Please select your home edition
Edition
Palm Beach Motor Yachts

Maidenhead Laser Championship

by Ben Osborne 13 Nov 2020 06:10 UTC 31 October 2020

Twelve Laser Standard sailors took their place on the start line for some intense and heated racing in the afternoon on 31st October.

As in the morning (see Gary's article here), the course was a windward-leeward course with a spreader mark at the top and gate at the bottom. Again, the plan was to complete a sprint series of five 20-minute races with the last one being a double points medal race.

Gary Bullock had a poor start to his series but rebounded with 3 straight bullets and a second place in the medal race, claiming first overall at a canter. Doubly imposing was Alastair Brown, who had clearly not had his fill of the morning's racing and decided to race in the afternoon in his radial. Taking advantage of other racers mixed results, Alastair was very consistent, winning the medal race. This allowed to hold on to second in the series.

Only a little further back, a furious battle was raging for the last step on the podium. Dave Hirst, Chris Nash and Adam Meekings all finished within a point of each other. Dave had profited from the other competitors' slow start, taking the win in the first race, which help him to 3rd in the series. Adam managed to slip from contention for second place with a poor medal race. Meanwhile, Sasha Mayhew and Stuart McAdam were also tied on 27 points further back, particularly impressive given that Stuart is more likely to be found in his Albacore than 'slumming it' in the Laser. Stuart secured a strong result in the competitive fleet with a solid second place in race 4, while Sasha was consistently in the fight for good results.

Silver Fleet was equally competitive, with James Gladwyn leading by some considerable margin. As with Stuart, James was having a slight identity crisis, having not sailed a Laser for quite some time and being much more acquainted with his Solo. That didn't stop him from dominating, with a lead of 17 points over the next best placed sailors, Oliver Meats, Adrian Sutton and Mark Hudson, again three sailors tied on points.

The short racing was popular with competitors, and the Medal race was largely popular as well (depending on your result!). Overall, the event was a success and is more than likely to happen again at some point in the future.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmR1R2R3R4R5Pts
1st209998Gary Bullock‑711147
2nd208659Alistair Brown‑5244212
3rd214100Dave Hirst17‑95821
4th210356Chris Nash367‑9622
5th181358Adam Meekings2‑3331422
6th197916Sacha Mayhew45‑661227
7th210357Stuart Mcadam‑64521627
8th213547Andrew Hill Smith‑1110871035
9th184765James Gladwyn992‑101838
10th126376Oliver Meats‑121210112053
11th133535Mark Hudson10‑11118DNF55
12th210908Adrian Sutton88DNF(DNS)DNS57

Related Articles

2025 International Classes Regatta preview
The ICR has earned a stellar reputation as an outstanding lead-up regatta for competitors The Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) is proud to announce that the 2025 International Classes Regatta (ICR)—the Club's premier annual dinghy event—will take place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November 2025. Posted on 27 Jun
Sail Canada introduces Canadian Sailing Team
21 athletes were selected based on the Canadian Sailing Team Sport Canada Carding Criteria Sail Canada is pleased to announce the list of sailors who will be part of the 2025-2026 Canadian Sailing Team. Posted on 26 Jun
Aussies Break into Top 10 at Kieler Woche
Put to the test from light air to heavy breeze The first half of Kieler Woche has wrapped up in Germany, with Australian sailors putting themselves to the test in five Olympic classes. Kiel delivered a complete spectrum of conditions for athletes to sharpen their racing skills. Posted on 26 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 6
Double gold for France in Olympic classes Perfect sailing conditions marked the final of Kieler Woche in the Olympic skiff, dinghy, and surf classes: On Wednesday, June 25, the waters off Schilksee offered fresh to strong, challenging winds with flat waves. Posted on 25 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 5
Tuesday served as a warm-up for the hot finale of Kieler Woche Sophie Steinlein and Catherine Bartelheimer from Bavaria in the skiff, as well as Kiel native Fabian Wolf on the foiling windsurf board, will enter Wednesday's (June 25) medal races as leaders. Posted on 24 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 3
A Tough Test for Athletes and Equipment Fresh to strong south-westerly winds with stormy squalls pushed participants to their limits on Monday at Kieler Woche. Posted on 23 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 2
The Olympic skiffs sorted themselves into gold and silver fleets after four daily races Subtropical sailing conditions with a light but sufficient breeze delighted the athletes on Sunday (June 22) on the second regatta day of Kieler Woche. Posted on 22 Jun
Kieler Woche Day 1
German frontrunners in the 49er and 49er FX classes Fantastic summer weather with light but quite variable winds meant a reduced sailing program for more than 2000 participants at the start of Kieler Woche on Saturday (21 June). Posted on 22 Jun
Australian Sailors ready to tackle Kiel Week
The third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam Australia's Olympic class sailors are set to tackle Kiel Week, the third event within the five event Sailing Grand Slam, held in the north of Germany. Posted on 21 Jun
2025 Suzuki ILCA Master Europeans overall
Jon Emmett and Orlando Gledhill are crowned champions at Hayling island The 2025 Suzuki ILCA Master European Championships concluded today in Hayling Island, Great Britain, after five days of competition and nine races held for both fleets. A strong wind was expected, but conditions turned out to be lighter than forecast. Posted on 20 Jun
Palm Beach Motor YachtsMaritimo M600