Noble Marine Laser Standard Inland Championships at Grafham Water Sailing Club

Joe Mullan wins the Noble Marine Laser Standard Inland Championships at Grafham, with prize presented by Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast © Guy Noble

Unfortunately, due to gale force winds, the first day of racing at the Inland National Championships was called off. This meant that the intention was to sail four races in 4-7 knots on the Sunday.

On the first race of the Sunday, the wind was far right at the starting gun meaning the long tack was starboard and it was those who worked the right hand side well and got into more pressure that came out on top at the first mark. Joe Mullan lead at the first mark and had a big enough gap on the next boat to be able to defend his position meaning that the real battle was for second place. Jack Hopkins sailed an excellent race but unfortunately did not get a result due to his black flag. This meant that Alan Davies took second place instead with Tom Brindley finishing third.

In the Second race, the majority of the fleet played the shifts up the middle of the beat, however, the boats that were in more pressure on the left hand side of the course were the ones who came out on top. It remained very close between the top 4 boats for the entirety of that race but in the end it was Alan Davies who came out on top, closely followed by Alastair Goodwin in second and Joe Scurrah in third.

In race 3 there was a large amount of pin bias at the start and more pressure on the left hand side meaning those who were able to come off the pin end and lead out to the left hand side were looking good at the top mark. Again, there was a close battle between the first four boats for the medals in that race. In the end Jack Hopkins took the race win just ahead of Joe Scurrah whilst Joe Mullan had to settle for third after getting a yellow flag penalty.

Joe Scurrah takes second in the Noble Marine Laser Standard Inland Championships at Grafham, with prize presented by Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast - photo © Guy Noble

With the conditions having been so difficult to predict, it was all still to play for going into the last race. There was a lot of pin bias again in race 4 and there was a big split in the fleet on the first beat with many sailors trying to play their side of the course. However, it was Joe Mullan who was first to the top mark having sailed up the middle of the course. Joe then maintained his lead for the rest of the race. It was a real game of snakes and ladders as people fought for a place inside the top 3 with Jack Hopkins taking second place and Ross Williams of Queen Mary SC finishing third.

The overall standings showed that it was consistency over the day which was the key to success. The final results were Joe Mullan in first, Joe Scurrah in second and Jack Hopkins in third.

A huge thank you to all of the volunteers that made the event happen, we wouldn't be able to have such high class racing without you. We would like to thank Noble Marine, our title sponsor for UKLA's Qualifiers, and Sailingfast.

Jack Hopkins takes third in the Noble Marine Laser Standard Inland Championships at Grafham, with prize presented by Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast - photo © Guy Noble

Overall Results:

Paul Graham is first Under 19 in the Noble Marine Laser Standard Inland Championships at Grafham, with prize presented by Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast - photo © Guy Noble