2000 Class Latitude Series at West Riding Sailing Club

The third event of the 2000 Class Latitude Series, hosted by West Riding Sailing Club, proved to be a fantastic weekend of competitive racing.

Saturday delivered a mix of sunshine, showers, and, most importantly, breeze. The race team headed out onto the water and found a great windward-leeward for the first race.

Race one was soon under way with 12 boats on the start line. A clean start for all, with the Thompsons just edging around the windward mark in first, the Freelands in hot pursuit, followed by Pete Vincent and the two WRSC boats right on their heels. The Thompsons kept their lead up until the last beat, where the Freelands picked the right side of the shift and took the lead.

1st Freelands, 2nd Thompsons, 3rd Cooks.

2000 Class Latitude Series at West Riding - photo © Darren Thompson

Races two, three, and four saw the Thompsons lead from start to finish, followed by the Freelands and Pete Vincent in the second race, and Alistair Banks & Sam Lewis in the third and fourth races.

Race five saw a general recall, then an individual recall for the Freelands, meaning a WRSC 1, 2, 3 at the windward mark, with Alistair Banks and Sam Lewis leading, followed by the Thompsons and then the Cooks. By the leeward mark, the Thompsons had taken the lead, and Alistair and Sam followed very closely for the rest of the race, keeping the Thompsons on their toes, with the Cooks holding their third place.

2000 Class Latitude Series 2025 at West Riding - photo © WRSC

Race six saw the Freelands lead to the windward mark, but the Thompsons overtook on the downwind leg and pulled away to secure another win. Pete Vincent also had a strong race, finishing third and keeping the pressure on the Freelands.

Race seven saw a dramatic start, with Mr Banks extending the start line by dragging the pin! After an eventful start, it was a three-way battle between the Thompsons, Freelands, and Pete & Ellie, with lead changes throughout. In the end, the Thompsons edged ahead downwind, with the Freelands just taking second from Pete.

2000 Class Latitude Series 2025 at West Riding - photo © WRSC

Race eight was another shake-up. Pete picked up his second OCS of the weekend, while the Freelands rounded the windward mark first and led to the finish. Despite efforts from the Thompsons to close the gap, they finished in second.

In the final race, the Freelands led again at the windward mark, chased by the Thompsons, Alistair Banks, and Pete Vincent. Pete moved into third on the downwind leg, but the Freelands dropped back on the next beat, allowing Alistair to retake third. A tense final run saw the Thompsons defend their position, gybing at just the right time to hold off Pete and secure the win. Alistair and Sam secured a well-earned third, ahead of the Freelands.

2000 Class Latitude Series 2025 at West Riding - photo © WRSC

It was fantastic to see juniors joining us again this year with Joshua Wright representing Scaling Dam Sailing Club and Marcus Arkle representing Sunderland Yacht Club, alongside Isobel Arkle and Olivia Arkle.

Thank you to all of our visiting boats, some of which travelled over five hours to join us!

Overall Results: