Noble Marine 2019 Laser Radial Inland Championships
On Sunday we had light winds from anything between 4-10 knots and shifty. In the first race there were two general recalls and then a large line sag after - typical Radials! The competition between the top five was very close, I won this race with Finley Dickinson very close to me and then Shotaro Kikkawa in third.
The second race was very similar conditions with probably the most wind all day, I even got hiking. Personally I wouldn’t say there was a favoured side because both sides came in however playing the shifts was very important all day. Results for the second race were Drew Barnes 1st, Finley Dickinson 2nd and James Foster 3rd.
The third race was the shiftiest I would say, with the wind changing direction and strength less often but changing angles were bigger. Shotaro Kikkawa led round the first mark and kept his lead with Jon Emmett and myself close behind which were the final positions.
The final race of the day and to be honest some people thought it could have been cancelled but a good call and at the right time we got another race in, Shotaro Kikkawa led from start to finish winning this race, in second was Oli Sturley and third was Scott Forbes.
The racing was very close, and the competition was good. Well done to Shotaro Kikkawa for winning on equal points with myself in second place and Finley Dickinson in third overall.
Special thanks must go to Grafham Water for holding the event, PRO Peter Saxton and all the race team for their hard work, plus dad for taking me. Also, our title sponsors Noble Marine and SailingFast for providing the prizes.
By Drew Barnes
