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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

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

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

Central Coast RC Laser Launch A Great Success in Light Conditions 

Rafferty’s Resort at Cams Wharf , Lake Macquarie, was the stunning location for the RC Laser launch event of the new North Lakes Radio Sailing Club based on the Central Coast.

21 RC Laser sailors entered the Regatta, including many top sailors from the well established Sydney fleet, mixing it with locals, and a number of newcomers.

A beautiful day started with a nice light breeze, but this unfortunately dwindled to become a drifter which tested sailing skills and patience. Sailing was very competitive, although allowance was made for the conditions. Seven races were completed before the day was finally called off due to the conditions with only a handful completing the course for the last race.

Final results produced a win for experienced Sydney RC Laser skipper Graham Brown of Dobroyd Aquatic Club, with second going to Lake Macquarie RC Club’s Jason Rootes. Third was Robin Tickner also of DAC.

In addition, NLRSC presented bottles of wine, which were well received as lucky draw prizes.

The regatta was highly successful in initiating enthusiasm for the RC Laser on the Central Coast.

The next event in the series will be at Dobroyd Aquatic Club on August 21^st, in conjunction with the NSW titles, with subsequent races planned for Grahamstown Lake and Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club.

North Lakes will also soon start regular club racing for the RC Laser class on Saturdays at Lake Munmorah.

Enquiries to  North Lakes Radio Sailing club

President    Brian Lindsay  Tel  0438589910

 

 

 

Twelve skippers started for a day of racing for the QLD RC Laser Championship title. By racing’s end, eight  had survived the conditions. An unusual winters day, with a warm, gusty westerly which swung from a bit north of west to a bit south of west during the day, gave PRO Bill Clancy a challenge in setting a course for the Championship.

With Ian Ashe’s anemometer registering gusts of 26 km/hour, it was testing conditions for the competitors and  “B” and “C” rigs were the order of the day. Malcolm Kampe won the title of QLD RC Laser Champion, Peter Burford took out 2nd place, and Laurie Hinchcliff 3rd place.

Malcolm Kampe demonstrated an enviable consistency, and it soon became obvious he was the man to beat. Peter Burford was never far away,  as was Laurie Hinchcliff.

The entire field of competitors must be congratulated on the way they conducted themselves during the Championship. They were always courteous, and even when things went quite badly wrong, there was no dissention and a willingness to accept penalties, even when incidents were missed by the race observers.

The BRYC extends a thank you to Bill Clancy (PRO), David Black (scorer), David Cox (cook), Ian Ashe (weather man), Paul Newman (photos) and to all BRYC members who assisted with the various tasks which helped to make the event a success.

Finally, well done to Malcolm Kampe 1^st, Peter Burford 2^nd, and Laurie Hinchcliff 3^rd

Ian Smith

Secretary BRYC

Registrations for the 2016 RC Laser National Championships have been coming in and now we have representation from each state.  So far:  2 from QLD; 6 from NSW; 5 from VIC; 2 from SA; 2 from TAS.

If you haven’t registered yet, here are the links

2016 RC Laser National Championships Entry Form

2016 RC Laser National Championships Notice of Race

2016 RC Laser National Championships Program

For interstate competitors flying in, it’s a 272 km drive north from the Melbourne Airport to the Yarrawonga Yacht Club.  Most of it is country driving on 110 km/h freeways and has little traffic, it will take around 2 hrs 45min. The venue ticks all the boxes, great launching for all boats at once, large grass rigging area, ample car parking, ready access to the club house, toilets, function room, and a wide range of accommodation choices.

For more information contact Anthony  at   a_smith16@bigpond.com

 

 

NLRSC is for RC Lasers on the Central Coast

There is a new club for RC Lasers on the Central Coast, north of Sydney. Brian Lindsay has now formed the “North Lakes Radio Sailing Club” to race and promote RC Lasers on the Central Coast, after the great success of a recent one-day informal regatta for RC Lasers held at Summerland Point on Lake Macquarie and participation in the Radio Control Yachting promotion day at Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club.
The North Lakes Radio Sailing Club (NLRSC) is well set up;  it’s already affiliated with the NSW Radio Yachting Association, has obtained an electric-powered rescue boat and course marks and soon plans to start regular racing at Tom Burke Reserve, Lake Munmorah on Saturdays.

The NLRSC is keen to attract new skippers to RC Laser sailing and has organised a loan boat from the RC Laser distributor Radio Control Sailing Australia for newcomers to try.

North Lakes Radio Yacht Club Invitation Series

NLRSC is also organising a “Travelers’ Series” of four events to be held at various locations between Sydney and Newcastle. These Travelers’ events will be open to RC Laser sailors from all clubs. .

The first of these will be run by the North Lakes Club at:

Raffertys Resort, Cams Wharf, Lake Macquarie on Sunday July 31^st.

http://www.raffertysresort.com.au/

The Resort provides a stunning location for the event. Sailing will be from a sandy beach, with lawn foreshores. Skippers could make this a great weekend by booking overnight accommodation at one of the luxurious cottages in the complex; enjoying the excellent Al Lago restaurant; and swimming pool.

Subsequent events are planned for Dobroyd Point, Sydney on August 21^st; Grahamstown Lake, near Medowie on September 25^th; and Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club ( date to be confirmed.) Be sure to put these dates in the diary and look out for more information on this website.

Entries for the “RC Laser Series Round One” at Raffertys Resort are now open, and can be made on the NSW Radio Yachting website.      http://www.rcyachts.net/nsw/

All enquiries for the North Lakes Radio Sailing Club should be made to Brian Lindsay at linrace@valhallaweb.com.au  or phone 0438589910