Leigh & Lowton 6 hour race

> Leigh & Lowton welcomed 30 sailors to its annual 6 hour race held on the August Bank Holiday Monday. A variable force 3-5 SE breeze gave the 11 competing boats plenty to think about around a 20 minute circuit. Once again it produced a nail-biting finish with the Toppers being decided in the final race to the line after 6 hours sailing. Tom Keegan and Gareth Staple-Jones completed the 6 hours sailing without any change-overs, but most crews opted for a multichange strategy. >
> The initial part of the race gave the spectators some good cheer as first the “Unwakeables” and then the only female sailor(!) in the “Three Lads” team took early swims on the first leg! As the race settled down 6-hour veteran Tom Keagan in “Klub Keagan” stretched out a good lead in the Lasers, chased by the young upstarts in the “Three Lads” team and the “Unwakeables” while the Toppers were split into two battles – “Photo Griff” and “DJ Mearns” breaking away from the chasing pack. >
> The changeovers are always an exciting area of this race and this year was no exception, with some excellent swift transfers but some very wet slip-ups as well. One team had more changeover practice than others as they successfully steered a double fleet of a Topper and an Optimist around the course between them. >
> 1st Laser – “Klub Keagan” Tom Keagan – LLSC
> 2nd Laser – “Three Lads” Lucy Yeates, Jamie Catchpole, Curtis Mearns – LLSC >
> 1st Topper – “DJ Mearns” Daniel Budden, James Grummett, Lucy Mearns – Redesmere, Burwain, LLSC > 2nd Topper – “Photogriff” Nick Devereux, Haydn Griffiths – Budworth, LLSC >
Topper 6 hour race record 2012.xls