ILCA Welsh Championships - Dale Yacht Club

Dale Yacht Club, 28-30th July 2023

By Paula MacLaverty

At the beginning of the week, the weather didn't look great for this year's ILCA Welsh Championships, however, the forecasted 40knot gusts didn't materialise and thirty ILCA sailors gathered at Dale to compete.

Saturday got off to a breezy start but a consistent wind direction and average wind speeds topping 23knots allowed for three somewhat lively races for the ILCA 4 & 6 fleets before the increasingly blustery conditions sent the fleets ashore. Race wins from Bronwen Thomas and Nina Marsh, with seconds in two of the three races by Macsen Barber resulted in three sailors with equal points at the end of the first day in the ILCA 4 fleet. In the ILCA 6 fleet Freddie MacLaverty trailed Iris Singleton by one point.

With concerns that Sunday's racing may be affected by the weather, the race officer decided on four races for the ILCA 7 fleet. With race wins from George Colquitt, James Curtis and Ian Clingan the leading sailors were close in points at the end of day one.

After a lively night for most sailors (the wind on the campsite, not the party) Sunday dawned calm, if not a little wet. Race committee launched the fleets early with the intention of two races for all fleets before the wind picked up again. The first race was rather sedate when compared to the previous day, with wind speeds of between 5 and 8 knots, however, by the time race 2 was underway the wind was starting to build, reaching gusts of over 34 knots.