Laser heat called off

Press, 15 January 1982, Page 22

Laser heat called off

The easterly breeze died away the fleet was becalmed and officials had to abandon the sixth heat of the New Zealand Laser class yachting championship at Lyttelton yesterday. Although the contest will still finish today, the 48 entrants will have a longer time on the water than was originally scheduled. If weather conditions permit, the seventh race will be held at 16.30 a.m. and the resail of the sixth heat has been timed for 2.30 p.m. Russell Coutts (Auckland) the world youth monotype title-holder still leads the series with the concession of 6.25 points. Phil Penney (Canterbury) is second with 11 points ahead of Phil Doug-

las (Auckland, 11.50), Alan Ott (Auckland, 17) John Irvine (Otago 20), and Peter Van Ryn (Wellington 24). The abandonment was made yesterday just as the leading group reached the end of the second triangle after two hours of frustrating sailing. Three legs of the course remained. The two most relieved helmsmen . would undoubtedly have been Coutts and Penney, who had been respectively eighth and thirteenth to drift around the wing mark. Douglas on the other hand, was leading at that stage and, even though he completed the triangle behind Steve Rushton (Auckland) and Ott; he was well placed

to make deep inroads into the points advantages held by Coutts and Penney. The easterly airs had sufficient momentum for the yachts to cover the first beat in something near to normal time. Murray Armstrong (Auckland) was a surprise leader throughout the first triangle, with Douglas not far behind him. However, on the second circuit the breeze ligthened and became more flukey, and a hint that the wind might swing around to the south did not eventuate. Rushton , Ott, Douglas and Bruce Cox (Canterbury) were the only skippers to reach the bottom mark a second time before the inevitable abandonment decision was made.