Flag Officers Cup Sunday 10th May

Three straight wins saw Simon Hastings (Solo) grab the title at the Flag Officers Cup at Welland Yacht Club on Sunday. With very little, but shifty wind conditions, Hastings proved they were of no difficulty to him.

Race one saw Hastings gain a vast distance on the rest of fleet due to his very good positioning at the start. Neal Tack (Solo) and Martin Cook (Solo) were in a close battle for second place, just 4 seconds separated them at the end of the race. Tom Bell who was trying out his new Laser (full rig) for the first time took second on the water but failed to have a big enough lead over the solos and finished fourth on handicap. In the first and second race Emma Flowers (Laser Radial) struggled to keep up with the rest of the fleet as the lack of wind did not suit her rig, although she was first across the start line in race one. However, race three saw her fight back as the wind improved and crossed the line in third place, although after taking into account her PY, she finished in a disappointing 5th position. Paul Wilson did remarkably well in his new Solo and his times improved significantly with the wind strength. In race one he had a brilliant start but struggled due to the small amount of consistent wind. In race three, Wilson had to retire which resulted in him finishing 7th overall. Given a more consistent wind Wilson may be one to keep an eye on. His Son, Adam Wilson (OK) gave Hastings a run for his money in the third race, finishing 2nd. Hastings managed to extend his lead on the reach but Wilson closed the gap whilst beating back up the river. Tack and Cook were battling between each other in every race. The results from the first race were reversed in the second race with Tack finishing 22 seconds ahead of Cook. Race three saw them both knocked down a place, and with more wind tack was able to put some distance between himself and cook, Tack took 3rd and Cook 4th. This meant the overall result was Hastings 1st, Tack 2nd and Cook 3rd.