Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series at Barton's Point Coastal Park - Week 11

High winds yesterday but today very light. 6-7 knots from the West. The direction was shifting for the course layer through 5 - 10 degrees but ready for the first race at 10.00.

A further right shift at the start of the first race made the right side end (looking up the beat) be the favoured end. With the wind light it was imperative to have the boat moving at the start so if you could do time on distance, you should do well. Jamie Blair (51) got this right and with a sail setting with as much belly as possible seemed to be able to foot faster and beat higher. Taking shifts gave him the lead at the first windward mark and never looked back. Mark Penny (03) and Jon Moon (84) kept the competition hot logging in second and third. Spencer Pope (62) the fast boat from last week scoring fourth. Tim Townsend (45) caught the start buoy on the second beat and had to practice reversing!

Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 11 - photo © Fiona Blair

Buoys were shifted to take account of the right shift and the start buoy scrutinised to ensure the anchor line wasn't causing an issue in the light breeze.

For the next three races Jamie was on a roll taking races 2-4. Places were never guaranteed with intense concentration to keep the boat sailing as fast as possible and spotting the shifts. On the approach to the windward mark there was a lifting breeze so an early tack on to starboard often allowed places to be gained. Mark continued his good result from race one with another second. Tim was in third.

Race 5 saw Jon get the better of Jamie, with Tim close behind. The slow speeds in the light air resulted in six races after one hour and the break. Jamie had eked out a seven point lead with Tim in second and Mark third. Jon was only a point behind Mark so looking good for more intense racing in the second half.

Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 11 - photo © Fiona Blair

Race 7 saw Tim close out Jamie at the start, forcing him into a restart. Wind up to 10-11 knots for a time but fizzled out again after the first race in the second session. Tim continued ahead of the fleet, Mark chasing the shifts to score a second. The fleet suffered at the windward mark with boats coming in on the port lay line and nowhere to go. The ensuing huddle allowed Jamie to catch up after the restart and score a lucky third.

Jamie repeated his run from earlier to take bullets in races 8-11. Tim, Mark and Jon swapping finish places and keeping their overall scores very close. Tim as right of way boat going up the second beat in race 9 was caught by a port tacker going down the run and the short time entangled leading to a sixth for Tim. Lucian Stone (75) had been having an up and down day finally succumbing to an electrical issue that brought his boat ashore with no more racing. Charles Pegram (72) after some technical tweaking in the break scored a 4th in race nine.

Medway RC Laser Club Winter Series week 11 - photo © Fiona Blair

Race 12 and our last race was keenly fought from the start, particularly between Tim and Jamie. Tim judged the sheet in and angle close to the start mark and with Jamie as windward boat and a boom on boat contact peeled off at the start to do a penalty. Tim pressed on but with patches appearing in the wind Mark and Jon found the better shifts and pressure to lead him to the first mark. Heart beats raised for the finish with Mark taking the win from Jon and Jamie third - no more than one boat length between the three boats.

With two discards Jamie was overall winner. Tim and Mark were split by 2 points; Jon not far behind.

We have a break next weekend for Mother's Day making our next Sunday racing scheduled for the 17th March.

Overall Results: