Shifty day for the Lasers

Favourites lead their respective fleets at the Australian Laser Nationals reports Peter Campbell

Only one point separates three-times Olympian and current World Champion Laser class sailor Michael Blackburn and his younger rival Tom Slingsby after six races in the Dyson Corporate Security Australian Laser Championships being sailed on Hobart’s Derwent River.

Slingsby, 22, from Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, notched up two wins today, Sunday, but overall the slightly more consistent Blackburn, from Sydney, has the narrow overall lead.

Blackurn and Slingsby placed first and second in the 2006 World Laser championship earlier this year and both are vying for the place in the Australian team for the Beijing Olympics.

Blackburn is on 8 points from placings of 1-2-1-1-1-2 whilst Slingsby’s scorecard is 2-1-2-1-3-1-1 for 9 points, both the two leading sailors sailing in the different Blue and Yellow fleets today.

Holding third and fourth place overall are two other NSW sailors, Michael Leigh on 15.5 points from a first and a second today, and the Masters World champion Brett Beyer on 25 points after a fourth and a third today.

Racing for the huge 185 boat fleet was tricky, at times chaotic for the Laser Standard fleet, with a 15-22 knot east-north-easterly breeze coming over the hills on the eastern shores of the Derwent. With the fleet split because of its size, the Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 fleets racecourse was closer to Sandy Bay.

Richard Howard, a Tasmanian competitor in the Standard, described the start of heat five, the first of the day. “We had a general recall and the Principal Race Officer Jeremy Firth immediately invoked the Laser class rule and hoisted the black flag which basically meant that anyone over the start line one minute before the second start faced disqualification.

“Seconds after the second attempt at a start there was a 20 degree wind shift and everyone immediately flopped onto port tack – it was chaotic for a while.

“It was very shifty the nearer we got to the top mark, many wind shifts of 20 degrees.”

Tom Slingsby was one who obviously picked the wind shifts well in winning both races in the Yellow fleet.

“Not only were there big shifts, but also big holes but I sailed up the middle of the course, staying in phase with the wind, “he said. “I made sure I made no mistakes today.” (Yesterday he lost two places when he capsized 40 metres from the finish of one race).

In the first race today Slingsby was in second place to the bottom mark the first time but took the lead on the second beat to windward, but he led all the in the second race of the day.

In the Blue fleet, Blackburn won the first race today but in a close tussle lost the second to Michael Leigh.

After tomorrow’s seventh and eighth heats, the Laser Standard fleet will be divided into Gold and Silver fleets, based on their eight race points with one discard race. The Gold and Silver fleets will then sail a further four races, with one discard, to decide the 2005-2006 Australian Laser Championship.

In the Australian Laser Radial Championships, 21-year-old Krystal Weir from Melbourne’s Sandringham Yacht Club holds a one point lead after male sailors took the top placings in today’s strong breeze.

Weir is on 13 points after discarding her worse race so far, a 14th in today’s first race, with a scorecard of 4-2-3-2-14-2, with fellow Victorian Ben Gunther moving into second place on 14 points, finished second and fourth today following previous placings of 15-6-1-1.

New Caledonian sailor Malo Leseigveur won both races in the Laser Radials today to move up to fifth in overall standings.

Sarah Blanck has dropped back to third overall in the Laser Radials, on 18 points after a series scofre of 2-4-4-3-9-5.

Youth sailors Sam Phillips and Jonathan Dawes, both from NSW, head the standings in the Laser 4.7 division. Phillips had a second and a win today to be on 17 points hile Dawes had a win and a fourth to be on 18 points after six races.

Full results: http://www.ryct.org.au/results/lasers