Close Racing Between Bergan & Fleming in RC Laser Title
The 2024 RC Laser Australian Championship was held at Wallaroo, South Australia over 03-05 May and came down to the wire at the completion of the three day event.
After two sunny days of B rig sailing in fluky 8-15 knot south westerly breezes at Wallaroo, Daniel Bergan and Scott Fleming were tied on 21 points. Scott was not about to relinquish his title as national champion easily. However, he was having the odd difficult race compared with Daniel’s amazing consistency and ultimately this left him slightly vulnerable going into day 3.
With a lengthy start line to accommodate 22 boats choosing a place to start was difficult. Scott said that there was no obvious favouritism at either end of the start-line so he settled for trying to find an open patch in the middle. Daniel sailed with a tighter leech than Scott and said that for him this was the key for keeping his boat moving in the calm patches.
Day 3 saw Daniel do just enough to keep Scott out and Brad Hein worked his way back to beat Peter Burton for third place on a countback.
Other performances of note were Garry Polomka’s 7th place and Mark Stockhausen’s 13th place. Vanessa McCallum, who is very new to RCLs, finished all races bar the last and had a best result of 10th place in a great display of persistence. The whole event was sailed on the fun first competition second principle and the Laser class continues to be very supportive of new sailors at state and national events.
The major placings were-:
1st Daniel Bergan
2nd Scott Fleming
3rd Brad Hein
Master Peter Burton
Grand Master Gary Hein
A big thank you to Wallaroo Sailing Club for hosting us for a long weekend. Peter and Julie Elverd did an amazing job. Also, thanks to John Berry for his role in organising the event and thanks to the other Laser sub-committee members Garry Polomka and Bob Whitehead.
Our observers included Aaron Jenkins, Alan How, David Woods and John Berry. Thanks to our scoring team of Lorraine Berry, Rose Ross and Gaynor Kouwenhoven. The rescue boat crew for the whole event were Colin Bridgeland and John Orchard. Food and drinks were provided by Julie Elverd and Warwick. Stewart Ross was our guiding hand as race officer. All in all, an excellent group of helpers.
Results
| Pos | Name/Club | Sail No. | Nett | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Bergan PARADISE QLD | AUS 147 | 31.0 | 47.0 |
| 2 | Scott Fleming PLRMYC | AUS 38 | 33.0 | 68.0 |
| 3 | Brad Hein PORTLAND | AUS 333 | 75.0 | 106.0 |
| 4 | Peter Burton SYDNEY MARITIME MC | AUS 190 | 75.0 | 116.0 |
| 5 | Mario Gulic VRYA | AUS 45 | 102.0 | 146.0 |
| 6 | Adam Chambers PATTERSON LAKES | AUS 307 | 103.0 | 168.0 |
| 7 | Garry Polomka MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 184 | 127.0 | 170.0 |
| 8 | Grant Gillespie PATTERSON LAKES | AUS 49 | 135.5 | 185.5 |
| 9 | Gary Hein PORTLAND | AUS 342 | 147.0 | 200.0 |
| 10 | Adrian Heard MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 392 | 150.0 | 207.0 |
| 11 | Peter Elverd MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 314 | 153.0 | 209.0 |
| 12 | Darren Cathie PATTERSON LAKES | AUS 297 | 153.0 | 197.0 |
| 13 | Mark Stockhausen LIGHTSVIEW | AUS 279 | 171.0 | 241.0 |
| 14 | Jurgen Luther MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 127 | 172.0 | 244.0 |
| 15 | Peter Yates PATTERSON LAKES | AUS 189 | 177.0 | 236.0 |
| 16 | DES Westlake | AUS 326 | 216.0 | 288.0 |
| 17 | Don Turnbull MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 55 | 228.0 | 295.0 |
| 18 | Peter Trenorden MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 148 | 249.0 | 318.0 |
| 19 | Peter Murfett MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 650 | 269.0 | 341.0 |
| 20 | Max Walker MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 192 | 278.0 | 342.0 |
| 21 | Vanessa McCullum PORTLAND | AUS 282 | 294.0 | 362.0 |
| 22 | Peter Lyons PORTLAND | AUS 274 | 309.0 | 381.0 |
| 23 | Bob Whitehead MAWSON LAKES MYC (SA) | AUS 259 | 384.0 | 456.0 |