South Australian RC Laser Sereis

South Australian RC Laser Series 2016

South Australian RC Laser Series – Rounds 5, 6 & 7

Round 5 – Saturday 4th June Mawson Lakes

This round of the South Australian RC Laser Series was cancelled due to a complete absence of wind. It was a reminder of how lacking in wind many of the Saturday morning races were in the 2015 Series and how we decided to change the format to a majority of afternoon races in 2016.

Round 6 – Tuesday 5th July Mawson Lakes

South Australian RC Laser Series
Our heavy weather expert Lindsay Sawyer. The harder it blows the more he likes it.

Results – 1st Adrian Heard, 2nd Lindsay Sawyer, 3rd Mark Easton, 4th Lou Lamberts, 5th Jurgen Luther

We had five starters for the round completing eight races, with strong gusty southerly winds for most of the afternoon. C rigs were the order of the day, with only Adrian changing to a B rig for three races. Lindsay won the first two races, further cementing his credentials as our South Australian RC Laser heavy weather specialist. On the windward work of the first race the wind became so strong that the entire fleet had to gybe to go about on at least one occasion. Adrian won four of the next five races, with a close finish with Lou in one race and another tight result with Lindsay in a later race. Mark then won two of the last three races. In the first of those races Lou became a victim of Adrian’s B rig becoming badly overpowered and was rammed into by an out of control downwind boat while working to windward near the mark. While the wind was strong, there were parts of the course where there were wind shadows. Jurgen had a frustrating time caught in some of these wind shadows and had a day he’d rather forget.

Round 7 – Tuesday 5th July Mawson Lakes

South Australian RC Laser Sereis
Our newest RC Laser recruit John Nieuwenhuizen.

Results – 1st Adrian Heard, 2nd Jurgen Luther, 3rd Mark Easton, 4th Lindsay Sawyer, 5th Lou Lamberts, 6th John Nieuwenhuizen

The most remarkable feature of this B rig dominated round of eight races was that we had six entrants. Besides the RC Laser National Titles held in South Australia in 2013, this is a record number of boats in an South Australian RC Laser event. We welcome John Nieuwenhuizen to the class. John has bought Scott Mitchell’s old boat and he has considerable radio control sailing experience. The other person who deserves a special mention is Jurgen Luther. Jurgen has worked so hard to promote South Australian RC Lasers over many years and he has helped so many people get started. He must have felt proud to see six RC Lasers racing at Mawson Lakes.

Two rivalries quickly developed in this round. Jurgen and Adrian in their usual tussle for the lead, and Mark and Lindsay fighting for third place. John and Lou really mixed it with the fleet, but during the first four races John often had a period caught in irons. We have all been there and done that! All in all some of the best racing we have ever had in South Australia and great preparation for the nationals.

Photos – (1) Our newest RC Laser recruit John Nieuwenhuizen with his boat on the stand. (2) Our heavy weather expert Lindsay Sawyer. The harder it blows the more he likes it!

words and pictures by Adrian Heard.