RC Laser Winter Series event 2 at Medway Yacht Club
by Jamie Blair 11 Dec 2019 09:41 PST
1 December 2019
RC Laser Winter Series event 2 at Medway © Jamie Blair
Round 2 was never going to exceed the numbers from the previous outing given the forecast of wind up at 30 knots. Eight racers braved the elements and found a calmer patch of water to launch and race. Indeed waves were breaking over the concrete in front of the café making it a no-go area for launching.
Tim Townsend immediately stamped his mark by winning the first race. Difficulties tacking and spectacular nosediving brought forward frustrations and adjustments to technique to complete the triangle/sausage course. The windward mark was positioned to achieve some shelter from the wind and waves and encouraging most of the fleet to find the starboard lay line in the sheltered area. D rig was the sail of the day but an E rig might have been better if there was one!
There was some shifting of the breeze but staying up right and able to tack allowed the main three rivals of Tim Townsend, Pete Freeman and Jamie Blair to share the first places apart from one race which was won by Richard Stone.
8 races were sailed until the wind accelerated to over 30 knots. The lead never changed after race 4 but it was a close-run thing with one point splitting first and second, and second and third, places.
A tie break between fourth and fifth retaining the competitive element throughout the fleet! Pete Freeman won the day, Jamie second and Tim Townsend in third.
Next for Round 3 - Sunday 15th December. Details of location and start times on www.rclaser.org.uk/events
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 63 | Pete Freeman | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑4 | ‑4 | 1 | 9 |
| 2nd | 51 | Jamie Blair | ‑3 | 1 | ‑4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3rd | 45 | Tim Townsend | 1 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ‑4 | 11 |
| 4th | 32 | Roger Gibb | 5 | ‑7 | 6 | (DNF) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 25 |
| 5th | 84 | Jon Moon | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ‑6 | 5 | 5 | ‑6 | 25 |
| 6th | 613 | Andrew Nicholls | ‑7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ‑7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 34 |
| 7th | 83 | Richard Stone | 6 | ‑8 | 7 | (DNF) | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 39 |
| 8th | 3 | Mark Penny | (DNF) | 6 | 8 | (DNF) | DNS | 8 | 6 | 7 | 45 |
| 9th | 58 | David Townshend | (DNS) | 9 | (DNF) | DNC | DNS | DNS | 9 | 9 | 57 |