Thomas Saunders - first overall Laser Radial (also youth division). Image copyright NZ Laser Association.
by NZ Laser media
Timaru turned it on again for the final day of the 2010 NZ Laser Nationals, 26th January 2010. The breeze took just a little longer to develop, with the race committee getting the Open Laser's first race away in 10 to 12 knots at 10:40am. But it built steadily as the other 4 fleets were started. The open fleets had 3 races to complete the series and the masters had 2. The racing followed a pattern similar to the previous day. The first race was lighter and the shifts were important. In the following races the breeze was stronger and steadier and boat speed was paramount. The dolphins came back to play and tested everyone's race focus.
In the Open Laser fleet Andrew Murdoch left the door slightly ajar with a 4th in the first race, his second drop. But he followed this with a 1st in the penultimate race to win the series, then underscored that with another 1st in the final race. His series scores of 3,3,(5),1,1,1,1,(4),1,1 made it a convincing performance. Mike Bullot continued to lead the challenge with a 1st in the first race of the day, but then two 4ths put him within reach of Josh Junior who finished with (5),1,1 to tie on a net 20 points. The count back gave Mike 2nd and Josh 3rd.
Andrew Murdoch and Josh Junior, first and third overall in the Laser Open division. Image copyright NZ Laser Association.
But the most interesting challenge came from Tauranga's Sam Meech. Sam tied with Josh after a 2nd in the first race of the day. Only his 3rd and 5th in the final 2 races settled him back in 4th place overall and leading under 21 sailor. Yachting NZ Open Laser coach Mark Howard said Sam had made great strides stepping up to the open fleet after becoming last year's World Youth Radial Champion.
Andy Maloney from Murrays Bay continued a solid regatta with 3,(6),6 to finish 5th overall and 2nd under 21.
This regatta has illustrated the depth of talent in a development squad lead by Mark Howard and confirmed Andrew Murdochs pre regatta prediction that a challenge can now come from a number of sailors.
The tension showed in the 45 boat Radial fleet with 2 general recalls in the 2nd of the days 3 races. Eventually Thomas Saunders from Tauranga took the top spot with 1,5,(10) today and Josh Porbeski from Worser Bay closed to within 4 points with a 3,1,9. George Lane from Murrays Bay finished strongly with 7,1,1 for third. All three sailors were top 3 overall and top 3 youth.
Sara Winther was the first woman and comfortably in 4th against the guys with 8,4,5 today. Miranda Powrie and Rachel Basevi were 2nd and 3rd women, followed by Molly Meech who was also first youth woman.
Sarah, Rachel and Molly are part of Yachting New Zealand's combined male and female Radial development squad being coached by Ian Nealy. He was pleased with the testing conditions at Timaru, including 5 races on Monday, as it demanded his squad dig deep to maintain consistent results.
Having 34 boats in the 4.7 fleet has been a highlight for the NZ Laser Association. Gareth Moore from Waimakariri SPBC won with an impressive regatta score line of (3),1,1,3,1,1,1,(5),2,1 only giving away a few points on the final day to Ryan Amlehn from Nelson YC who was comfortable in 2nd followed by Ben Caundle from Tauranga. Top 3 girls were Charlotte Corston from Chartris Bay YC, Holly McKee from Nelson YC and Robyn Caundle from Tauranga. The top finishers reflect the strong South Island bias in the 4.7 fleet.
The Laser Masters series has provided an epic battle that came right down to the wire. The top 3 sailors were covered by only 3 points at the start of the day and 4 points after the last race. Pete Van Ryn from Muritai only sealed his 1 point victory over Mike Pasco from Manly on the final reach of the last race. Andrew Dellabarca finished 3rd. Pete had a slow start to the regatta but came on strong as the breeze kicked in with 1st in the last 4 races. Remarkably he can remember sailing in the Laser Nationals the last time they were sailed in Timaru, though he can't remember what year that was.
The Radial Master series was a completely different story. Scott Leith from Pupuke BC cleaned up with 6 1sts and a 2nd and didn't have to sail the last race. That follows on from a 2nd Radial Apprentice at last year's Laser Masters World Champs in Nova Scotia - showing what a lot of training and a skewed work-life balance can do. Edmund Tam from Worser Bay was comfortably 2nd having been 4th at the Worlds in Nova Scotia. Hamish Atkison from Christchurch YC was equally comfortable in 3rd, following a 2nd in his come-back regatta as a master at last years nationals. A feature of this class is the speed and strong results shown by the 2 great grand masters Jim Quinn from Tamaki and Michael Sheilds from Napier. These guys are aged just under and just over 70 and show an astounding level of fitness and endurance.
Results (top six placings)
Laser Open Division
Rank Bow Fleet Divison Sail Number Name Yacht Club Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 Total Nett
1st 94 Laser Open 192639 Murdoch, Andrew - Kerikeri CC NZL 3 3 (5) 1 1 1 1 (4) 1 1 21 12
2nd 141 Laser Open 181992 Bullot, Michael - Murrays Bay SC NZL (5) (4) 3 2 2 2 2 1 4 4 29 20
3rd 113 Laser Open 197247 Junior, Josh - Worser Bay BC NZL 1 (6) 2 3 3 3 4 (5) 2 2 31 20
4th 44 Laser Youth U21 196871 Meech, Sam - Tauranga Yacht PBC NZL (8) 1 1 4 (6) 4 3 2 3 5 37 23
5th 129 Laser Youth U21 181961 Maloney, Andy - Murrays Bay SC NZL 4 2 4 (9) 4 5 5 3 (6) 6 48 33
6th 120 Laser Open 188803 Weaver, David - Worser Bay BC NZL (7) 7 7 6 (8) 6 6 6 5 3 61 46
Laser Radial Open Division
Rank Bow Fleet Sail Number Name Yacht Club Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 Total Nett
1st 41 Radial Youth 188811 Saunders, Thomas - Tauranga Yacht PBC NZL 1 3 1 1 4 (5) 2 1 5 (10) 33 18
2nd 49 Radial Youth 191618 Porebski, Josh - Worser Bay BC NZL (19) (14) 3 2 2 1 1 3 1 9 55 22
3rd 18 Radial Youth 192612 Lane, George - Murrays Bay SC NZL (10) (13) 4 10 1 2 5 7 2 1 55 32
4th 64 Radial Women 197278 Winther, Sara - Takapuna BC NZL 7 (8) 5 3 (8) 3 3 8 4 5 54 38
5th 99 Radial Youth 179417 Le Pen, Etienne - CNC FRA 2 1 6 (22) 14 6 8 4 6 (18) 87 47
6th 119 Radial Youth 192708 Mazard, Maxime - SRC FRA 3 (19) (17) 14 7 13 7 2 8 8 98 62
NZ Laser Association
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