2020 European ILCA4 Championships - UKLA ILCA 4’s at the Eurilica 2020 Vilamoura
by Gary Finkelstein and the Squad Sailors
15th August saw the opening ceremony of the 2020 Eurilica ILCA4/Laser 4.7 Championships in Vilamoura.
Photo credit UKLA ILCA 4’s at the Eurilica 2020 Vilamoura ©ThomTouw
The championships were originally scheduled to be held in Vilamoura in April 2020, but were postponed to August due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Our squad of hardy UKLA sailors, who all worked hard to qualify to represent GBR at the event, have braved the travel risks, by either flying through Portugal, or travelling through France, Spain and Portugal to attend the event. Either way, they have made the decision to participate and quarantine if required upon their return to the UK, rather than not participate. May success come to those who preserve.
We set out below the squad’s journey and look forward to following them at this historic event. Rule Britannia!
Anya Morris
Anya started sailing around the age of six in an Oppie. She was a regular club sailor and sailed single and double handers before starting competitive Topper sailing.
Her career was catapulted after joining regional squads when she was eleven. She started sailing Laser 4.7 at thirteen including the youth Nationals at WPNSA. She joined the RYA’s British Youth Sailing Team (Laser 4.7), and is very excited to have qualified to represent GBR and be competing in her first international Laser event.
She is very grateful to all the organisers for providing such a great opportunity despite the challenges for everyone.
Carys Attwell
Carys (15) started sailing as a toddler with her parents, but fell in love with the sport once she could escape them single-handed in a Optimist, aged 7. An active club racer and member, Carys also trains with her friends, the Rutland Sailing Club Hydra Youth, in Lasers, High Performance boats and team racing, volunteered as an assistant instructor last year and regularly helps out with the junior members to make getting on the water safe, fun and rewarding for them (and her!).
Carys sailed an optimist first, then moved to the RS Tera and trained in the National Squads, but outgrew the hull as she turned 13 and moved to the Laser 4.7. She earned a place in the RYA 4.7 National Squad 2019-2020 and consistently achieved podium placings in the girls' UK 4.7 fleet, and was placed top U16 girl of the Sailingfast UKLA Ladder series when lockdown hit. A highlight this year was the very windy Tiger Trophy where Carys won the Lady Tiger Trophy for the first all-female boat, finishing 11th from 148.
She is looking forward to experiencing the wider European 4.7 scene and building on this in the next year, before moving on to the Radial later in 2021.
Coco Barrett
Coco is one of our more experienced and strongest sailors in the girl's 4.7 U18 fleet.
Her sailing journey to the 2020 Euricas in her words: "I began sailing 4.7s in the winter of 2017 after 5 years in Toppers. I attended my first 4.7 international event in 2018 with the Europeans in Greece, where I came 21st, and the Worlds in Poland, where I came 39th. In 2019 I was unable to attend the Europeans as it was during GCSE’s, but I went to the Worlds in Kingston, Canada where I came 12th. Last year I also attended the Radial U19 Europeans in Greece where I came 42nd.
Pre Coronavirus I had planned to attend the 2020 4.7 Worlds and Radial U19 Worlds, but obviously everything was cancelled. The 4.7 Europeans were looking to be the only event all summer, so I jumped at the chance, especially since it is the last year that I am young enough to compete. I’ve just had an amazing few weeks training in Malta with Sail Coach to make up for lost time over lock down, and hoping to put it to use in Vilamoura."
Drew Townsend
I started my sailing journey in the spring of 2016 in a small lake in Portishead. After my first go sailing a boat I couldn’t wait for the next. I would sail for an hour or so every week with the other cadets at my club. Eventually I tried sailing on the sea for the first time and although I was scared I enjoyed it so much I started the adult racing as soon as I could, even if that meant having to borrow a boat every week!
After a few months of sailing my dad told me that he had signed us up for a course in Weymouth with the Andrew Simpson sailing centre. I was extremely excited to travel to Weymouth and sail for the first time away from home. Although it was only a four day course I learnt a lot from my instructor and started begging my dad for a boat of my own, and to my surprise he agreed.
After getting my own boat I went out on the water with every chance I got and, after a summer of sailing, I entered my first event (a SW Topper traveller). Although in the beginning I didn’t have a lot of luck results wise I persevered and started doing the 4.2 National series and 5.3 SW traveller series.
In the autumn of 2017 I was excepted in to both 4.2 National squad and RYA Topper Zone squad. I continued training and in 2018 I was accepted into the 5.3 Topper National squad.
I continued training as much as I could and even ended up sailing every weekend for over a year, luckily this paid off because in 2019 I was selected to go to the Irish Nationals and represent GBR, and I was also accepted into the 4.7 National squad. The squad training helped considerably, as in early 2020 I was selected for the 2020 4.7 European championships in Vilamoura, as well as the 4.7 world championships in Lake Garda. Unfortunately both events were put on hold due to the pandemic, but once lockdown was lifted I got back on the water as soon as I could and trained as often as I could.
In August I went back to training at WPNSA with a Laser/Foiling training camp where I was able to try out foiling boats while still preparing for the Europeans. The journey to Portugal followed shortly after, and having arrived in Portugal it is great to be back out on the water carrying out final preparations.
I would like to thank all of my coaches throughout the years who have made it possible for me to be in this position and the RYA for arranging training camps and supporting me throughout my journey.
Freddie Howarth
Freddie began learning to sail an optimist at Poole YC when he was 7 years old. His first regatta win came at Mudeford, a year later in 2014. He soon followed in his sisters' footsteps, progressing through the squad system and representing GBR in Holland, Belgium and Ireland. After many hours of training and racing, the highlight of Freddie's time in the optimist came in 2017 at the National Championships in Weymouth, where he was crowned junior champion.
In 2018, Freddie moved into the Topper class, qualifying for the national squad and representing GBR at the Irish Topper Nationals, where he was 3rd junior. The Topper proved to be a great stepping stone to the Laser as Freddie switched classes in 2019 and qualified for the 4.7 national squad.
Despite the obvious interruption to this year's sailing calendar, Freddie is very grateful and looking forward to the 4.7 European Champs, as this is one of the few major sailing events of this year.
Jack Graham Troll
Jack is the reigning 2019 UK Laser 4.7 national champion and was ranked at the top of the Under-16 2019/ 20 ladder series until lockdown set in. His preparations in 2020 in his words are described below.
"It certainly wasn't all plain sailing to the 4.7 Europeans in August of 2020. My preparations started at the Dinghy show, working closely with Hammond Drysuits developing a new 'neoprene' drysuit, perfect for the warmth of Portugal and the cold waters of the Atlantic. Robline UK were there too and helped to further develop and fine tune all my controls. Then Lockdown happened and everything stopped, but my unique Reboot pre-hab exercise program kept me going until we could get back out on the water. And when the time finally came, it was back to Lymington sailing and training in a closed group with Nik Froud in preparation for what is going to be a very different Europeans.
With constantly changing government guidance, travel plans and the Laser Nationals competition, to support me our local Charity and MP's asked the Minister of Sport for clarity on Elite Sportsperson status. As restrictions lifted, Brackley Leisure Centre made sure I could build on my physical fitness and Affirm partnership coaching ensured that I'm mentally prepared. I know I can always rely on last minute deliveries from Sailing Chandlery and the full support from GJW Direct insurance. But what I didn't know was that I could also rely on Racing Point F1 team for a perfect carbon fibre repair on my tiller. And when I thought that all coaching was on hold, the Andrew Simpson Centre, Shaun Priestley and Tim Hulse organised a fantastic week of training Lasers and Foiling. Great times, perfect timing!"
Max Steele
Max joined the Laser 4.7 fleet from the RS Tera's where he won the 2018 Inland championships as well as the European Cup. He went on to win the End of Season championships in the RS Tera Pro, and achieved bronze at the 2019 World Championships.
The winter of 2019/ 2020 is Max's first year in the Laser 4.7. With the benefit of coaching with the UKLA and RYA British Youth Team coaches, including Tim Hulse and James Hadden, as well as equipment from NeilPryde, and v-rigger.com, Max qualified for the Eurilca championships and was ranked 4th U16 boy in the UK Ladder Series when lockdown struck.
During lockdown, Max persevered to work on his tactics through the Virtual regatta e-sailing, where he won the ET RYA Junior Championships as well as achieving Silver at the RYA Youth Championships. He also seeks to maintain fitness by hiking and cycling whenever possible.
Max has been gaining form as soon as lockdown eased, and has been training through July with Mateusz Hanke and Polish lasers at the Polish national sailing center in Gdansk.
Oliver Allen - Wilcox
My name is Oliver Allen-Wilcox. I first learnt to sail at my local sailing club aged 8 years, a small man-made lake in Frampton-on-Severn. My parents took me to the local farm show where the sailing club was advertising free taster sessions sailing. Thinking I would fall in a few times and absolutely hate it, my parents thought it would be a safe ending to any sailing aspirations I might have had! They could not have been more wrong, I loved being pushed from pontoon to pontoon in an Oppie thinking I was sailing.
The first boat I owned was a Topper 46070. I had a few lessons with our local National Squad Topper Sailor, Nick Williams, who patiently taught me the basic skills to sailing a Topper. Frampton was a great club that taught me to enjoy sailing first in a safe environment, but I was eager for more. Nick (my trusted coach) went off to University and I planted the seed with my parents to go to our first Topper traveller and try racing. Within a year I was accepted onto the Topper pathway, which saw me through 3 years of RYA squad sailing.
In 2018 I became the South West Traveller Champion. In 2019 I was titled with National Inland Topper Champion, 6th Topper Worlds in Medemblik and National Topper 5.3 Champion. I left Toppers with valuable race experience in a great atmosphere.
The 2020 season saw me move into a Laser 4.7, securing a place in the Winter Laser 4.7 National Squad. Productive winter training, headed up by RYA coaches James Hadden and Tim Hulse, supported me in qualifying for the 2020 Laser 4.7 European Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Recent preparations for the Europeans have included independent training in small groups and a Laser/Foiling week organised by Andrew Simpson, Weymouth. This was an amazing opportunity to get on a start line since lockdown, as well as learning new skills together with having fun foiling. I am looking forward to putting my sailing knowledge and skills to the test and represent Great Britain against the best European competitors.
Javier Segui Mearns -
I was born in Mallorca and have always lived in Mallorca, both my parents are British. I only have a British passport so have always considered myself British even though I have always attended a Spanish school.
My Dad is from Cowes so I’ve always been encouraged to sail. My first experience was in an inflatable boat with a sail in the swimming pool, then in a Laser with my Dad. One summer my mum signed me up for a sailing course. Two weeks in Laser Pico then two weeks in an Optimist in Puerto Pollensa ( we have 3 months school holiday in Mallorca so I think it’s because she wanted to get rid of me), at the end of the course they asked me to join their Optimist regatta team. I have raced for the Reial Club Nautico de Puerto Pollensa ever since. I qualified in Optimist for the Spanish Nationals then moved into 4.7. After my first season in 4.7 I qualified to join the Balearic team and have competed in many National competitions but just missed the Europeans last year by 1 place. Last year I won a place in the “Centro de Tecnificacion de Deportiva” which is a school near Palma for high level sports people from the age of 15. We get to train everyday either cycling, in the gym or on the water and there is extra educational support when we have missed school due to being away from competitions. It makes school less boring!
This year I qualified for the Europeans and just after I registered for the race, I was told I couldn’t compete for Spain as I wasn’t a Spanish national. I was absolutely gutted as I just wanted to go and sail and be part of it all! My parents contacted UKLA and World Sailing and they were amazing. I was due to attend one of the National qualifiers in the U.K., but then we were locked down and l couldn’t attend. When I got to Vilamoura the organisers listed me as a Spanish sailor, but I would love to represent Great Britain one day!
