On the final day of the Laser SB3 National Championships two races were completed in light airs before the third race was abandoned. Overall victory went to Glenn Bourke, Jeremy Troughton and Tony Kilby sailing Musto. Russell Peters (Tack Tick) won the first race of the day with Glenn Bourke close behind in second and Barry Parkin (Hullabaloo) in third. Race two saw Paul Brotherton cross the line first with Colin Simmonds second and Parkin taking third once again. Bourke was safely in sixth place, with nearest rival, Peters, in ninth.
With the third race abandoned, Bourke, Troughton and Kilby were crowned the 2007 Laser SB3 National Champions after a 14 race series that saw some spectacularly close racing over four days. Second was Russell Peters with Greg Wells and James Grant, who had lead after the second day when they won three of the four races. An OCS on the third day and then a couple of double digit results were enough to let the ever-consistent Bourke, back into the lead, which he held to the final race. In third overall was Badger Racing; Paul Lovejoy with Rob and Peter Greenhalgh and Sally Wilson, and fourth was Paul Brotherton with Bill Masterman and James Fawcett in Pants.
Long days on the water battling against the cold northerly and a strong ebbing tide to get back to the warmth of the HISC bar meant many of the fleet found the event exhausting. This didn’t stop them celebrating in the usual energetic style at the Saturday evening Championship Prize Giving and Dinner.
The SB3 Class Association President, Daniel Geoghegan, described the event as one of the highest-calibre regattas seen on the SB3 circuit to date. He thanked Volkswagen Touareg for their generous sponsorship throughout the season. Dave Cheyne was given a special trophy for his commitment and superb work for the class over the years. Laser Direct Event Support were highlighted for doing a fantastic job, in particular Ian Mills, putting in long hours to ensure everyone’s boats were in top shape.
Prizes were awarded for the SB3 Grand Prix Series, which comprised of four events during the season:
1st Place: Palava - Geoff Carveth
2nd Place: Team Touareg - Craig Burlton
3rd Place: Champagne Blonde – Daniel Geoghegan
On winning the Laser SB3 UK National Championships for the second time, Glenn Bourke thanked Hayling Island Sailing Club for their friendly welcome, giving a special mention to the PRO Paul Carpenter, his team of volunteers and the protest committee for their professional running of a brilliant series. “We had a fantastic battle with Russell and his guys on Tack Tick, I lost count of how many wins they had. I am very pleased to have won it and couldn’t have done so without my crew JT and Tony, who did a great job both at Cowes and here.”
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