Laser 2 Worlds at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy Day 5

Windy end to a windy week

With yet more strong winds forecast, the final 2 races took place inside Portland Harbour in a solid Force 5, with occasional big gusts to catch the unwary. Nigel Skudder & Keith Hills gave another demonstration of strong wind Laser II sailing in race 12 before they, and second placed Lisa Buddemeier & Matthias Duwel, withdrew from the final race to give the remaining competitors a chance. This offer was gladly taken up by David Annan and Amanda Childs, after the Scheer brothers had a swim at the gybe mark. Needless to say, the Scheers were not alone in the water for long....

Behind the leaders, Mike & Diana Croker held on to 4th place by 1 point from the leading Dutch boat of Sytze Harkema & Carmen Gerlach, despite broaching into the last gybe mark of the championship! Annan & Childs late charge up the leader board faltered in the first race of the day when their boom broke on the start line, but fortunately they had just enough time to sail in and borrow a replacement for the final race.

So concludes the latest chapter in the 30 year racing history of the Laser II. Whilst the international future of the class looks questionable from some angles, the recent support from the new distributors, sailboats.co.uk, and the youth and enthusiasm of many of the European competitors, offers hope that this affordable and exciting class has many more years of true international competition ahead of it.

Overall Results: