EurILCA Europa Cup at Warnemünde overall
Favourable conditions on the final day for the 302 sailors from 32 countries The 2025 EurILCA Europa Cup GER concluded yesterday after four days of competition in Warnemünde, Germany. Favourable sailing conditions allowed all 302 sailors from 32 countries to enjoy the final two races in the ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and ILCA 7 classes. Posted on 9 Jul
2025 EurILCA Europa Cup at Warnemünde Day 3
Ole Schweckendiek leads ILCA 7 fleet into the final day The third and penultimate day of racing at the 2025 EurILCA Europa Cup GER concluded yesterday in Warnemünde, Germany, with two new races completed by all fleets, except for the ILCA 6 silver group, which managed to complete only one. Posted on 8 Jul
2025 EurILCA Europa Cup at Warnemünde Day 2
Sometimes there's only a second between triumph and a premature start Sometimes there's only a second between triumph and a premature start — a reality that many ILCA 7 sailors faced on the second day of the 2025 EurILCA Europa Cup GER, held during the Warnemünder Woche. Posted on 7 Jul
2025 EurILCA Europa Cup at Warnemünde Day 1
A total of 302 sailors from 32 countries are competing in the ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and ILCA 7 classes The seventh regatta of the 2025 EurILCA Europa Cup Trophy kicked off yesterday in Warnemünde, Germany, with the first two races. A total of 302 sailors from 32 countries are competing in the ILCA 4, ILCA 6, and ILCA 7 classes. Posted on 6 Jul
Northern ILCA circuit at Rudyard Lake
Gritted teeth, hard hiking and several capsizes Rudyard Lake Sailing Club held the latest round of the Northern ILCA circuit with eleven ILCA sailors on Saturday 28th June. Posted on 3 Jul
An evening with the Scaramouche Sailing Trust
Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy (GCA). But they've shown it can be accessible to everyone, with amazing results. Posted on 2 Jul
2025 EurILCA Master FRA at Carnac
A total of 63 Master sailors took part The 2025 EurILCA Master FRA concluded on Sunday in Carnac, France, after three days of competition, with all six scheduled races successfully completed. A total of 63 Master sailors took part in the event, which was organized by the Yacht Club de Carnac. Posted on 1 Jul
World Sailing announces split venues for LA28
The boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port World Sailing has said it welcomes the confirmation of sailing venues for the Olympic Games LA28 the boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port. Posted on 30 Jun
Bronze breakthrough for Liddell and Brown
Nacra 17 duo claim their first international podium at Kieler Woche Brin Liddell and Rhiannan Brown have claimed their first international podium in the Nacra 17 class, securing bronze at Kieler Woche, the third Sailing Grand Slam event of the season. Posted on 30 Jun
PredictWind - Wave Routing 728x90 BOTTOMPalm Beach Motor YachtsZhik 2024 December