Noble Marine Laser Standard Autumn Qualifier at Hayling Island Sailing Club, 24–25 October

By Elliot Hanson

The third and final Autumn Qualifier saw sailors make their annual visit to the 2010 Laser World Championships venue of Hayling Island. There were 43 Standard sailors, including the return of current World Champion Nick Thompson, who were eager to test their skills in what always promises to be a fantastic venue.

With a reasonably fresh 12–18knt southerly forecast, British Sailing Team Squad Coach James Gray wasted no time in leading the pack out to … the start line; stretching the quads after a successful summer’s coaching and continuing to earn the respect of the fleet, he practices what he preaches. With a strong ebb tide, visitors were treated to some textbook waves and champagne racing conditions.

Jack Wetherell won the pin in Race 1 to take an early lead, until a small rain cloud on the right-hand side was the catalyst of a seemingly consistent right shift throughout the day. Elliot Hanson got the best of the pin bias and right shift to lead around the windward mark, closely followed by both Henry and Jack Wetherell. With a reasonable distance from the chasing pack, they fought a close battle to the finish. Henry ultimately caught the final wave on a nicely timed gybe, deservedly taking race honours and his first Qualifier race win. Jack Wetherell was second and Hanson third. In the chasing pack, Thompson made a good enough comeback to fourth, squeezing past Micky Beckett on the final downwind.

Despite a short delay to realign the course, following the right shift, the start for Race 2 was still significantly starboard biased. With the strong ebb current creating an upwind escalator, careful consideration of time and distance was key to executing. Against all odds, the fleet got away first time with a more unstable breeze offering one or two more opportunities with the shifts. Hanson took an early jump off the start line to lead around the windward mark again with Thompson within touching distance. After an uneventful reach, the fleet turned to head downwind with the breeze beginning to ease. Thompson made a tricky run look easy with the veering breeze skewing the waves making them harder to catch or at least catch in the right direction! The remaining boats condensed on lap two, making for another nail biting final run on the downwind treadmill. Thompson extended his lead to take his first race win with Hanson squeezing around ahead of Jack Wetherell, Beckett and Henry Wetherell at the final mark.

The third and final race of the day saw a sea of blue towards the pin ends as ‘Team Smurf’ battled it out for the pin end. Thompson came out on top and led the pack back towards the right; however, one final right shift of the day gave Sam Whaley a deserved lead at the windward mark, having won the right-hand side. Thompson took the lead on the reach leg with Hanson chasing down to second. Another tricky downwind left Thompson and Hanson neck and neck at the bottom. However, Thompson sailed a good enough final lap to take his second win. Hanson stayed third with Beckett fighting off Gray who was relishing the lighter conditions in third and fourth. Anthony Parke sailed his best race of the day to finish fifth.

Sailors made the most of their extra hour recovering from a tough day’s racing with Sunday looking like a write-off from the outset. Sure enough, after a few hours waiting onshore on Sunday, racing was cancelled and everyone was treated to an early getaway. A special thanks goes to Hayling Island and the UKLA for concluding another excellent years Qualifier Series.

Results:

1 Nick Thompson, 2pts

2 Elliot Hanson, 4pts

3 Jack Wetherell, 5pts

Full results at: http://www.kbsuk.com/laser/events/showrace.asp?EventID=79&RaceURL=%5Bsail100%5D/haylingstd.2015nh.html