Osborne wins Chris Thomas trophy

GEORGE SAILING NEWS - The sailors of George Lakes Yacht Club competed for the Chris Thomas Trophy on Sunday.

The previous races in this series should have been sailed in November, but there was no wind that day.

There was a good turnout with 10 boats competing, comprising a mix of youth and veterans. A brisk south-westerly wind provided the motive power and all three scheduled races could be completed.

In the first race, it was Maurits Lammers who had the initial lead on his Laser with Malcolm Osborne close behind. However, he capsized at the gybe mark and equipment failure led to his retirement from the race. Osborne took the lead, with Matthew de Villiers in pursuit, and these positions didn't change during the race. Behind, there was close competition among the Dabchicks, with Ashley Layland on a Laser 4.7 also in the mix.

Luke de Villiers finished seconds ahead of Ashley, with Conrad Holm just behind.

In the second race, Matthew de Villiers had the initial lead, with Osborne close behind. Osborne overtook up the next beat and the two had close competition during the rest of the race with several lead changes. Osborne however was able to take line honours, 10 seconds ahead of De Villiers. Behind, Kyle Koeries had joined in on a Laser 4.7 and was able to get ahead of the potentially faster Dabchicks. He finished third, ahead of Luke de Villiers and Ashley Layland.

Anthony Alant (left) and Conrad Holm competed on Dabchicks for the Chris Thomas Trophy. Photo: Hans Delport

In race three, there was once again contention for the lead between the Lasers, with De Villiers failing to capitalise on opportunities to establish a lead. Osborne was once again first over the finish line. In an attempt to overtake,

De Villiers took a different route to the finish, but this allowed Kyle Koeries to overtake him. Ashley Layland was also close behind to finish in fourth place. However, scoring on class handicaps, Koeries was the winner of this race, with Layland second.