| Laser
Masters Championship Sails Off Oriental
16
Lasers find heavy and light winds over the weekend
June 27, 2004
Oriental
Dinghy Club Commodore George Sechrist provided this report on
the races:
The
Oriental Dinghy Club and the Oriental Laser Fleet hosted a very
successful eighth annual NC Masters Championship June 26th &
27th, sailed on the Neuse River off Oriental by 16 Lasers. The
Laser is an International and Olympic sailing class, and is
a 14 foot single handed boat.
A near perfect start in the second race on Saturday. Henry
Amthor, the eventual overall winner takes the pin position
and nails the race. He finished Saturday's racing with
two firsts and two seconds. (Mick Roberts photo)
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Sailors
traveled from North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland for this
event. There are 4 classes of Laser Masters: Apprentice, age
35-45, Master 45-55, Grand Master 55-65, and Great Grand Master
65 and over. Besides the intense competition in each age group,
the overall awards are adjusted for penalty points for the "young"
guys. That means the younger the group you are in, the more
points are added to your final score.
Saturday provided challenging conditions for these small boats,
with winds gusting over 25. Many sailors went for one or more
unintentional swims in the Neuse, due to some unexpected gusts
and wind shifts, with only eight sailors durable enough to finish
the 4th race.
Henry Amthor from Hampton, VA set the early pace, winning the
first two races. The next two races were split between Martin
Willard of Wrightsville Beach and Mike Schmidt of Pasadena,
MD, with Amthor taking two seconds and a commanding series lead.
Mike Schmidt of Pasadena, MD, sail number 166063 and Frank
Murphy (157552), Norfolk, VA go mano a mano on the windward
leg in Saturday's heavy air racing. (Mick Roberts
photo)
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Sunday
was the exact opposite of Saturday, with not enough wind to
start at 0900, so up went the postponement flag. By 1100 the
wind had filled in enough from the SE for two relatively short
3 leg races, followed by a final 5 leg race. Henry Amthor secured
the regatta win by winning race 5. The oldest sailor in the
fleet, at age 71 was Ken Hopkins from Statesville, NC, who won
race 6. Mike Schmidt won the final race, which earned him second
overall with a 1 point margin over Chris Legg of Baltimore.
(Mick Roberts photo)
 Winners
in this past weekend's North Carolina Laser Masters Regatta:
Left to right:
George Sechrist 3rd Grand Master Oriental, NC
Martin Willard 2nd Master Wrightsville Beach, NC
Henry Amthor 1st overall/ 1st Master Hampton, VA and winner
of the coveted Dragon Award
Alain Vincey 3rd Master Richmond, VA
Chris Kakavas 2nd Grand Master Burlington, NC
Liz Hancock 1st Radial/Female Pasadena, MD
Mike Schmidt 1st Apprentice Pasadena, MD
Jane Schmidt 2nd Apprentice/2ndRadial/Female Pasadena,
MD
Ken King 2nd Great Grand Master Oriental, NC
Chris Legg 1st Grand Master Baltimore, MD
(Ken Hopkins, not pictured) 1st Great Grand Master, Statesville,
NC |
This
year we had two female sailors join us, Jane Schmidt and Liz
Hancock, both from Pasadena, MD, sailing the Radial rig, which
is designed for smaller and lighter sailors.
After the brief rain shower on Saturday, everyone enjoyed a
pig-pickin' on Grace Evan's lawn.
The Oriental Dinghy Club would like to thank their race
sponsors: Triton Yacht Sales, M&M's Restaurant, The Inland
Waterway Provision Company, and to Grace Evans and Gordon LeGrand
for the use of their properties.
Related Sites:
Learn more about The Oriental Dinghy Club at their web site
- towndock.net/odc
The local dealer for Laser sailing boats is Triton Yacht Sales
- online at TritonYachts.com
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