Fantastic sailing conditions in Caroline Bay Timaru for the last 2 days of the NZ Laser Nationals. Reports and results below.

Results      Photos

Day 4 - Final Day - Tuesday 26 Jan

Timaru turned it on again for the final day of the 2010 NZ Laser Nationals. 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.
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.

Thomas Saunders winner of Youth and Open Radial 2010 NZ Laser

Day 3 - Monday 25 Jan

That was more like it. With an early 10:30am start the race committee got through 5 races for the Open fleets and 4 for the masters. The NNE wind started with 10 to 12 knots for the first race and built steadily through the day to a solid 18 knots for the 5th race. Large shifts in the early races gave way to a steadier breeze as it strengthened. The waves built with the wind and were relatively short and steep and provided a good test of upwind endurance and downwind skills. Patches of weed and dolphins playing with the boats on the reaches and runs added an extra dimension.

It was a relief to get in a solid day with the nationals being a ranking regatta for the open and masters fleets. Racing settled down quickly and remained clean with no protests and only one general recall in the first Open Laser race, and one in the 2nd Radial fleet.

In the Open Laser fleet, after a hurry up from Andy Maloney on the first day, Andrew Murdoch and Michael Bullot have reasserted themselves at the top of the leader board. Andrew with 5,1,1,1,1 and Michael with 3,2,2,2,2 - showing what a bit of experience can do. Josh Junior proved the most consistent of the following bunch with 2,3,3,3,4, followed by Sam Meech, Andy Maloney, and Dave Weaver.

The 45 boat Radial fleet combines, open and youth male and female sailors. Leading across the board are 3 sailors with very consistent results, Thomas Saunders with 1,1,4,(5),2 today, Josh Porbeski with 3,2,2,1,1 and in 3rd and first female Sara Winther 5,3,8,3,3, followed by George Lane. Miranda Powrie is 2nd woman after having a break from the class, with Rachel Basevi third. It's an interesting fleet to watch with youth sailors such as Chris Steele, Declan Burn coming through to Laser after success in the Spalsh and Starling classes and sailors from France, the USA, Norway and the Cook Islands.

The relatively new 4.7 Laser (smallest sail) has leaped ahead this year with a 34 boat fleet, the majority from Nelson and Christchurch. A course 2 miles out and the 5 races in building breeze made it a big day for this fleet. Gareth Moore (Waimakariri SPBC) continued to dominate with a 1,3,1,1,1,1 today. Ryan Amlehn (Nelson) sits 2nd with (6),2,2,2,2,3 today and Ben Caundle (Taurangua) in 3rd.

The 25 boat Standard Masters fleet is getting interesting with the top three sailors Mike Pasco, Andrew Dellabarca and Pete Van Ryn within 3 points. But Scott Leith has made the Radial Masters fleet his own and is now 6 points clear with 2 races to go. Edmund Tam in 2nd could still challenge and Hamish Atikinson rounds out the top 3.

Andrew Murdoch and Josh Junior start cleanly at the boat end during Race 1 on Day 3 at the 2010 NZ Laser Nationals

Radial Start on Day 3 at the 2010 NZ Laser Nationals

Day 2 - Sunday 24 Jan

There was no racing at the Laser Nationals today due to a wide variety of testing conditions. Initially there was no wind. However a southerly front rolled through with wind speeds up to 35 knots and the temperature dropped to 11.5 degrees. Even though the wind died down during the day, large swells rolled into Caroline Bay making it difficult for the race committee to lay a course.

Day 1 - Saturday 23 Jan

The first day of the Laser Nationals saw a promising start with strong south westerly's. Unfortunately they died out over the day which made navigating the swell with chop difficult in the last race. The points at the top of the laser open fleet are very close which will make for interesting racing.

Results

Laser Open

Radial Open

4.7

Laser Masters

Radial Masters