Winter Series 2009 / 2010
by Richard van den Heuvel

Over a period of 3 months (December to February) a total of 18 races were sailed in the Winter Series. Some weekends we had strong winds, favoured by the cats but not by the Lasers, other times the wind was rather weak and not so much pleasure to sail a race. Normally this time of the year the wind comes from the North and is steady, not this year. She changed to the South in mid-January and regained some good strength early in February. The number of sailors each time also varied very much. The cats went from 2 to 13 boats, the Lasers from 4 to 8. During 4 races only the Lasers sailed. In total 23 Catamarans participated, but never more than 13 at a time, usualy less. There were 17 participants in the Laser class, but never more than 8 at a time. As can be expected in Series racing, those who come often, make the best scores. With 2 races discarded, the outcome is as follows:

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20 & 21 February 2010- Laser Nationals Thailand
by Richard van den Heuvel

Good wind (may be a bit strong for some sailors), excellent race management (under difficult physical circumstances) by our Race Officers Khun Sukit and Khun Visanu ensured a smooth running of the championships. Both days 4 races were scheduled and completed, a tribute also to the sailors, who spent about 4 hours on the water. There were no protests, so everyone must have sailed according to the rules. Congratulations to all, sailors and race management, for the enjoyable event. The results are as follows:

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6 & 7 February 2010- Hobie Nationals Thailand
by Richard van den Heuvel

Splendid weather for this year's Hobie Nationals, good steady wind, not too much, so the four races each day could be sailed without interruption. Many thanks to our Race Officers, Khun Sukit and Khun Visanu, as well as to all the other staff involved, for the smooth running of the event. On Saturday we saw some capsizes in the Hobie Tiger fleet, a cat a bit more difficult to keep up apparently. But all were determined to sail as much as possible and not give up, even with gear failure. On Saturday afternoon one helm sailed to Ocean Marina to get his boat repaired, so he could continue the competition. Congratulations to all sailors for thair determination to keep sailing to the end.
The National Champion Hobie Tiger 2010 is Stefaan de Vos with crew Apple. The National Champion Hobie 16 for 2010 is Bob Gardham with crew Judy Gardham. Congratulations !

The fleet before the start.	Start of race 5 of the Hobie Tigers	Start of the Hobie 16 fleet	Small and Large at sea.

The results are as follows:

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31 October & 1 November 2009- Laser Nationals Thailand
by Chris Dando

What a great Laser Nationals! We owe many thanks to Richard and his team (especially our race officers Khun Visanu and Khun Sukit who spent the entire 2 days in a small rib running the races) for all their work in puting on such an event.
The winds were either very kind, for those who like strong winds, or a little cruel for those who were hoping for lighter conditions! All in all, it was a great event with our highest turnout of 32 boats
since I have been over here in Thailand. I would like to thank everyone who came for making the effort and I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. Certainly every person who joined the
races contributed to the 'team' enjoyment of the event.
I have to remark on several people from Varuna who I think sailed incredibly well and perhaps some didn't get the credit at the prize giving. First of all, well done to Gareth for again consistantly
chasing Khun Keerati and finishing just behind him in every race except one. I think I did cross ahead of him on 1 or 2 first beats, but it was a temporary situation and I was lucky to see his sail
numbers by the finish. It shows that us 'oldies' can give the youngsters a run for their money. The alternative explanation is that the wind was strong enough for those that are 'horizontally
disadvantaged' were able to make use of their extra power.
More importantly, a fantastic result for Charlie Zbinden who was 5th in the full rig Laser fleet, and 9th in the overall fleet of 32. These were definitely not Charlie's ideal conditions and it shows
that great sailors never lose their talent. Congratulations to Malee who was the top female competitor. She also provided my moment of the regatta. In the second race, I had a bad start and had indulged
in some horizontal exercises up the first beat. On the next run, I was catching up and as I got to the leeward mark, Malee was just ahead. At this point it was quite windy and big waves. As I came in
to the mark I thought I had a slight overlap on the inside. At the same time Malee gybed -- this didn't look to me like a totally intentional event. Anyway I called for water at the mark and also
remarked that I was on starboard. There was an absolutely fantastic look from Malee as she glanced backwards. I wish I had a camera as it was the greatest expression of panic, sheer terror, and total
admission that she was not in full control of what was about to happen. At this point I decided that I would not push my luck as it was the commodore's boat I was about to separate into 2 parts and I
would like to continue to sail at Varuna...
What a great performance by Khun Wikki! Without much practice in very difficult conditions she finished 7th in the Radial fleet and 13th in the overall fleet of 32. My final star sailor is Andre
Axelrod. He only started sailing a Laser about 2 weeks ago and this is the first dinghy he has sailed. It was also way outside the conditions he has ever experienced in a Laser before. He managed to
finish in all bar one race and was 28th overall. Just shows what can be done with persistance and a fantastic good humour.
Overall again, just many thanks to everyone who came and took part. The results are:

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For more results click here

Updated 28/2/2010 by Richard's Web Services.