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Laser 2000
Open 2010 Millennium Series 4
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It had been in excess of eight years since Weir Wood had hosted a Millennium Event for the Laser 2000 Class Association, so we were determined to put on a good show for all the competitors and their families. Not only by giving them some superb close racing, but also a full evening of entertainment on the Saturday.
As is traditional with any L2K event competitors started to arrive in good time, some on the Friday evening. With eight races planned over the two day event, race officer Martin Pascoe and his team were going to be more than challenged by the expected weather conditions.
After a race briefing at 11:00am racing was set to start at 11:30, with the first sound signal at 11:25 proceedings were under way. The race officer set a windward/leeward course, with a spreader mark to windward and a choice of Port or Starboard rounding at the leeward gate. The wind conditions were SW force 2 to 3 and like most inland waters, shifty. We had blue skies, a few fluffy clouds and temperatures of some 25°C. Sun block and plenty of drinking water was the order of the day. With 32 boats signed up for racing, only 27 made it to the start line for the first race, due to various reasons.
The first of the two races scheduled for the morning got under way without any hitch, with the usual suspects of Rob Burridge, John Holroyd and Elizabeth Fillmore, to name but a few leading the way. Due to the light wind conditions the first race was reasonably uneventful, with Burridge leading most of the way, which is where he stayed. 1st Burridge, 2nd M Wilson and 3rd Holroyd
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| Race officer Martin Pascoe being true to his word was setting races lasting approximately 45min for the leading boats and about 1 hour for the tail-enders. At approximately 12:50pm the second race got under way. Not quite so clean, with an individual recall sounding. With no one returning to cross the line, sadly Robin Courtenay sailed for fun, being the only boat OCS. The wind had dropped further for the second race favouring the starboard side of the course. For those lucky enough to have tacked off onto port early, they took full advantage of the light wind. All change in this race with 1st Holroyd, 2nd Burridge 3rd Fillmore.
After a break for lunch, the third race of the day started at approximately 14:30. With the wind picking up at times there was plenty of position changing throughout the fleet. Miles Wade began to show his colours improving on his earlier positions of 5th & 6th to finish 3rd. With Holroyd getting his second 1st and Burridge was 2nd
The final race of the day was won by Fillmore, after Burridge had established a commanding, lead only to be caught in a windless pocket at the leeward gate on his final lap. All he could do was watch the chasing pack sail past, only managing a 5th in the end. The final race of the day ended 1st Fillmore, 2nd Sam Greg (youth), 3rd J Macgregor
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With four challenging races under their belts, the competitors relaxed with a BBQ of steamed trout from the lake and a mixture of poultry & meats and a well-earned beer or two. Entertainment was provided by local band Driftwood. With dancing late into the evening, a great time was had by all.
Day two (Sunday 4th July) saw a complete turnaround in wind strength. Now a steady SSW force 4 to 5 gusting 6, which stayed for the whole days racing. This gave the opportunity for some hard beats to windward and fast planing downwind.
With the race officer adopting the same course and race format as the day before, race 5 started at 10:30. With Tim & Linda Hulley now competing, having returned from holiday the day before, they were keen to make their mark. Race 5 was a hard race with many capsizing in the strong windy conditions, but the capsizing was soon forgotten due to the superb planing conditions downwind. With 1st Burridge, 2nd Hulley 3rd Holroyd and 4th Fillmore the event was beginning to pan out. Race 6 was almost a repeat of race 5 with the exception of the first three swapping around with 1st Hulley 2nd Burridge and 3rd Holroyd.
After a well-earned lunch break a somewhat reduced fleet took to the water for the start of race 7. With quite testing conditions at times, those competitors choosing not to race were enjoying a beer and spectating. With the wind gusting force 6 at times, the conditions were now not only testing the helms and their crews but also the boats, with a few gear failures beginning to show. Holroyd got his third first of the series with the boats finishing, 1st Holroyd, 2nd Burridge 3rd S McCulloch, making a late charge.
The final race of the series, race 8 saw an even smaller fleet with only 18 boats starting and only 16 completing the required number of laps. With the Fillmore’s electing not to start, perhaps thinking they had done enough to secure their position, but was that wise? The most noticeable absentee at the finish was Holroyd, who retired after a disastrous capsize. In this final race Burridge got his third first of the series and thus securing victory. The final race 8 positions were 1st Burridge, 2nd Hulley and 3rd McCulloch clearly he was relishing these windy conditions.
After two days of fantastic challenging racing our thanks have to go to the organising committee led by Class Captain Andrew Sloper and Race Officer Martin Pascoe and his team for managing to get in 8 races without any real hitches. |
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To view this years Laser 2000 Open Results please Click here
To view this years Laser 2000 Open Photos please Click here
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