Laser Masters Worlds (finally) begins

Split, Croatia (September 26, 2017) – After two days of delay, waiting for wind and shopping for the best forecast app, racing finally got underway at the Laser Masters World Championships.

The 350-strong fleet, divided evenly between the Laser Standard and Laser Radial, went afloat mid-morning on the tail end of a northerly Bora wind. The sailors patiently waited for the forecasted 6 to 7 knot south westerly wind to arrive at 14:00. Both fleets sailed on different courses and were further divided into groups of 10 years, starting from 35 years +10 through to 75 years +. These sailors are affectionately known as the “Legends,” sailing only in the Laser Radial Great Grand Masters (65+) fleet.

Both courses set off racing at about the same time as the wind built to 10 knots by 15:00. The breeze peaked at 16:00 with 12 knots, before it started to die away by 17:00, causing several of the races to be shortened.

The Laser Radial Great Grand Masters fleet exemplified sailing as a “Sport for Life” today. Among the 62 sailors in this fleet are 17 “Legends,” including Deidre Webster from Canada. In the front end of the fleet, Legend Kerry Waraker from Australia is sitting in second, behind fellow countryman Rob Lowndes.

In the Laser Standard Master fleet, Australian Brett Bayer is still at the top of his game in the 69-competitor group, with a 1-point lead over

Peter Hurley and Ernesto Rodrigues both from USA. The Grand Master Canadians Allan Clarke and Andy Roy sandwich second place held by Tomas Nordqvist from Sweden.

Racing is scheduled for the reserve day tomorrow, due to the four lost races from the first two days of the Championships. A late afternoon breeze is forecasted.

The 2017 Laser Masters World Championships are being held from September 24 to 30.

Event Details – Entry List – Results – Facebook

Preliminary top-three results:

Standard Apprentice:
1. Maciej Grabowski POL 3pts
2. Maxim Semerkhanov RUS 7pts
3. Adonis Bougiouris GRE 8pts

Standard Master:
1. Brett Beyer AUS 9pts
2. Peter Hurley USA 10pts
3. Emesto Rodriguez USA 10pts

Standard Grand Master:
1. Allan Clark CAN 4pts
2. Tomas Nordqvist SWE 9pts
3. Andy Roy CAN 9pts

Standard Great Grand Master:
1. Mark Bethwaite AUS 4pts
2. John Pitman NZL 4pts
3. Michael Nissen GER 4pts

Radial Apprentice:
1. Jon Emmett GBR 5pts
2. Anastasia Chernova RUS 7pts
3. David Waiting USA 11pts

Radial Master:
1. Alessio Marinelli ITA 7pts
2. Leydet Jean-Christophe FRA 10pts
3. Scott Leith NZL 12pts

Radial Grand Master:
1. Rudolph Ratsep USA 17pts
2. Martin White AUS 19pts
3. Rob Cage GBR 28pts

Radial Great Grand Master & 75+:
1. Robert Lowndes AUS 13pts
2. Kerry Waraker AUS 19pts
3. Bill Symes USA 21pts

Women’s Radial Apprentice:
1. Anastasia Chernova RUS 7pts
2. Georgia Chimona GRE 15pts
3. Paula Marino URU 23pts

Women’s Radial Master:
1. Michelle Bain NZL 35pts
2. Giovanna Lenci ITA 49pts
3. Camilla Graves AUS 50pts

Women’s Radial Grand Master:
1. Lyndall Patterson AUS 41pts
2. Vanessa Dudley AUS 66pts
3. Claudine Tatibouet FRA 138pts

Women’s Great Grand Master & 75+:
1. Hilary Thomas GBR 153pts
2. Gill Waiting NZL 154pts
3. Deirdre Webster CAN 170pts

Source: Katie Olsen