Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series - Day 9
by Jamie Blair 8 Mar 2023 08:16 PST
5 March 2023
Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series day 9 © Fiona Blair
Light airs again!
We arrived to find a NW-N wind and around 10 knots. No shelter from the café today and a standard triangle sausage course set with good length beats.
Nine yacht racers all dressed if they were at the North Pole but still eager to race set off for the first race: some with B rigs and some with A rigs. The course length gave about 9 minutes for the race. Time to have two really good beats with some wind effects from the café and some from a gap in the lake perimeter near the windward mark. It was a case of being in the right shift to be at the front and even an early tack on to the starboard lay line to make hay with the lift to the mark.
For race 1 Jamie Blair took advantage of the puffs down the reach and run and also with Tim Townsend (45) whilst leading taking the wing mark on the wrong side.
The same fate happened to Jamie in Race 2 with Tim taking the bullet. Tony Alexander (04) and Mark Penny (03) in close company, so after three races all 4 were on equal points.
By race 4 Tim had got into top speed and took the next 3 races. Good starting and reading the shifts gave him a 5-point lead. Tim, Tony, Mark and Jamie all playing chase and bringing in covering tactics. It paid to keep up the middle of the beat to keep in time with the wind shifts. Luck was sometimes with those that banged the corners on either side of the beat, but risks didn't always work.
A second day for Jon Moon with terminal gremlins but he did race in two of the 14 races steering other competitors boats.
The RO was as vigilant as always calling over those pulling the trigger early - Jamie, Spencer Pope (62) and Tim amongst the long list.
By race 10 Tim had fallen in amongst the fleet and his early consistency seem to have evaporated. Congestion at the windward and leeward marks. Jamie took the advantage but was continuously being hounded by Mark and Tony.
Race 12 saw Roger Gibb (32) make the best start and with the fleet seeming slowing each other down gave Roger the opportunity to count a bullet.
Race 13 saw Jon Moon sailing 51 - a second consolation race for Jon with a previous race steering Spencer's boat. This narrowed the top of the results to 2 points between Jamie and Tony, Tim and Mark.
Race 14 was to hugely important, but Jamie seemed to get the best start and as with previous the covering of two or three boats gave every one opportunity to gain or lose. Jamie managed to hold off Tim and led the results with a margin of 3 points.
Our next set of races will be on Sunday 12th March 2023.
Round 9 Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 51 | Jamie Blair | 1 | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ‑5 | 1 | 23 |
| 2nd | 4 | Tony Alexander | ‑3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ‑5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 27 |
| 3rd | 45 | Tim Townsend | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ‑7 | ‑8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 32 |
| 4th | 3 | Mark Penny | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑6 | 4 | ‑6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 39 |
| 5th | 32 | Roger Gibb | 5 | (DNF) | 5 | 5 | 2 | ‑6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 47 |
| 6th | 613 | Andrew Nicholls | ‑8 | 7 | 7 | ‑8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 71 |
| 7th | 76 | Bob Woolford | 4 | (DNF) | 6 | 6 | ‑8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 73 |
| 8th | 62 | Spencer Pope | 7 | 5 | (DNF) | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 92 |
| 9th | 84 | Jon Moon | (DNS) | 6 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 116 |