Laser SB3 Round the Island Race 2008

Big wind, big waves, sun and 2 hours of sailing downwind, fast! There is almost nothing else to say about the Round the Island Race, sailed on 28th June 2008. (more…)

The ‘home’ programme for mid summer didn’t appeal hugely to Finitor’s crew so we went for this one. It was held as part of the mainly IRC/ IMS ‘Trofeo Gavitello d’ Argento’, one of the main and clearly heavily sponsored events of the glam YC d’ Punta Ala on the coast of Tuscany, opposite Elba. (more…)

The final day of the Laser SB3 National Championship dawned windless and it looked like overnight leaders Jerry Hill and his crew of Joe Llewellyn and Sam Minns on ‘3 Sad Old Blokes’ would be announced National Champions without leaving the dock. However the wind had other ideas and by midday a small breeze had developed in the channel off Largs Sailing Club and the postponement flag came down. (more…)

Racing was back on track on day three of the Laser SB3 National Championships, although when competitors arrived at Largs Sailing Club they were greeted again by the postponement flag. Luckily the breeze began to fill in soon after and the race committee made the wise decision to race the 37 boat fleet in the channel just off Largs Sailing Club, which made for some exciting and close racing.

Keen to make up for lost races, the race committee were not taking any prisoners and started all races under the black flag rule which saw some top competitors sent back to the dock early.

As a show of how close the racing was, all four races were won by different boats; ‘Team VW Touareg’ (Jono Shelley) were quick off the line to take the first race; overall leaders ‘3 Sad Old Blokes’ (Jerry Hill) lead the second race from start to finish to rack up their fourth race win of the series; Mark Rushall convincingly won race three; and the final race went to delighted winners ‘Taku’ (A Lightbrown) who put in by far their best performance of the championship and port tacked the fleet off the start to take the race win from Team Maclaren (Christina Summerhayes).

After eight races, Jerry Hill and his team of not so sad or old blokes – Joe Llewellyn and Sam Minns – continue to lead the fleet by a thirteen point margin going into the final day of the championships. Second and third are closely contested with Team VW Touareg in second place and just one point in front of ‘Baloo’ (Martin Boatman).

Hill said:

“It was a tough day in the office and racing in the channel made for a tricky race course. You had to pick a side and depending on where the breeze was at the end of the leg determined who came out best.”

“With such a tricky day, we just had to try and keep an eye on our closest competitors – Team VW Touareg (Jono Shelley) and Mark Rushall – and we managed to extend on both of them, which I am really pleased about.”

“We can’t be complacent though as there is still all to play for if the race committee manage to get the final four races in, although the forecast is looking pretty light so we will just have to see.”

The Laser SB3 National Championships concludes tomorrow, 7 June.

Results (top 5)
1, 3 Sad Old Blokes (J Hill/J Llewellyn/S Minns) 20 pts (4,1,1,1,8,1,(12),4)
2, Team VW Touareg (J Shelley/J Modral/C Blackburn) 33 pts (11,5,3,4,1,4,5,(23))
3, Baloo (M Boatman/I Turnball/J Outhwaite) 34 pts (3,6,(11),5,2,3,7,8)
4, M Rushall/J Baxter/L Rushall/C Savage 37 pts (1,4,2,9,(23),13,1,7)
5, Doolali (C Simonds/E Simonds/G Simonds) 42 pts (2,7,9,(22),4,10,4,6)

Full results can be found at http://www.largssc.co.uk/Results2008/Results_files/sb3/f15classd4os.html

LASER SB3 NATIONALS – DAY 2

SB3 fleet head to bowling alley to idle away windless hours

Competition took on a different form on day two of the Laser SB3 National Championships as the competitors were forced to challenge each other at the local bowling alley instead of on the race course!

After a three hour onshore postponement waiting for the wind to materialise, racing was abandoned for the day in Largs, Scotland, and many of the teams decided to try their hand at bowling instead.

The evening entertainment is being provided by the local whisky distillery who is hosting a tasting event for the competitors.

With just four races completed after two days, everyone is hoping that Friday will bring some wind so the championships can get back on track.

The Laser SB3 National Championships is taking place at Largs Sailing Club from the 4-7 June.

Results (top 5)
1, 3 Sad Old Blokes (J Hill/J Llewellen/S Minnis) 7 pts (4,1,1,1)
2, M Rushall/J Baxter/L Rushall/C Savage 16 pts (1,4,2,9)
3, Team VW Touareg (J Shelley/J Modral/C Blackburn) 23 pts (11,5,3,4)
4, Baloo (M Boatman/I Turnball/J Outhwaite) 26 pts (3,6,12,5)
5, City of Capetown (D Hudson/R Hudson/A Hudson/T Jacobs) 30 pts (6,10,6,8)

Full results can be found at http://www.largssc.co.uk/Results2008/Results_files/sb3/f15classd4os.html

Hill quick out the blocks on first day of Laser SB3 National Championships

The wind gods were smiling down on the thirty seven boat Laser SB3 fleet as the first day of racing got underway in a force 4 southerly breeze in Largs, Scotland, at the Laser SB3 National Championships.

Boat of the day went to Jerry Hill and his crew of Joe Llewellen and Sam Minnis on ‘3 Sad Old Blokes’ who sailed an almost faultless day, posting a fourth place and three firsts to take an early lead in the championships.

A delighted Hill said:

“We had a fantastic day today and really enjoyed the conditions – blue sky, sunshine and a great 18-22 knot breeze – it doesn’t get much better than that and the race committee did a really good job in the shifty conditions. I think we had a good feel for the breeze today, we knew where we wanted to go and were quick upwind and downwind and made very few mistakes.

“It is obviously early stages in the championships and there is some great competition with Mark Rushall, Jono Shelley (Team VW Touareg) and Christina Summerhayes (Team Maclaren) to name just a few, so we are really looking forward to the next few days racing.”

Finishing the first day on just seven points, Jerry Hill takes an early lead from Mark Rushall with Jono Shelley currently lying third, but racing is tight and with a different boat taking the podium spots in each of the today’s races, anything can happen over the next eight races.

The Laser SB3 National Championships is taking place at Largs Sailing Club from the 4-7 June.

Results (top 5)
1, 3 Sad Old Blokes (J Hill/J Llewellen/S Minnis) 7 pts (4,1,1,1)
2, M Rushall/J Baxter/L Rushall/C Savage 16 pts (1,4,2,9)
3, Team VW Touareg (J Shelley/J Modral/C Blackburn) 23 pts (11,5,3,4)
4, Baloo (M Boatman/I Turnball/J Outhwaite) 26 pts (3,6,12,5)
5, City of Capetown (D Hudson/R Hudson/A Hudson/T Jacobs) 30 pts (6,10,6,8)

Full results can be found at http://www.largssc.co.uk/Results2008/Results_files/sb3/f15classd4os.html