The first day of the Laser SB3 European Championship in Weymouth Bay yesterday saw the sort of conditions that had been hoped for; a strong south-easterly breeze of 15-18 knots, with a good swell, and the wind building in the afternoon to a steady 20 knots.

Geoff Carveth in Palava was the dominant force all day, with bullets in all three races, and is currently sitting in first place overall. He is closely followed by Marshall King in Into the Blue, with 2, 1, 2 and Tim Fells in Shaun Beaver with 3, 2, 4.

Pre-event favourite Glenn Bourke started with a 2nd in race 1, but after his kite pole broke, he had to miss the last race. Amazingly he still managed to finish the 2nd race in 4th place, with a crew member holding the pole in place.

Many other competitors suffered gear failure, but for those who didn’t, it was a day to remember, with huge sleigh rides downwind and lots of gleeful whooping. There are similar conditions forecast for today so hopefully the fleet will enjoy another great day of spectacular, exciting races.

Results (after day 1)

1st Palava GBR 3053 Geoff Carveth 1, 1, 1, 3
2nd Into the Blue GBR 3014 Marshall King 2, 1, 2, 5
3rd Shaun Beaver GBR 3231 Tim Fells 3, 2, 4, 9
4th Doolalli GBR 3017 Colin Simmonds 3, 2, 5, 10
5th Ceco IRL 3258 Peter Kennedy 4, 3, 3, 10