The weekend of 12-13 October saw the return of the Laser 5000 fleet to Queen Mary SC for exciting short course racing. Convincing winners were Mark Emmett and Simon Appleby on “Appleton Signs”, who claimed the title with a clean set of bullets, to take the last title of the season with a race to spare.

The remaining podium places were hard fought between Thomas Sauvel and Virginie Thouvenin on ‘Ronstan’, Martin Wadsworth and Chris Haley on GBR 5197 and Craig Johnson and Toby Linnell on ‘Harken’.

Saturday’s racing was held in a shifty blustery 15-20 knots with most competitors struggling to control the immense speed and power of the 5000, especially on the short downwind legs. ‘Appleton Signs’ sailed away from the fleet and revelled in the conditions, eventually the only competitors not to capsize during the weekend. Second place in the first race went to GBR 5197, while ‘Harken’ recovered from their swim in race one to record second places in the day’s remaining races as other competitors suffered from gear failure and challenging downwind conditions.

Sunday provided 10-12 knots of breeze, although the shifty conditions combined with sharing the same course as the club handicap fleet, provided additional hazards for the fleet. ‘Appleton Signs’ again powered away to three wins, while ‘Ronstan’ secured their second place overall with some impressive starts. GBR 5197 was unable to match the pace of the leading two boats in the shifty conditions.