Saturday, October 11, 2008
Skip Navigation LinksHome / Sport / Sailing

TESTING TIMES FOR GRAND PRIX LASER SAILORS

Friday, May 2, 2008
Sport/Sailing
THIRTY competitors attended the third event in this year’s Laser South Coast Grand Prix series, hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC).
With a reasonable weather forecast of a southerly Force 3 breeze, principal race officer Martin Harrison set a trapezoid course for all fleets with the lone 4.7 of Matthew Goodbourn and the Radial fleet sailing the inner loop and the Standards sailing the outer loop.
In the first race, Ian Gregory (Stokes Bay), took first place followed by Andy Le Grice (Stokes Bay) and RVYC’s Jim McMillan for the Standards, while Ed Morris (Spinnaker Sailing Club) was first followed by Chris Jones (Sutton Bingham) and Andrew Cornforth (RVYC) in Radials.
The second race was postponed due to a massive wind shift of 30 degrees. There was a tense wait while the wind made up its mind to blow from Ryde Pier or Quarr. Then, after swinging the course, there was a very fast and close race, with Ian Gregory, Jim McMillan and Andy Le Grice, in the Standards, and Chris Jones, Andrew Cornforth and Josh Irons (Spinnaker SC) in Radials.
The third race had a quick mark shift at the windward end, with the wind now steady and two laps on the course board saw all fleets have clean starts.
After three hours on the water the decision to shorten the course to one lap for the Radial fleet was taken.
David King took first place for the Standards followed by Andy Le Grice and Matt Reid (Spinnaker SC). The Radial winner again was Chris Jones followed by Lawrence Walters (Keyhaven Yacht Club) and Andrew Cornforth. Matthew Goodbourn (Hawley Lake) took home first prize for the 4.7s and should have had a prize for perseverance as the lone 4.7.
A club spokesman said: “The standard of sailing was high throughout the event and the patience of the competitors was appreciated by the race committee while the courses were reset.”
The prizes were presented by rear-commodore sailing, Robert Everitt, who next day began a round-Britain voyage with his girlfriend, Becky Holdstock.