Connor Needham places first in club’s Saturday regatta

The East End Laser Series was hosted at the Shelter Island Yacht Club on Saturday, July 16. The weekend’s races were the third stop during the series; yacht clubs including Old Cove, Breakwater and Southampton sponsor the series throughout the summer.

Races are held at eight clubs and span from early July to late August. The series is open to all age groups.

Saturday’s regatta featured seven sailors, all of whom ranged in age from their late teens to mid-50s and 60s. Connor Needham of Shelter Island placed first overall. John Kenney, also from Shelter Island, finished second; Sam Fitzgerald, who hails from Connecticut, completed third overall. Connor’s father, Peter Needham, rounded out the top four contenders. Nancy Murphy, a member of the Race Committee, “had a blast” and was “really happy” with the way the event turned out.

They sailed in Pipes’ Cove and raced from 3 to 5 p.m. The competitors completed five races, two twice around a windward/leeward course and three on single windward/leeward courses.

The extremely light wind (less than two knots at times), coupled with the design of the Lasers, allowed the event to be completed and not abandoned. Because of their size and weight requirements, the boats don’t need a lot of wind and actually performed better in the conditions that rose up later in the afternoon. Due to the small fleet size and predicted wind patterns, the Race Committee decided to wait to start or cancel the races until the wind picked up later in the afternoon.