News
European events update
Due to the Coronavirus situation in Europe the organising clubs and EurILCA have decided to move the
Laser Masters European Championship 2020 in Monaco
from 03 April to 9th April
to 16th October 2020 - 22nd October 2020 and
Laser 4.7 Youth European Championship & Open European Trophy 2020 in Portugal
from 11th April to 18th April
to 20th June 2020 - 27th June 2020
We wanted to avoid also a late date of cancellation if things get worse and let people to organize themselves and change their reservations as much as possible.
● As a reminder EurILCA is covering some bank charges at registration for each sailor, so if sailors
intend to compete proposed dates, they don't need to cancel their application, it is automatically follow.
Sailors will still be able to cancel it before the entry closing date for postponed dates and if they were
entered normally on time for april dates we will reimburse the full amount paid : 250 euros if they
canceled later.
● If sailors don't intend to participate at the proposed date or want their reimbursement now, they have to
log on their EurILCA account and cancel the application.
We are very sorry that the event has been cancelled and we hope more sailors will attend next June and October.
Kind regards,
The EurILCA team
British Youth Sailing
Information Updated 25/03/2020
Covid-19 Update 19/03/20: As the RYA Youth National Championships has been cancelled, current Laser Radial and Laser Standard winter 2019/20 squad sailors and new applicants for these specific 2020 summer teams will be reviewed by the Selection Committee. Any new sailors not in the current Laser Radial or Laser Standard winter 2019/20 squad should still apply online.
Laser 4.7 remains as it is, however all RYA Activity that is due to take place after 30th April is being continually monitored;
ET Championships is now CANCELLED.
British Youth Sailing Team – Summer 2020; Laser Radial and Laser Standard
The application process is now open and will close 23:59hrs on 7th April 2020.
The only sailors that NEED to apply are sailors who are not in the current Winter 2019/20 UK Youth Squad, or sailors looking to be selected to a Summer Team in a different class (or different rig).
If you already a member of a current Winter 2019/20 UK Youth Squad and wish to join a different Summer Team, then you will need to email your relevant Performance Operations Co-ordinator; Sarah Marjoram for all Lasers: sarah.marjoram@rya.org.uk and apply for the new team online.
For example, if you are in the Laser 4.7 UK Junior Squad Winter 2019/20 and wish to be considered for the Laser Radial Summer 2020 Team, then you will need to email the RYA and apply for the Laser Radial Summer Team. If you are currently in the Laser Radial UK Youth Squad Winter 2019/20 and wish to be considered for the Laser Standard Summer 2020 Team, you will need to email the RYA and apply for the Laser Standard Summer Team.
All current Winter 2019/20 UK Youth Squad sailors will be reviewed after their performance at the Youth Nationals and other relevant indicator events (please refer to the Youth Selection policy via our website: https://www.rya.org.uk/racing/youth-junior/squads/youth/Pages/selection.aspx).
Regardless if you are in the current Winter 2019/20 UK Youth Squad or not, all sailors wishing to be considered for a Summer Team will have to attend the relevant indicators.
The Laser Radial and Laser Standard RYA supported international summer 2020 events are: U19 Worlds, U19 Euros, U21 Worlds and U21 Euros are now open and will close 23:59 on 7th April 2020.
British Youth Sailing Team – Summer 2020; Laser 4.7
The application process is now open and will close 23:59hrs on 10th May 2020.
The only sailors that NEED to apply are sailors who are not in the current Winter 2019/20 UK Junior Squad – Laser 4.7.
If you already a member of the current Winter 2019/20 UK Junior Squad – Laser 4.7 but do not wish to be considered for the Summer 2020 Team to represent British Youth Sailing at the Laser 4.7 Worlds in July 2020, then you will need to email Sarah Marjoram: sarah.marjoram@rya.org.uk.
All current Winter 2019/20 UK Junior Squad – Laser 4.7 sailors will be reviewed after their performance at the relevant indicators, with the final (primary) being the ET Championships in May.
Regardless if you are in the current Winter 2019/20 UK Junior Squad – Laser 4.7 or not, all sailors wishing to be considered for this Summer 2020 Team will have to attend the relevant indicators (please visit https://www.rya.org.uk/racing/youth-junior/squads/junior/Pages/selection.aspx
For further information, please refer to the RYA British Youth Sailing ‘Latest News’ website: https://www.rya.org.uk/racing/youth-junior/Pages/hub.aspx
Coronovirus / Covid 19
A number of countries and regions have introduced travel restrictions and cancelled events such as sporting fixtures to help prevent the spread of the virus. The UKLA will follow Government advice where no such restrictions currently exist within the UK. This remains a dynamic situation where the advice may change at short notice. Please keep a close eye on Government advice, the UKLA ebsite and our social media pages for any updates which may affect our ability to run events.
Class Rules Clarification
The ongoing disputes between the various rights holders, manufacturers and the International Laser Class Association's ("ILCA") desire to satisfy the FRAND requirements for the Class as an Olympic boat is impacting laser sailors, with the UK seeing severe equipment shortages. There are a number of commentators as well as the various main parties putting out information, misinformation, speculation and biased opinions across a range of media. Some key information is covered by non-disclosure agreements between the parties, to steal a quote "there are unknown unknowns". More recently, The Laser Class Association has been launched which has added to the confusion that already exists.
The UKLA maintains its priorities of increasing participation in our fantastic sport of sailing, particularly Lasers. Furthermore, we believe the Laser is the correct choice for the Men's and Women's Olympic One-Person Dinghy and recognise the FRAND requirements of World Sailing in this regard.
The UKLA Qualifier series starts next weekend and we felt it important to clarify which boats and equipment are legal. Under the Racing Rules of Sailing rule 87 the Notice of Race or Sailing Instructions cannot change a class rule unless the class rules permit such change, or the class association grants written permission. Note however that the UKLA is a District Association under ILCA. The Class rules require all hulls display a World Sailing plaque (unless the boat number is earlier than 148200) and all sails have an orange (Standard MKII) or red (Radial, 4.7 or Standard MKI) button (unless the sail was manufactured before 1 January 2001). Hulls or sails displaying the Laser name/ starburst and ILCA name both fall within this criteria.
The UKLA is not associated with ‘The Laser Class’ which launched its website at the Dinghy Show. However, we are looking forward to open dialogue and cooperation in order to ensure more and better sailing for UKLA’s Membership.
The UKLA hopes the various parties can reach a position that satisfies the needs of the laser sailing community worldwide, in particular the equipment needs of racing sailors.
Coronovirus / Covid 19. A number of countries and regions have introduced travel restrictions and cancelled events such as sporting fixtures to help prevent the spread of the virus. The UKLA will follow Government advice where no such restrictions currently exist within the UK. This remains a dynamic situation where the advice may change at short notice. Please keep a close eye on Government advice, the UKLA ebsite and our social media pages for any updates which may affect our ability to run events.
Finally, we would like to congratulate Ali Young and Elliot Hanson on being selected to go to the Olympics. Qualification alone is a major achievement and we know they are now fully focused on the Games. Good luck.
UKLA Open Training at Queen Mary SC
We’re very excited about the first UKLA Open Training Weekend to be held at QMSC, near Staines, Surrey on the 7th/8th March. Two days of top coaching, great facilities, and a great bit of inland water! Aimed at the Club sailor this weekend is open to all ages- youths/masters and those in between. We’ve managed to negotiate a great price for the two days - £40 for QMSC members and £60 for non members.
Deadline for booking 29th February
To book click here
Just a few places left! If you are unable to make both days we may be able to squeeze you in on one day - phone Janet in the QMSC office - on 01784 248881 - to find out more.
RYA Dinghy Show 29th Feb - 1st March 2020
Dinghy Show this weekend! Woohoo!
This will be a great opportunity to grab a bargain or two… or three…! It’s also a great way to meet other sailors, old and new friends and even Olympians!
Come and chat to us at the F10 stand near the West Hall stage. The UKLA team will be there fully loaded on coffee and ready for your questions or just happy to chat. You will be able renew your membership in time for the spring events, order Masters polo shirts, chat to Stick Daring about his adventure, get some rigging and racing tips AND meet Lily XU – Olympic Laser Radial Gold Medallist. In fact, you will have two opportunities to talk to Lily; at our stand on Sunday (12:30 – 13:30) and at Fernhurst Books stand on Saturday (14:00) – read below.
During the weekend, we will also be drawing a winner of the Wildwind Holiday. This is an outstanding prize from last year Grand Prix events. One lucky sailor will be able to enjoy sunshine sailing abroad!
We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
In the meantime, how many sweets do you think can fit inside a Laser boom? Well… come and find out yourself!
PS> Don’t forget everyone 15years young or younger can attend the show for free.
The Laser Campaign Manual (2nd edition) by Sir Ben Ainslie – This is the new edition of Sir Ben Ainslie’s secrets to performing at the top of the fleet and is his only how-to book. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first Olympic gold medal win in the Laser.
You will be delighted to know that Laser Radial gold medallist Lijia Xu will also be there on Saturday at 2pm for the launch introducing everyone to Ben’s book. All Laser sailors around are welcome to come along
Wind Companion for Racing Sailors by David Houghton & Fiona Campbell – this book is essential to understanding and using the wind around the race course and is splash-proof so designed for use on or near the water!
Qualifying Events Spring 2020
We are looking forward to welcoming you to all our 2020 events, starting with the Spring qualifiers next month.
If you have not signed up yet - … what are you waiting for?
Your entry will only be accepted if the payments has reached us before the deadline. This slight change will allow us to provide venues with a full list of entrants in plenty of time before the event and will make the registration, tally and the posting of results a much smoother process for sailors and all staff and volunteers involved. And we do like to keep all of volunteers happy because without them, these events would simply not run. Help us all out by entering early and paying promptly.
As always, the more volunteers the merrier! Get involved! We would love your help to stop us running around like headless chickens trying to pull things together. The power is in numbers and volunteering is paramount in building and maintaining a strong class.
If you have not attended an event before, we provide pasta at all events to stop sailors getting ‘h-angry’ after coming off the water, as well as evening meals. Pasta is on us, but you will need to book and pay for the evening meal. At the first qualifier at WPNSA we will have Italian Night. It’s £10.00 - including a DESSERT (Tota tenerinia which is Italian brownie with ice cream…. Yumyum…) The full menu and bookings are available on the entry page here. Again, booking in advance makes planning much MUCH easier for everyone, so over to you.
We will also aim to provide evening entertainment/useful talks to sailors as well as parents. If there is anything in particular that you would like to hear/see, then let us know and we will try to arrange it for you. I can’t promise we can get a ventriloquist, but all sensible requests will be considered!
All our events are supported by our Class Scorer Nik James and if you have any questions about scoring applied, you can ask him at events or ping him an email scorer@laser.org.uk This does not include protests – they need to be dealt with within the rules and any queries need to be raised at events.
Lastly, please remember these events are organised for UKLA members, and for that – you need to be one! If you have not renewed your membership yet, now is the time…
LASER PERFORMANCE OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 By Tony Woods and Nette Robinson
Nette Robinson
LASER PERFORMANCE UK LASER OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 MOUNTS BAY SAILING CLUB 25th -31st July
Mounts Bay is a fantastic location! Great for family holiday, great for sailing, surfing, beach games, sun bathing…
Nette Robinson will be on hand again to provide activities for non-sailors. Blow the cobwebs away and start your day off with a fun and lively Zumba session, followed by an abs class! In the afternoons there will be a host of creative pursuits to get involved with, such as art classes, singing, chess and belly dance!
We are hoping to welcome many sailors from overseas as we did in 2019 as well as many from the UK. In fact the first night is to be called the Commodore's Welcome Evening - kindly sponsored by MBSC - to include an Italian Themed meal absolutely free for all competitors!
There'll be themed evenings every night with great food for £7, (ordered in advance) including Moroccan Evening, Curry Night, Chile Night, as well as the now famous Gala Dinner on the Thursday Night for £26.50 per head (ordered in advance). You can also look forward to SUP Racing, the Hike Off, Games Night, live music, and a trip to St. Michael's Mount with a Reception by Lord and Lady St. Levan.
If you want to improve your sailing there will be Race Clinics in the mornings, Q and A sessions in the Evenings, and the Mentor/Mentee Scheme running throughout the week.
As our Nationals coincides with the 2020 Olympics, we’ve arranged a special exclusive report with top sailing journalist Andy Rice from Sail Juice to be shown post racing on Monday 27th July. Naturally, we will be showing coverage of the Laser Racing from Japan throughout the week.
Entries opening soon. Website still under construction, but you can see it here:
Book your accommodation now – there is a basic field where you can camp near the dinghy park -The farmer, John Oliver, who runs it can be contacted on 01736 711908 or 07810 135720.
Also here is a link to the club’s accommodation list-
https://www.mbsc.org.uk/where-to-stay
Also, you can check out the event on the UKLA Facebook page. Connect with fellow competitors,
join the discussion, find out who has room on their boat trailer and offer to hook up with others.
If you'd like to join our new team for this year's event, we'd love to hear from you!
We're looking for lots of people who can capture the event throughout the week,
whether that's by taking photographs, videoing, interviewing sailors in the dinghy park or uploading media to Facebook and Instagram.
We're also looking for people to bring SUP’s for the SUP Relay Race, help with registration, results, reports, prize draws, trophies…Would you like to donate a trophy? Endeavour and Vintage still available at the moment!
Masters News
Masters News!
Last Orders for UKLA Masters T shirts! Jon Emmett is kindly putting together the order for these garments and needs the numbers asap. Contact him on jon@jonemmettsailing.co.uk
5 Brits travelled to Florida to take part in 2 US Masters Events. Read about their adventures here and here
2020 Masters events dates:
09 – 10 May Brightlingsea
13 – 14 June Parkstone
3 – 5 July Masters Nationals Weymouth
19 – 20 September Draycote
10 – 11 October Pevensey – DATE CHANGE
7 – 8 November Inland Nationals Chew Valley
Rutland Sailfast Youth Series
* * * Breaking News * * *
Due the forecast weather there will be no racing on Saturday but racing is planned for Sunday. More details to follow ...
Draycote Youth Training - February 8th/9th Cancelled
With gust well over 25 knots Saturday and 55 Knots Sunday it is the right call to cancel this weekend and change the date.
We will be in touch with re-scheduled date soon.
UKLA Open Training at Queen Mary SC
We’re very excited about the first UKLA Open Training Weekend to be held at QMSC, near Staines, Surrey on the 7th/8th March. Two days of top coaching, great facilities, and a great bit of inland water! Aimed at the Club sailor this weekend is open to all ages- youths/masters and those in between. We’ve managed to negotiate a great price for the two days - £40 for QMSC members and £60 for non members.
To sign up just email QMSC here
Training News by Tim Hulse
With an excellent winter training coming to a close, we look forward to continuing the training into the new season in all areas of the country.
South Coast Winter Training
All three rigs have been training hard out of WPNSA all winter with the U21 full rig using the great Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre as their base. All training's are calendared to complement the RYA programme, dovetailing between weekends allowing sailors of all abilities to access the fantastic training environment that Portland offers. The large volume of numbers has been accommodated excellently will all sailors making great progress.
Midlands Training
This winter the UKLA has been looking to expand its training venues with Draycote and Grafham proving to be excellent centres. With the midlands/east laser training in its infancy, 28 boats at the last weekend was an excellent way to finish the winter! Lake training offers a completely different skill set to focus on, if it gets shifty during the spring qualifiers... watch out for a midlands sailor.
Northern Training
Excellent training has been running by RYA head coach Alan Williams for the UKLA. Having a man of Alan's 'experience' is a huge benefit to all involved, from coaching the coaches to developing better sailors, it has been a winter of everything, with some excellent conditions and fantastic club support from Leigh and Lowton sailing club the training has got off to a strong start and we look forward to developing this further. Over in the North East, David Schilling and Dominic Green have had some excellent training running by Head Coach Richard Benson. Saturday coaching and Sunday club racing formula worked with stunning effect and the feedback has been impressive.
Coaching in the regions
As the UKLA coaching philosophy moves forwards, please keep your eyes on the events page on the website. Structured coaching will be taking place in all regions, for all ages, all abilities and all rigs. 2020 is the year to learn how to 'tame this beast'! Staunton Harold, Grafham, Queen Mary SC and Leigh and Lowton SC are all holding early season training to kick the season off in the right way. Come and get some tips from some expert coaches and sail with like-minded people, you might just unlock the skill you have been needing for years!
Super Grand Prix
Finally, the Super Grand Prix circuit in 2019 was a huge success; in 2020 we have grown it again. More venues, more dates! All SGP's will be Saturday expert coaching, with Sunday event support. In a slight change from the previous year, an expert coach will stay for the Sunday to help embed the skills from the Saturday and offer some video briefing and debriefing over lunch! It should be another great way the UKLA are supporting your development!
2020 is building to be a busy year on the training calendar. Keep your eyes on the news page and events calendar however, should your club want that bit extra, the UKLA can offer coach support for any club, any dates, any standard. With a vast bank of expert laser coaches, we can accommodate all requests. Plenty of clubs have already kicked off their season with local training, why don’t you give it ago, contact training@laser.org.uk.
A massive thank you to Sailing Chandlery for sponsoring all UKLA training and helping us keep the boats on the water!
RYA Dinghy Show 2020
Less than a month to go until the RYA Dinghy Show 2020!
Kick off your sailing season with a trip to Ally Pally on 29th February and 1st March. There will be plenty to chat about and the UKLA team can’t wait to see you there! You can find us at the F10 stand nearby the West Hall.
Our superstar Sam Whaley will officially welcome you to the show on Saturday 10:30 at the Great Hall Stage and along with Sarah Ayton and Hannah Shelmerdine will talk about his dinghy sailing journey.
Our other somewhat different superstar Stick Daring will be at the show with his MOD27 Laser in which he completed his journey round Britain and you can hear more about it at our stand and at the West Hall Stage at 15:00 on both days.
See you there! Get your tickets here
Masters Update
Masters Update
The season is gearing up with some of our membership gearing up to sail in the Masters Worlds in Australia in March, followed by the Masters Europeans in Monaco in April.
The UK masters circuit kicks off on 09 th and 10 th May in Brightlingsea, with a campsite next to the sailing club for the hardier clientele. A trip to sunny Poole on 13 th and 14 th June at Parkstone Yacht Club, which promises to be a good event with a strong home fleet to test us. We are fortunate to be holding our Masters Nationals in Weymouth on 3 rd to 5 th July. Weymouth is a brilliant venue as it enables us to sail outside the harbour unless the wind is unkind. Weymouth is on the EuroMasters circuit, so hopefully we will get some of our European visitors joining us.
The dates for Pevensey Bay have CHANGED. This is to ensure that we sail on neap tides. The new date is 10 th and 11 th October. Draycote are hosting us on 19 th and 20 th September. Our final event of the season will be the Masters Inland Nationals at Chew Valley Sailing Club on 7 th and 8 th November.
The Masters are a friendly fleet, who welcome all standards of sailor. You just have to be 33 years old or above. Many families come along with the sailors and make a weekend of it.
Looking forward to seeing you on the water.
Alison
2020 Masters events dates:
09 – 10 May Brightlingsea
13 – 14 June Parkstone
3 – 5 July Masters Nationals Weymouth
19 – 20 September Draycote
10 – 11 October Pevensey – DATE CHANGE
7 – 8 November Inland Nationals Chew Valley
Junior & Youth Update February 2020 by Ben Nicholls
RYA regional focus
The RYA Youth Racing Committee sets Youth Racing policy for all age groups U23 (predominantly U19 Youth Classes and U16 Junior Classes). There is a significant change of focus going forward. The national role of the Pathway Managers has gone, instead the focus is more regional and with this the stronger High Performance Manager (HPM) team has greater role and importance. Greater experience and expertise is brought to these roles to support sailors in education and to support coaching teams.
Junior and Zone Squads will no longer exist, instead regional training groups operating at the level of Junior National Squad. This will mean a change for the Laser 4.7 sailors.
The RYA are rebuilding the foundations of racing in the UK with a strategy to reinvigorate youth sailing through a regional club focus. Significant funding to the RYA is predicated upon Junior & Youth success (Sport UK) and Olympic success (National Lottery), so developing and retaining the best racing sailors in the world must remain a key focus. The RYA is striving to encourage:
- inclusive & accessible training throughout the UK.
- inclusive & accesssible racing, both regional & national.
- develope you g sailors with the skills to transition into youth classes.
- alignment across regions and Home Countries.
What does this mean for UKLA sailors?
With out recent focus on broadening the UKLA offerings such as Class Training (sponsored by Sailing Chandlery) to become more regional, we are already heading in the direction that the RYA are now encouraging. This will hopefully see more alignment between the Junior & Youth Laser sailing and the regional Grand Prix. The RYA seem to be encouraging a return of the older Traveller Series model in our regions. It also hopefully will encourage a return to The majority of UKLA sailors seeing the National Championships as the key event in the UK Laser calendar that most keen racers strive to attend.
UKLA Youth focus:
Ben Nicholls chairs the UKLA’s sub-Committee / working group, which up until now has had a focus on training, events and policy for sailors U21. Given the RYA’s encouragement of sailors in fulltime education, we will extend the remit to U23. The Working Group includes UKLA’s Chairman, Sailing Secretary, Training Officer, Secretary & 4.7 Rep. The RYA’s Laser Rep and additional volunteers wanting to help improve the UKLA’s offering to our younger sailors are also involved. We have a younger sub-group of Youth sailors who help us collect feedback and give is information on what the young sailors are looking for. Volunteers (parents and sailors) are encouraged to step forward and become involved, your help to progress the sport is welcomed. For example:
- We are engaged with ILCA looking to host one of the younger age category Laser World Championships in 2021 and need to build an event team.
- We are looking for someone to represent the U23 Standard sailors, Phil Acton has been a tremendous help to the Group, but with Jack transitioning into Keelboats now, we seek another volunteer to take this forward...?
- We are always looking for rib owners and volunteers to help put on the events. Thank you to the many of you that do regularly assist, if it were not for your support the racing could not take place. Those not yet engaged is helping, we do need your support please...
The UKLA’s SailingFast Youth Series is underway having started in September 2019. We plan for this to become a core part of UKLA’s year-round offering. The results from these events will carry forward into a rolling UKLA Youth Ranking.
LASER PERFORMANCE OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 By Tony Woods and Nette Robinson
Photograph of St Michael’s Mount, Marazion by John Such
LASER PERFORMANCE UK LASER OPEN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 MOUNTS BAY SAILING CLUB 25th -31st July
Mounts Bay is a fantastic location! Great for family holiday, great for sailing, surfing, beach games, sun bathing…
As our Nationals coincides with the 2020 Olympics, we’ve arranged a special exclusive report with top sailing journalist Andy Rice from Sail Juice to be shown post racing on Monday 27th July. Naturally, we will be showing coverage of the Laser Racing from Japan throughout the week.
We are hoping to welcome many sailors from overseas as we did in 2019 as well as many from the UK. In fact the first night is to be called the Commodore's Welcome Evening - kindly sponsored by MBSC - to include an Italian Themed meal absolutely free for all competitors!
There'll be themed evenings every night with great food for £7, (ordered in advance) including Moroccan Evening, Curry Night, Chile Night, as well as the now famous Gala Dinner on the Thursday Night for £26.50 per head (ordered in advance). You can also look forward to SUP Racing, the Hike Off, Games Night, live music, and a trip to St. Michael's Mount with a Reception by Lord and Lady St. Levan.
If you want to improve your sailing there will be Race Clinics in the mornings, Q and A sessions in the Evenings, and the Mentor/Mentee Scheme running throughout the week.
Entries opening soon. Website still under construction, but you can see it here:
Book your accommodation now – there is a basic field where you can camp near the dinghy park or here is a link to the club’s accommodation list-
https://www.mbsc.org.uk/where-to-stay
Also, you can check out the event on the UKLA Facebook page. Connect with fellow competitors,
join the discussion, find out who has room on their boat trailer and offer to hook up
with others.
If you'd like to join our new team for this year's event, we'd love to hear from you!
We're looking for lots of people who can capture the event throughout the week,
whether that's by taking photographs, videoing, interviewing sailors in the dinghy
park or uploading media to Facebook and Instagram.
We're also looking for people to bring SUP’s for the SUP Relay Race, help
with registration, results, reports, prize draws, trophies…Would you like to donate a
trophy? Endeavour and Vintage still available at the moment!
Please get in touch with us via: info@uklasernationals.org
SUPER GRAND PRIX 2020 - Great fun for all-Sponsored by Sailing Chandlery
SUPER GRAND PRIX 2020 - Sailing Chandlery to Sponsor!
SGP's are a new exciting way of combining training and open meetings for the club and travelling sailor - one day's training, followed by social, then racing on the Sunday. We’re really excited that once again Sailing Chandlery has stepped in to sponsor the series in 2020. Many thanks to Andrew and his team!
There’s a series in the North and one in the South.
Dates so far for 2020 are:
23rd/24th May St Mary's Lock Lakeland/ Borders
30th/31st May Queen Mary Thames
13th/14th June Newhaven & Seaford South East
13th/14th June Hollowell Midlands
11th/12th July Pagham South Coast
22nd/23rd Aug Castle Cove South Coast
3rd/4th October Staunton Harold Midlands
More details to follow
Sailfast Laser 4.7 Laser Open - Datchet Water SC - 18/19 January 2020
SailingFast Youth Series
Laser 4.7 Open at Datchet Water
18/19 January
The Laser 4.7 fleet launched shortly before noon on Saturday 18th, in a reasonably steady sub 10 knots of wind, but with the odd gust topping 10kts. A lovely brisk and sunny day; in the absence of tide, it was felt that it was better to get the boats on the water and try and get some races in, as the ripple seemed to be dissipating and the forecast for Sunday was even lighter wind.
The winds fortunately strengthened slightly as the day progressed, although there were some shifts as the temperatures dropped at the same time. Thanks to the experienced judgement of race officer Paul Jackson, the U-flag was used actively, and we managed to get four races in just before dark started to fall at 4pm.
The leader board changed hands as much as four times during the day, with Oliver Allen – Wilcox topping the table after the first race, Max Steele after the second, Jack Graham-Troll after the third, and Keijiro Kikkawa after the fourth. In the girls’ fleet, Emily Elms was consistently at the top of the board except for the first race which went to Honor Proctor.
Sunday brought in even lighter winds, as predicted, and the decision was made to get the boats on the water as quickly as possible in case the winds did not hold out. Again, excellent judgement from the race officer, as he was able to steward two races by noon, at which point the wind all but died. However, it meant that we managed to achieve a full set of the six targeted races for the regatta.
In the boys’ fleet, the leader board again changed hands, with the regatta being won in the end by Oliver Allen – Wilcox, with Keijiro Kikkawa in second and Jack Graham-Troll in third. The positioning in the Under 16 category was Jack Graham-Troll in first, Max Steele in second, and Tim Evans in third. In the girls’ fleet, Emily Elms won both the U-16 category as well as the overall regatta, ahead of Dru Townsend and Honor Proctor in the U-16, and ahead of Alice Snook and Dru Townsend overall.
A special thanks must go to Paul Jackson (Race officer) and the Laser 4.7 parents for running the event. Also, to SailingFast chandlery for sponsoring the event and providing the prizes.
The final results were as follows:
Overall
Boys
1st Oliver Allen – Wilcox
2nd Keijiro Kikkawa
3rd Jack Graham-Troll
Girls
1st Emily Elms
2nd Alice Snook
3rd Dru Townsend
Under 16
Boys
1st Jack Graham-Troll
2nd Max Steele
3rd Tim Evans
Girls
1st Emily Elms
2nd Dru Townsend
3rd Honor Proctor