Runners & Riders ILCA 4/4.7 at the UKLA 2020 Nationals

Aug 19

by Barney Procter and Guy Noble

Will the British ILCA4 sailors make it back from the European Championship in Vilamoura to compete in the 2020 UKLA Nationals?

For the lucky few who managed to get away to train or compete it’s not without risks. There is a chance the government will take Portugal off the list of countries from which returnees will have to quarantine on Thursday – fingers crossed.

Putting the prospects of the travellers to one side, who can we expect to do well in the ILCA4 fleet at the UKLA Nationals this year? Or may be this isn’t the right question…. With the smaller rig the ILCA4 is a great entry point for those aspiring to compete at a high level but it also must be remembered that sailing is great fun and these guys should be having a blast. Some will have that burning ambition to win clearly established by a very young age, others will be looking to their racing for different rewards. For many it's the camaraderie, just meeting up with mates and doing something enjoyable – this may well morph into a passion but speaking as a master sailing is just great fun and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be a life long pastime.

With the ILCA7 (full rig) ILCA6 (Radial) ILCA4 (4.7) covering so many age groups and abilities it’s hardly surprising that the 200 boat limit (50 for the ILCA4) for the UKLA 2020 National Championships was sold out within hours although UKLA are still trying to accommodate more entries. Previous pre regatta write-ups have covered Masters entrants and the senior ILCA7 fleet and the ILCA6 will follow but here we are looking at the ICLA4 fleet.

2020 has been a challenging year for all sailors, but possibly no more so than for the 4.7 Laser fleet. The year started with the hand warming prospect of Europeans over Easter in Vilamoura, followed by the Worlds in Lake Garda, and then topped off with a pasty munching Nationals in Marazion. A competitive autumn and spring series, spiced up with some Radial returnees keen to compete at these wonderful venues, led to great racing. The highlight being Sunderland, which proved to be a world class venue with a grandstand view for those armchair sailors.

The Europeans in Vilamoura has belatedly gone ahead, which will make attendance of the UK Nationals challenging for Anaya Morris, Carys Atwell, Coco Barrett, Dru Townsend, Freddie Howarth, Jack Graham-Troll, Max Steel and Oliver Allen-Wilcox. We wish them all great success and thank them for carrying the flag for us.

Many of the remaining 2019 GBR Squaddies have moved up to the Radial Fleet, leaving Honor Procter and Oliver Woodley and a handful of others to welcome the new cohort. After a summer of cliff jumping and paddle-boarding, Honor is physically up to the task if a bit rusty. She’s looking forward to competing against old friends and making new ones, which is the key point of a national championships. That said, no quarter will be given, so all must be on their mettle.

This leaves the field open to a new wave of challengers that will be looking to stamp their authority.

Many of these sailors moving up from other classes, having been frustrated by cancelled competitions, so will be keen to exhibit their talents. Not least amongst these are Arwen Fflur fresh from the Optimist, a determined young lady with great enthusiasm and a ready smile, and Henry Koe, robbed of staking his claim on the Topper fleet, is a young gentleman but deadly on the start line... watch out! We look forward to some gripping family rivalries between the Hackers “battle of the sexes” and the Tylecote brothers, who have some unfinished business.

It’s great to see Wales with a strong representation of seven competitors, possibly the largest Welsh team for a generation, which is a testament to the hard work of Performance Managers Paul Simes and Sarah McGovern.

Weymouth is a fantastic venue, which has enough variety to test the best of sailors but with the convenience of great ashore facilities.

The 14-day forecast suggests some changeable weather, which will provide plenty of challenges for all. If your tactics are not working out, a great sailor once said his secret was to “go left on the first beat, right on every other… and then sail faster than everyone else… simples”.

The week is being sponsored by several great companies that provide valuable services to the sailors and each day of racing will have a title sponsor.

UKLA is grateful to Ovington Boats Sailingfast Sailboats.co.uk Southeast Sailboats Noble Marine for their support.