2008 WA Laser State Championships

OG · **Posted:** 30 Apr 2008, 10:34

Wrap up report from Western Australian Laser sailor Tristan Brown

The WA State Laser Championships were held at Geographe Bay Yacht Club over the ANZAC Day long weekend, with 73 boats competing across the three different laser fleets. All fleets saw lead changes across the three days, with the conditions making it very hard to maintain consistency for the entire championships.

On the first day, everyone encountered challenging light breezes which struggled to stay in the one spot, with numerous changes in angle and strength. Race One got underway in these same conditions, and before too long the fleets spread massively. Some were able to take advantage of these massive changes whilst others struggled their way around the course. After over an hour of fickle breezes, the opening race of the regatta was abandoned.

Once the breeze stabilized later on in the afternoon, Race One was resailed. This time there was no abandonment, and results stood. In the Full Rig fleet, Paul Slaughter (who was leading the earlier race when it was abandoned) proved there was justice after all, and sailed very well to win. In the Radial fleet, Michael Taylor proved he would be hard to beat in the lighter conditions, taking the win, over fleet newcomer David Mooney in second and Tom Lovelady third. In the 4.7 fleet, Zac Evangelisti took control of the race to be leading the 4.7 fleet after the first day.

Day two of the regatta again saw light winds with unpredictable shifts. The major contenders in each fleet made their move, with five races held across the day. In the Full rig fleet, Tim Castles had a great day on the water with a 5th, 3rd 1st, 3rd and a 3rd to take the overall lead in the championship. Other race winners in the Full Rig fleet were Richard Leslie, Tristan Brown and Brad Utting. After the 2nd day of racing, Tim Castles held the overall lead with, Paul Slaughter hanging onto second whilst Ryan Hannan lost two points due to a disqualification in Race6 and was in third place. Three points behind Hannan was Tristan Brown, seemingly the only other sailor with a chance of challenging for the podium.

In the Radial fleet, Nic McPharlin had a consistent day with a 6th, 1st, 3rd, 2nd and 1st and took overall lead of the 23 boat radial fleet. David Mooney grabbed two bullets in the conditions, but struggled in the other races of the day with 3 finishes outside the top 8. Tom Lovelady remained in second place overall 8 points behind McPharlin.

In the Laser 4.7 fleet, the biggest move came from Caitlin Elks. She managed three races wins, a 2nd and a 4th in what turned out to be the decisive day of the three day regatta. Others in the 4.7 fleet struggled for consistency, as Elks raced away to a 4 point lead with 2 races remaining. Zac Evangelisti was 2nd with the 2 final races to come, with a considerable gap back to the rest of the fleet.

Day Three brought fresher conditions, with winds ranging between 15-18 Knots. With the extra wind came the chill factor and most sailors (and volunteers) put all the gear they own on in the chilly conditions. The windier conditions also gave the heavier sailors a chance to move up the results table.

In the full rig fleet, Richard “Dr Chaos” Leslie revelled in the heavier breezes taking two race wins from the final two races, only to realize once returning to shore that he was OCS (On Course Side of the starting line) in the final race. Another to take advantage of the heavier wind was Ryan Hannan, who finished off the regatta in style with a 3rd and a 1st respectively in the final two races.

Regatta leader, Tim Castles could only manage a 4th and a 10th in the final two races. The 10th coming after he chose to play it safe and return back to the starting line after thinking he broke the start. This left the title race quite close between Hannan and Castles as has been the case in previous years. After doing the calculations, it was found that Castles had secured his fourth consecutive WA Laser State Championship on 20 Pts. Hannan was a close second, finishing two pts adrift, while Paul Slaughter claimed 3rd overall and the State Apprentice Master Title with 30 pts. Brad Utting managed to leapfrog Tristan Brown for the 4th place Cube on the final day, while Brown finished 5th in his first full Rig State Championship.

In the sub-divisions of the Full Rig fleet, Jake Flintoff managed to take out the Youth championship for the first time, by finishing 7th overall from Martin Wright in 11th overall. In a close battle for the Master’s State Championship, Mark Lovelady prevailed on count back from SOPYC’s Nick Carew. Stefan Kurys-Romer secured yet another Grand Master State Title.

In the Radial Fleet, Nic McPharlin held onto his overnight lead and secured the title (19 Pts), from RFBYC sailor Tom Lovelady on 27 pts, while newcomer David Luketina finished well to claim 3rd on 35 Pts. McPharlin also won the Youth fleet, while Megan Cunningham took home the Women’s State Championship. Luketina won the Radial Masters Championship, while Klaus Schmechtig secured the Grand Master State Title. A wonderful effort by Tony Bayliss saw him take home the Radial Great Grand Masters Championship.

The top two in the 4.7 fleet remained unchanged as Caitlin Elks won her first State Championship and became the first girl to have her name engraved on the 4.7 trophy. She obviously also won the Women’s 4.7 Championship. Zac Evangelisti finished 2nd four points behind and was the first newcomer in the fleet of nineteen 4.7s. Alex Knight revelled in the stronger breezes on the final day to sneak into 3rd overall with two race wins on the final day. It will be good to see the leaders in the 4.7 fleet starting to progress up through the other two laser rigs.

A big thank you must go to Geographe Bay Yacht Club for hosting the event and to Offshore Marine for coming onboard as the major sponsor. Thanks must also go to the other sponsors, Tallwood Constructions, JMW Real Estate, Dunsborough and Samovar Restaurant, Busselton. Our Association president Tim Castles did a great job of organizing a lot of the event, and his efforts shouldn’t go unnoticed.

We look forward to seeing another big laser fleet at our 2009 State Championships at South Of Perth YC in December later this year. This will be the major warm up event for the Australian Laser Championships to be held at Fremantle Sailing Club in late December.

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2008 WA Laser State Championships

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