Laser 4000 Inlands

Barton and Gould win at Rutland reports Jon Rix

Nearly 50 Laser 4000s attended the class Inland Championships at Rutland over the weekend of the 16/17th October. In combination with the 2000, 3000 and 5000 fleets, there were in excess of 110 boats which provided for both exciting sailing on the water, and a friendly and bustling atmosphere in the dinghy park and clubhouse bar.

Saturdays racing was started in a light and shifty force 1-2, and the race officer did particularly well to get two of the three planned races sailed before lack of wind postponed the 3rd race until the Sunday morning. Wind shift and gust spotting proved to be the order of the day with the ever-consistent Pete Barton, sailing with Chris Gould sharing the overall lead with Andy PF and Jon Modral after day one, both taking a 1st and a 5th place from the two races.

The early finish on the Saturday, and a good few hours socialising/drinking provided the perfect atmosphere for the karaoke madness that ensued. Started off by our very own James Bradbury, the 4000ers performed a number of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s hits, each in their own unique display of vocal and performing talent, but all combined in their ability to totally, completely and utterly destroy a song!

The excellent sailing conditions on Sunday provided the best hangover cure for all the sailors, and with the additional race from the previous day to squeeze in, all the boats took to the water in eagerness for the days racing. Wind shifts, bends and gusts on the upwind legs proved to make for extremely close and tight racing in the following four races, however it was in the downwind legs that positions and distance could really be gained and lost. Race positions were never guaranteed and slight mistakes would result in a number of boats sailing past. In each race, the lead position would change numerous times, in particular, no fewer than 6 boats led race 3.

Despite some after sailing concerns that the whole fleet, except two boats, may be disqualified for completing the wrong number of laps, first place was awarded to Pete Barton, with Jon Rix and Pete Flanders adding a second place to their 2nd and 8th places from the previous day, with Andy PF crossing the line in 3rd. Tom Glanfield and Kevin Barnard put in an impressive day of sailing on the Sunday winning 2 races, however they later fell foul to "over-optimising" their crew-equalisation system, causing their results to be replaced with a "dsq" – effectively ending their regatta.

In races 4 and 5, Rix and Palmer-Felgate each took a race win, meaning that the regatta would be decided between Barton and the two of them in the final race.

In race 6, a somewhat congested front of the fleet fought out the first few laps before Barton was able to establish himself into first place by the end of the race, closely followed over the line by Rix and then Paul Robinson and Fraser Hayden in third.

The final race sealed the regatta win for Pete Barton and Chris Gould who finished on an impressive 10 points, followed in second place by Jon Rix and Pete Flanders on 15 points and Andy Palmer-Felgate and Jon Modral in 3rd on 17 points.