Next stop World Champs

Jon Emmett reports from the finaly UK Laser Radial Worlds Qualifier

The final Qualifier before the Laser Radial World Championships saw good waves and long courses with a well behaved fleet, due to every race being run under the black flag.

The first race saw Jon Emmett lead from the left, but he overstood the windward mark due to the strong current which was under the fleet. Ali Young sailed the perfect beat to lead comfortably around the first mark but went too high on the first run, allowing Emmett to move into first overall. Cockerill then passed Young up the next beat.

Downwind it was all change with Emmett and Cockerill tussling, and Cockerill grabbing the lead before Emmett moved back past to hold the lead to the finish. Young dropped back to fifth with Robert Spencer and Laura Baldwin taking third and fourth respectively.

The second race saw somewhat of a messy start with David Jessop tacking off early and getting into the pressure on the right to get clear of the fleet, most of which arrived at the windward mark together, meaning there was no wind to get downwind against the current for those not at the very front. The ensuing tangle at the leeward mark saw the first half a dozen boats get clear away.

Cockerill managed to extract himself from the chasing pack to grab his third second place. Third place went to the up and coming Martin Evans with Spencer in fourth, and Young fifth.

The final race on Saturday once again saw a difficult start line to get off. This time Emmett managed to tack off and get some space, playing the shifts to lead at the top mark and stay in front for the first lap before extending on the second. Phil Reynolds had his best ever qualifier race, finishing comfortably in front of Cockerill who had once again moved through the fleet for another top three finish. Fourth place was Baldwin with the ever consistent Young in fifth.

Day two and the wind became slightly more variable but averaged a good fifteen knots. With the race held at 10:00 rather than 12:00, the current was going the opposite way for both races but the wind had also changed direction by 180 degrees, once again giving wind against tide and a shot chop on top of the swell.

The fourth race saw Cockerill get to the right first and lead at the windward mark, closely followed by Young, then Emmett. Emmett closed on Young and Cockerill going inshore, out of the current before moving out into the current to go to the leeward mark. However it proved too early and Emmett dropped to fifth with Cockerill and Young extending, holding their places to the finish. Emmett pulled back to third with Jessop in fourth just in front of Baldwin.

Therefore it was between Emmett and Cockerill for the event, with a race win guaranteeing victory. Emmett won the pin end but was unable to tack, Cockerill ducked Emmett and made it to the right, leading around the top mark. Emmett however moved past Cockerill to take the lead but stayed inshore too long, allowing Cockerill back into the lead. Down the final run Emmett closed on Cockerill and moved offshore early. The wind died giving Cockerill an easy win and the event. Emmett stuck out in the stronger current sailed his discard but finished second overall. Young moved into second to claim third spot overall. Third place for Spencer gave him a top five place. Once again Jessop was fourth, giving him fourth overall and Baldwin in fifth completed the top six.

Results:

Pos	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Tot
1	Steve Cockerill	2	2	3	1	1	6
2	Jon Emmett	1	7	1	3	10	12
3	Alison Young	5	5	5	2	2	14
4	David Jessop	7	1	7	4	4	16
5	Robert Spencer	3	4	9	6	3	16
6	Laura Baldwin	4	8	4	5	5	18
7	Martin Evans	10	3	8	11	7	28
8	Philip Reynolds	24	26	2	8	6	40
9	Tom Willis	14	6	11	26	12	43
10	Richard Talbot	15	12	12	7	17	46
11	Tom Hayes	8	11	19	DSQ82	8	46
12	Rosie Chapman	9	39	24	10	9	52
13	Anna Dobson	11	34	16	15	22	64
14	James Spencer	13	27	17	9	33	66
15	Richard Gray	18	14	6	29	48	67
16	Chloe Martin	26	16	10	24	38	76
17	David Summerville	35	21	13	25	18	77
18	Philip Garner	20	33	18	21	20	79
19	Jak Cornthwaite	46	10	14	28	30	82
20	Ian Gregory	12	35	26	13	37	86