News
Chairman's Message
50th Golden Anniversary Celebration Year
Let’s hope 2021 is a better year than last, both for sailing and life generally. Being a single-handed class, we actually benefited in some ways, at clubs up and down the country double handed boats remained with covers on whilst their owners dug out the best single-hander ever made.
50 years since the best single hander every built first hit the water, we will be celebrating the 50 years big time this season. Despite all the other excellent designs of boat since, ours remains the biggest selling racing dinghy world-wide year after year.
Whichever Club you sail at there will always be somebody to race against on level terms – One design racing at its purist.
When we look forward to the coming season there is so much racing and training planed at every level.
Fingers crossed for the Qualifiers, please keep an eye on the website and social media for updates as I write this we are still GO, but we have to be realistic and we are working up a plan B – hope to see everybody at Stokes Bay.
The 50th celebratory Nationals in August is going to be a massive event, the following week is the U-21 Worlds, the first Worlds run in the UK for over 10 years – it will be HUGE as many of the U-21 competitors we expect will compete in our Nationals. Last year’s National’s at WPNSA was fantastic with many more club sailors and master’s than normal – really recommend you put the dates in your calendar, the vibe is really something, come and join me at the back of the fleet!
The Grand Prix and Super Grand Prix is all coming together, and the schedule looks fantastic. UKLA is focusing on training and training for all levels. Our Open training has moved to the next level as we take our best in class squad training to Sailors of all abilities and ages, this has proved very successful under Tim Hulse’s leadership most summer weekends Tim’s team has multiple training across the country. This year we will be making that even more regional and accessible.
If you want Tim to bring his coaching team to your club – get in touch.
Still on training you will notice the Super Grand Prix’s are a day of training followed by a day of racing. You only have to look at our GBR elite sailors to realise that to get better get some training, coaches will make you a better sailor, perhaps even more so than just racing.
Don’t forget to check in on the RYA Dinghy Show, might see you on the UKLA stand?
You will have noticed have some Alumni racing in Auckland – Go Britannia
Here’s to an excellent season of fun racing the best Class in the world -50 years and still hiking,
Rob
ILCA 6 - 213641
IMPORTANT - Membership cards 2021
This year we will be saving more trees and membership cards will only be available in a digital version.
When you sign up for UKLA events, your membership is checked against the database and with online registration there is no longer a need for you to carry a plastic card. It’s also better for the planet. We like looking after our planet. You may need to show your digital cards at international events, or events where UKLA entry system is not used.
The important part is that all cards will be delivered via EMAIL
If your membership is renewed automatically via direct debit and you are not sure whether we have a correct email address for you, please update your details by clicking the below button.
Similarly, if you wish to receive the Gybe YEARBOOK, please let us have your POSTAL ADDRESS.
Photo credit Georgie Altham
Masters Age Categories Survey Deadline 26th January
Note from EurILCA/UKLA:
ILCA has issued a non-binding survey via email to Master sailors who have competed at a Master World Champion over the last 7 years seeking feedback on potential changes to the Master age categories. We believe the survey has been released prematurely, provides inadequate explanation to those who vote, excludes many who should be eligible to vote and does not consider other options. Any changes to the age categories requires great thought as there are advantages and disadvantages to all options suffice to say the underlying objective is to increase participation in Master regattas.
Master sailing has been a key success for the Class worldwide and we have no desire to damage this formula. We would encourage you to respond to the survey to gauge demand for any change. If there is evidence that change is supported by our Members, this will be discussed further at the ILCA World Council where other options may also be reviewed. Further consultation would be required in advance of any formal proposal for Members to vote on.
Key at this time is to understand if there is demand for change. We would also encourage you to discuss this with your Laser friends and to feedback via your District Chairs.
Message from ILCA:
Dear Laser Masters sailor,
A proposal was brought up for the ILCA World Council to extend the age range for participation in designated Masters events by including sailors from 30 - 34.
World Council members would like to hear from sailors before making a decision.
A brief poll (with three potential options for age grouping) has been set up for you to provide feedback.
Please take a moment to respond to the question, at your earliest convenience. The poll will close at the end of 26 January.
Regards,
ILCA Office
Photo Credit Sam Pearce
SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021 - Celebrating the Golden Anniversary!
Following the success of our Super Grand Prix events in 2019 we are hoping to continue the experience in 2021 (Covid permitting!)
Photo credit Georgie Altham
The Super Grand Prix (SGP) is a fun weekend event consisting of top quality coaching, evening social and competitive racing. Developed to encourage club sailors to take the first steps to an open meeting, and provide a bigger, more sociable event for everyone.
Primarily aimed at club sailors, but not exclusively so, valuing diversity in the fleet, encouraging all ages, gender and rigs to come together to celebrate everything that is the ILCA, with the emphasis on fun. Helping to grow and sustain a healthy club base across the regions, building confidence to take an active part, create ambassadors, whilst helping sailors develop skills and ability to get the most out of ILCA sailing.
There are currently three broad regions - South, Midlands and North.
For this special Golden Anniversary year the UKLA is planning to fund certain aspects of the Super Grand Prix events to give something back to our valued members.
SUPER GRAND PRIX 2021
SOUTH:
22/23 May - Queen Mary SC
17/18 July - Pagham YC
7/8 August Castle Cove SC
MIDLANDS
8/9 May - Rutland SC
16/17 October - Staunton Harold SC
North
29/30 May - St Mary’s Loch
UKLA Open National Championships 2021
13th-18th August
We will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our amazing boat all this year and are planning a special Golden National Championships, followed by the Under 21 Worlds, at the Weymouth Olympic venue - Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.
Plan is to have a Welcome Evening on the 13th and race Saturday - Wednesday.
Gala Dinner is planned for Tuesday 17th, Covid permitting of course!
We are hoping to bring back all the learning opportunities that we had in 2018/19 - so expect Race Clinics in the mornings, Question and Answer Sessions in the evenings and Mentor/Mentee pairings throughout the event.
We’ve also managed to negotiate a 10% Discount on all Courses/Water Activities with both the Andrew Simpson Foundation and OTC for family members connected to the competitors. This includes scheduled courses in windsurfing, wind-foiling, kitesurfing, SUPing and e-foiling. Passing trade during the event will not receive any discount - it has to be pre-booked at least a month prior to the event.
We will let you know when we get the special discount booking codes.
Rules discussion with David Battye Nationals 2019
New Podcasts
New Podcast Out
Check out the latest instalments of ‘An Hour with Flower’, featuring top sailors Daisy Collingridge and Harry Blowers, Youth World Champion and Youth Sailor of the Year Matilda Nicholls, and our very own Olympic Representative Ali Young.
JOIN THE TEAM
Join the Team
The UKLA is looking for enthusiastic people to join our ever growing team -
In particular at the moment we’re looking for people to help with:
The RYA Virtual Boat Show
The National Grand Prix Circuit
The Newsletter
Please email Ellie at the office if you can assist in any way- even one morning a month would be great!
Many thanks to Chris Ellyatt and Tim Law for taking on the task of Sponsorship!
Chris
Tim
Helming to Win - Fernhurst Books
Extract from Helming to Win by Nick Craig
WHERE TO LOOK WHEN RACING
When you first start sailing, or are new to a boat, you tend to look at your feet to ensure that you aren’t tripping up. The key to progressing is looking further and further up and knowing when to switch between the modes.
Broadly there are 5 modes (places to look):
Mode 1: Your Feet
This is inevitable when you are new to the sport or a boat. It is an appropriate place to look when your boat handling is being pushed to its limit. Your boat handling limit will, of course, vary depending on how experienced you are in your chosen boat. However, you will miss a lot of windshifts and gusts if you look down too much.
Looking at your feet
You should move away from this mode as soon as possible, partly through being aware of where you are looking and by forcing yourself to look up. That can be hard as it may be outside your comfort zone and may mean that you fall over, or even out of the boat, occasionally, but it is a good thing to do at those training events.
Mode 2: Jib / Main Telltales
100% concentration on your telltales ensures that you are dead on the wind all of the time upwind and that your sails are always set optimally downwind. This is a good mode when boatspeed is critical, e.g. in a tight spot out of a start. However, you should eventually be able to keep your boat dead on the wind (or keep the sails optimally set) without spending much time staring at the telltales. Again, practice is key for this, forcing yourself to look at the water and not the jib is a good discipline.
Looking at the telltales
Mode 3: The Water
This is the most important step to move you from reactive to proactive sailing. By looking at the water you can spot gusts and the angle that they are moving towards you (by looking at the angle of the ripples on the water and the direction of travel of the gust).
Looking at the water
As gusts hit the water they fan out, just as an egg dropped on the ground does. So, looking upwind on starboard tack, there is a lift on starboard to the left of the gust and a header on starboard to the right. This is especially pronounced where there are obstacles around your sailing water, so the wind is bouncing down from height, e.g. at Frensham Pond, where I grew up and learnt to wind spot.
The more time you spend gust spotting, the better you get at it. By knowing how strong and at what angle the next gust will hit, you can set your boat up and steer just before it hits to make the most of the gust so that it accelerates you rather than causes you to heel. Doing this, and consequently sailing consistently flat, is the biggest jump in speed most sailors can make. And it is free! With practice this will become reasonably automatic so that you can look further up to the next few shifts…
Mode 4: Spotting Next Few Shifts
This is a key step to being able to consistently pick shifts well. By looking further up the course and looking at the direction that the next few shifts are coming down the course, you can map your next few tacks / gybes / downwind steering. By doing this you are making a proactive plan, rather than reacting to the shifts as they come in.
Looking ahead for the next few shifts
Mode 5: The Big Picture
With enough practice, modes 1-4 become more instinctive and you can focus on the big picture; looking at where you are relative to the fleet, what the clouds are doing and which side of the course the gaining boats have come from.
You can focus on the bigger picture when modes 1-4 become instinctive
There is an enormous amount to look for when sailing. Making as much of this as instinctive as possible is the key to success and the reason why no one reaches the top level in sailing without many years of quality time on the water.
The ideal approach is to be able to sail in modes 4 and 5 most of the time, with modes 1, 2 and 3 coming instinctively through many hours of quality practice. With practice, your boat handling will be slick without looking at your feet, you can sail your boat fast without looking at the telltales, and a fleeting glance will give you enough perspective to know what the near term gusts, lulls and shifts are doing.
Top sailors are better at spotting shifts because they have the time to look for them since so much of their game has become instinctive. By spending more time looking for them, they also get better at spotting the subtle patterns in the water which indicate a gust / lull or header / lift, and so have better gust response and route planning.
Knowing when to switch between the modes is a powerful tool:
If you get a great start, move quickly to mode 5 to assess how to consolidate that lead.
If you are struggling to find a lane out of a mediocre start, move to mode 2.
If you are sailing on a gusty lake and approaching the windward mark on a layline, modes 4 and 5 are largely irrelevant, so switch to mode 3.
If you feel you’ve lost the rhythm of the windshifts, shift to mode 4.
At the 2013 D-One Nationals I had been out of the boat for a while. I was complacent about that and spent my time trying to be in modes 4 and 5. I fell out of the boat during a tight tack into the windward mark! This cost me the two points which went on to lose me the Nationals. I should have recognised my lack of time in the boat and spent a little more time in mode 1!
An aware crew plays a key role in this. By knowing or communicating with the helm to understand which mode they are in, the crew can focus on other areas. For example, if the helm is in mode 2 focusing on speed, the crew can be in mode 5.
This may sound like a very complex process. With enough quality racing, switching between these modes also becomes instinctive, just as watching a toddler learn to walk is pretty painful but they get there in the end!
TOP TIP
The one place you shouldn’t be looking is at your burgee. The burgee tells you what has just happened. You won’t be able to sail proactively looking at wind history! Sailing without a burgee eliminates this distraction, takes away a key tool from your opposition for knowing where your dirty air range is and marginally reduces weight just where you don’t want it, i.e. high up (which increases pitching).
Helming to Win is written by multiple champion Nick Craig. It is a ground-breaking book which gives an insight into why Nick is such a successful sailor and how you can emulate him.
To get more of Nick Craig’s top tips, Helming to Win can be bought here
People who sign up to Fernhurst Books’ newsletter can get 25% off the cost of the book.
Masters Dates 2021
Enjoy January planning your sailing calendar!
All UKLA Masters & EuorMaster events are listed below.
Looking forward to seeing faces both old and new on the Masters circuit this year.
Open to all ILCA sailors over 33yrs old. (You have to be 35 for a prize).
Competitive racing throughout the fleet. Good social events.
UKLA
10-11 April, Masters Spring Qualifier, Queen Mary Sailing Club
12-13 June, Masters Qualifier 2, Parkstone Yacht Club
9-11 July, UK Masters Nationals and EuroMaster, Pevensey Bay Sailing Club
2-3 October, Masters Qualifier 4 (part of the main Qualifier), WPNSA
16-17 October, Masters Inland Nationals and Autumn Qualifier, Grafham Water Sailing Club
EUROMASTER, Europeans, Worlds
14-17 January, EMS Antibes, France CANCELLED
5-7 February, EMS Ta Xbiex, Malta POSTPONED TO 4-7 NOVEMBER 2021
16-18 April, EMS Neuchatel, Switzerland
23-25 April, EMS Calella, Spain
8-10 May, EMS Ostend, Belgium
13-16 May, EMS Hoorn, Netherlands
3-6 Jun, EMS Sorpesee, Germany
11-13 June, EMS Attersee, Austria
25-27 June, EMS Maccagno, Italy
3-5 July, EMS Carentec, France
9-11 July, EMS Pevensey, UK
23-29 July Master Europeans, Gargnano, Italy
31 July-1 August, EMS Nagu, Finalnd
7-8 August Arkosund, EMS Sweden
17-26 September Master Worlds, Barcelona, Spain
The Rules in Practice - Fernhurst Books
EXTRACT FROM THE RULES IN PRACTICE 2021-2024
From the brand-new chapter: Luffing a boat to windward & keeping clear
Luffing rights (i.e. the right to sail above proper course)
A leeward boat has luffing rights (the right to sail above her proper course) unless she established an overlap from clear astern, within two of her hull lengths to leeward of the windward boat.
All the leeward boats (YELLOW) except GREEN have luffing rights (i.e. may sail above their proper course).
Avoiding contact
Before the beginning of this century, one could not describe the sport of sailboat racing (or ‘yacht racing’ as it was called then) as a ‘non-contact’ sport. Overtaking a boat on her windward side was a perilous activity.
In those days, after the starting signal, a leeward boat with luffing rights could ‘luff as she pleases’, even with the intention of making contact with the windward boat, and even if that resulted in damage. Only if there was serious damage or injury could the leeward boat be penalized (in addition to the windward boat for not keeping clear).
The idea was to make it imprudent for the overtaking boat to overtake close to windward for fear of the leeward boat luffing and crashing into the windward boat possibly causing damage, with little risk to the leeward boat. The windward boat would have to retire (or in latter years take a penalty). Instead the overtaking boat would sail some distance to windward or take the ‘safe’ route to leeward, through the other boat’s wind shadow.
Nowadays, sailboat racing is (thank goodness, if you have a classic yacht or any boat you treasure) a ‘no contact’ sport. However, the rules concerning a leeward boat luffing a windward boat are not easy to grasp. Many protests result from this manoeuvre and, when an incident results in a protest, the protest committee decisions vary. A good protest committee’s decision can surprise the leeward right-of-way boat.
What can happen is that the leeward boat (YELLOW) starts a slow but continuous luff, and the windward boat (RED) does a slow and continuous responding luff to keep clear. Eventually they reach a position at which if they both continue there will be contact. If this happens YELLOW will have broken rule 16.1 (for changing course but not giving room to RED to keep clear) and RED will have broken rule 11 but will be exonerated because she was forced to break rule 11 by the leeward boat (YELLOW) breaking rule 16.1. In a protest, only YELLOW will be penalized.
If the windward boat is carrying a spinnaker, she can get to a position where she cannot luff any more without getting her spinnaker tangled in the rigging. To keep clear in a seamanlike way, she must lower her spinnaker, and to lower her spinnaker safely she needs to bear away. Must the luffing leeward boat bear away to give her that room? Yes, if she wants to pursue this tactic, she must.
These sorts of tactics are not common in fleet racing because both boats lose in relation to the rest of the fleet. They are common in Match Racing and Team Racing. But even in fleet racing you can have a situation in the last race where one competitor doesn’t need a good result (because it will be his discard) but simply needs to drive his rival down the fleet to prevent him getting a good result. This is how Ben Ainslie won his Laser gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Before the start
· At position 1, YELLOW is clear astern of RED. YELLOW is the keep-clear boat and RED is the right-of-way boat.
· Just after position 1, YELLOW establishes an overlap. Now YELLOW is the right-of-way boat and RED is the keep-clear boat.
· As YELLOW has just acquired right-of-way, she is required to initially give RED room to keep clear. With more than a hull-length between them, YELLOW fulfils that obligation. After a few seconds, the obligation to give room fades away.
· When YELLOW establishes the overlap, RED is required to take action to keep clear. She could sheet in her sail and luff. There are no boats close to windward of her, so she is not prevented from fulfilling her obligation to keep clear.
· At position 2 RED by now should have sheeted in and luffed or done something to keep clear, even if she is forced over the start line.
· At position 3 there is contact but no damage.
· RED breaks rule 11 (windward to keep clear of leeward) and rule 14 (avoiding contact). YELLOW cannot break rule 16 (giving a boat room to keep clear when changing course) because she doesn’t change course, and because there is no damage or injury, she is exonerated for not avoiding contact.
Soon after position 1, YELLOW establishes an overlap to leeward of RED and becomes the right-of-way boat. RED must keep clear. There is no proper course before the starting signal, so YELLOW may luff as high as she likes right up to head to wind, provided that while altering course, she gives room to RED to keep clear.
However, when the start is signalled at position 3, YELLOW must promptly bear away to her proper course (or lower, if that is what she needs to do to gain sufficient speed to un-stall the keel / centreboard prior to coming up to close-hauled).
The diagram shows no infringements; YELLOW gave RED room to keep clear, and RED kept clear.
If YELLOW believes she was on the pre-start side of the line at the start (and therefore started correctly), then she must bear away to close-hauled (or a little below and then back up to close-hauled if that is how she would recover her speed). RED remains the keep-clear boat and as much as she would like to bear away to return to the pre-start side, she will have to slow and bear away behind YELLOW (or tack).
If, on the other hand, YELLOW knows she was over the line at the start, then her proper course is to bear away to a course that will get her hull onto the pre-start side of the line as soon as possible, so that she can start. Immediately after the start signal, she must bear off to that proper course.
Sailing the course
It might be the case that the leeward boat (YELLOW in the diagram) is sailing above her proper course without luffing rights, but even if she is, if you are the windward boat (RED) you must keep clear. If RED believes YELLOW is breaking a rule, she should protest. If the protest is successful and the protest committee is satisfied that YELLOW didn’t have the right to sail above her proper course, and that she was sailing above her proper course, then she will be penalized. But if RED doesn’t keep clear and there was nothing to windward of her preventing her from keeping clear, and YELLOW did not deprive RED of room to keep clear (e.g. by luffing quickly), then RED too will be penalized.
The windward boat (RED) may bear away to try to take YELLOW’S wind. There are no restrictions on the course RED may steer provided she keeps clear. In this scenario, RED has sailed down to ‘sit on’ YELLOW but she has got so close that if YELLOW were to bear away, she would immediately make contact.
The definition of keeping clear includes the phrase ‘A boat keeps clear of a right-of-way boat… when the boats are overlapped if the right-of-way boat can… change course in both directions without immediately making contact’.
RED has broken rule 11. YELLOW has not changed course and so 16.1 does not apply. There is no contact, so rule 14 does not apply. In a protest, only RED would be penalized.
This extract is taken from The Rules in Practice 2021-2024, the best-selling rules book from Fernhurst Books (who sponsor the Laser Class in the UK). It has been fully updated for the new rules which come into place on 1st January 2021, highlights the changes that have been made and contains the Racing rules of sailing in full.
The book is unique in that it is written from the sailors’ point of view, taking you around the course and describing how the rules apply in common situations, rather than taking you around the rule book.
It can be ordered here: https://fernhurstbooks.com/books/permalink/160/rules_in_practice_20212024
People who sign up for the Fernhurst Books’ newsletter can get 25% off their first order.
UKLA GOLDEN Nationals 2021
We will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our amazing boat all next year and are planning a special Golden National Championships, followed by the Under 21 Worlds, at the Weymouth Olympic venue- WPNSA. Details to follow, but the dates are 13th - 18th August. Plan is to have a Welcome Evening on the 13th and race Saturday - Wednesday. Gala Dinner on 17th, Covid permitting of course!
New Podcast Out
Check out the latest instalments of ‘An Hour with Flower’, featuring Youth sailor Drew Barnes and top ILCA 6 sailor Hannah Snellgrove.
Class legal boats
Interested in a new boat but confused about where to find a class legal one?
In the UK we are lucky to have 1 builder and 3 suppliers of fully class legal boats with the required World Sailing plaques, ILCA sail buttons and ILCA stickers to identify legal foils & spars available to buy. The UK Manufacturer and UK dealers are Listed below.
So, if you are thinking about a new boat, check out their websites and pick up the phone. For those of us sailing Laser 4.7, Radial & Standard, the new boats are all branded ILCA 4, 6 & 7 respectively.
UK builder:
Ovington - www.ovingtonboats.com
Dealers:
Ovington: Sailingfast - www.sailingfast.co.uk
Devoti: Dzero - www.dzero.co.uk
British Yachting Awards 2020 - Event of the Year Nomination!
It is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC to hear that our National Championships have been nomited for the Event of the Year award!
Lets face it… it was an awesome event!
Masses of hours have been put into this event not only for our sailors, but also the entrire sailing community.
Have a look at the event videos and click the VOTE NOW button to give us your vote.
Join the Team
The UKLA is looking for enthusiastic people to join our ever growing team -
In particular at the moment we’re looking for people to help with:
The Super Grand Prix North
The National Grand Prix Circuit
Newsletter
Please email Ellie at the office if you can assist in any way- even one morning a month would be great!
Tim Law has taken on the job of Standard Rep, but is sadly quite ill at the moment. We wish him all the very best and a speedy recovery.
Guy Noble is our new media co -ordinator and is full of great new ideas and initiatives. (For example the UKLA Podcasts)
Tim Law @ Sam Pearce
Guy Noble @ Sam Pearce
UKLA Noble Marine ILCA7/Laser Standard October Qualifier, 2020
by Ben Flower and Mark Lyttle
The weekend of 17th 18th October saw 118 sailors spread across the ILCA-4, 6 and 7 fleets. Two events were combined, the UKLA Marine ILCA7, ILCA6 & ILCA4 and the RYA Youth Nationals. (See separate write-up for the ILCA6 & ILCA4’s )
Ben Flower reviews the weekends ILCA7s racing
It was a rather cold affair with the first and only autumn qualifier getting under way at WPNSA. The racing was once again in the harbour and on the Saturday there was 10-12 knots of breeze coming from the East.
The first days racing was dominated by the four British Sailing Team sailors who were recently back from the Europeans in Poland locking out the top four positions in each of the Saturdays races.
A tricky days racing with upwind speed so similar there were big gains to be made on the downwind legs.
Lorenzo Chiavarini @ Georgie Altham
Lorenzo Chiavarini led at the end of Saturday with four points with Sam Whaley in second with 8 points and Beckett and Whiteley tied on 9 points.
The Sunday was a light and pressure driven day, Jake Farren-Price won the first race fending off Lorenzo on the final downwind leg.
Drew Barnes @ Georgie Altham
Under 19 sailor Drew Barnes took a well-deserved third place with an intense battle behind with the Standard fleet coming up to lap the 4.7 fleet at the bottom gate. Race 5 saw Sam Whaley lead from the first mark extending his lead on the second beat with a tight battle for 2nd, Jake Farren-Price squeezed in front of the chasing pair of Drew Barnes and Ben Flower.
Michael Beckett @ Georgie Altham
The final race of the day saw Beckett back at the front with two difficult races prior for himself taking the final race win of the weekend cementing his place on the podium in front of Dan Whiteley.
Jake Farren-Price came home in 4th, winning the day and elevating himself up to 5th overall, with Drew Barnes comfortably taking the U19 & U21 titles in 6th overall. Consistency was the big factor this weekend with the top two (Lorenzo 1st and Whaley 2nd) only having one result each not in the top 3.
History was also made this weekend when the ILCA7’s started every race first time - no general recalls whatsoever! Paul Jackson and his team were heard to complement the fleet on its good behaviour. Of course it goes without saying that the fleet also thanks Paul and his team for putting on six excellent races.
Mark Lyttle reports from the Masters’ perspective
Sam Whaley @ Georgie Altham
Several Masters raced the Weymouth Qualifier with recently returned European Senior championship podium sailors Lorenzo CHIAVARINI and Michael BECKETT along two other team members Sam WHALEY and Dan WHITELY. What a treat it was for the Masters to sail against two of the top sailors in the world in an Olympic event, 9 months before the Olympics! I don’t think it really happens in other sports. It is a real credit for those four to turn up and race given the Europeans was only last week and I am sure it saw hard for them to be motivated.
For once we didn’t have three 20 knots races in Weymouth which can be a bit brutal for Masters but 10 to 15 knots on Saturday and a fairly steady 6 to 8 knots on Sunday so it was great chance to assess our performance in moderate conditions.
With only 25 boats it was quite straightforward to get a lane off the middle of the line. I felt my upwind speed in full power conditions was fine – it took Lorenzo 2 or 3 minutes to roll me on one of those which I was happy with! In the lighter winds I got stuffed on two of the starts and found myself a little slower than some of the juniors who were typically occupying places between 5 and 10, probably as they were 10 kg lighter.
The smaller fleet meant it is possible to find clear wind and take the shifts you wanted to, probably unlike a 50 boat fleet. I found myself competitive when I got the shifts right (3rd and 5th at first mark in two races and a recovery to 5th in another) but towards the back when I didn’t (18th in Race 5). Downwind was a lot harder. First race summed that up. Good start and speed with shifts up middle left and 5th at first mark. On the first close reach, one of the boats just behind starting sailing high rather a“tucking in” and get distance on the followers but it turns out to be Lorenzo in the “passing lane”, much quicker than me (I was secretly delighted to be so close!!). Several others went past on the run, dropping me to 10th by the end of the leg. In the light airs, it was worse, dropping from 3rd to 13th in the first race.
Tony WOODS sailed very well in the last two races with good speed upwind and making good decisions. The top five were way quicker downwind than everyone else, sailing like the pros they are with time on the water making their movement fluent and working the boats much harder in response to gusts, lulls and changing wave patterns.
Overall, some great highs when things went well but mistakes were brutally punished to give lots of low points. Of course, the top sailors are consistently fast and making few mistakes, but it is great to race alongside them even if only fleetingly. It is also worth saying that most of the top sailors are welcoming. It may come from the culture set by GBR Laser team where they all work together in an inclusive way, allowing them to load the podium 1, 2, 3 at the Europeans.
Many thanks also to the event sponsors:
Click to visit Noble Marine website
Noble Marine - Ian MacManus (the man behind the name) has crafted a very competitive and excellent insurance product for all Laser/ILCA sailors. A very personal service and a extremely useful website help make this the ‘go to’ company.
Sailingfast – Duncan brings his battle buss down from Scotland for most the big events, which is so ridiculously well equipped, you could replace everything on your boat. Although based in Scotland they will get anything to you super fast. He also supplied many of the prizes. Check out his website by clicking the logo.
Weymouth & Portland Sailing National Academy - The home of the British Sailing Team and one of the best racing venues in the country if not the world the WPNSA offers first class facilities with either harbour or open water racing and hosting the sailing for the 2012 Olympics.
Results:
1st overall - Lorenzo Chiavarini
2nd overall - Sam Whaley
3rd overall - Michael Beckett
1st u21 & u19 - Drew Barnes
1st u17 - Kai Wolgram
1st Master - Mark Lyttle
UKLA Noble Marine ILCA6 and 4/Laser Radial and 4.7 October Qualifier, 2020
by Gary Finkelstein
The weekend of 17th & 18th October saw 118 sailors spread across the ILCA-4, 6 and 7 fleets. Two events were combined, the UKLA Marine ILCA7, ILCA6 & ILCA4 and the RYA Youth Nationals. (See separate write-up for the ILCA7 ).
Wind conditions started with a wonderful 12 – 15knts, a fresh 12 degrees centigrade, and almost champagne conditions if not for the very grey skies, and the drop to below 10 knots during the last race of the day.
ILCA-4’s
This was an important event for the ILCA-4’s as, in addition to being the second UKLA qualifier event in the new season, it was the RYA’s Junior (U16) Championship, which was rescheduled due to Covid-19 restrictions on the original date.
Keijiro Kikkawa, Max Steele, and Antonio Pascali took the lead on the first day, jostling for the podium places in each of the races, but with last year’s champion Jack Graham-Troll not far behind in fourth place. Newcomer to the fleet, Arwen Ffler was the leading girl in 5th place and 17points.
The second day saw much lighter winds, generally 5 – 10 knots, depending on which patch of the course you were in. Jack Graham–Troll showed his skill in identifying the wind pressures and shifts, and scored two bullets to win both the qualifier event and the RYA Junior Championships.
It was very pleasing to see a growing female participation (almost 50%) in the fleet. Arwen Fflur had a very strong performance, particularly in the light winds of the second day, scoring a hat-trick of silver placings, and breaking the dominance of the boys in the middle of the top 5 placings on the score board. Hazell McDonnell was 2nd placed female with Leah Fidling defeating Honor Proctor by 1 place to claim third placing overall, although Honor wins the bronze medal in the U16 category.
Jack Graham- Troll @ Georgie Altham
Arwen Fflur @ Georgie Altham
Due to Covid restrictions, there was no prize giving, but medals are being sent to the winners as follows:
RYA ILCA-4 Junior (U16) Championship
Boys
Gold – Jack Graham Troll
Silver – Max Steele
Bronze – Antonio Pascali
Girls
Gold – Arwen Fflur
Silver – Hazel McDonnell
Bronze – Honor Procter
UKLA Sailingfast Youth (U18) Qualifier ILCA 4
Boys
Gold – Jack Graham Troll
Silver – Keijiro Kikkawa
Bronze – Max Steele
Girls
Gold – Arwen Fflur
Silver – Hazel Mcdonnell
Bronze – Leah Fidling
@ Georgie Altham
ILCA-6’s
Matilda Nicholls @ Georgie Altham
The ILCA-6’s (and ILCA7’s) will have their RYA Youth Championships 24th – 27th at WPNSA, but the event is an important qualifier to represent the UKLA at next year’s international events.
Unlike the ILCA-4’s, the ILCA-6 fleet was dominated by the experienced woman sailors, with Matilda Nicholls scoring a bullet and two 2’s on the first day, and a further 2 bullets on the second light wind day to claim the podium gold placing ahead of Hannah Snellgrove in second.
Hannah Snellgrove @ Georgie Altham
This was Matilda’s first qualifier win - congratulations. Only Fin Dickinson was able to stop an all-girls 1, 2, 3 by finishing a whisker 1 point ahead of Daisy Collingridge.
Daisy Collingridge @ Georgie Altham
Last year’s Inland Champion, Shotaro Kikkawa showed his skills in the light winds to fight back from 7th place at the end of the first day to finish second boy, ahead of Bermuda’s Sebastian Kemp (QMSC) as third boy and 8th overall. Fin’s brother Sam, achieved second place in the U17 age group, with Tom Mitchell coming third.
Sebastian Kemp @ Georgie Altham
It is always a step up when sailors enter a new fleet, and the highly experienced ILCA-6 fleet is no exception for ILCA-4 sailors who transition into this fleet.
It is therefore very encouraging to also see Oliver Allen – Wilcox (the 2020 ILCA-4 national champion) and Freddie Howarth achieving 11th and 12th placings in their first qualifier event in the ILCA-6 fleet.
Coco Barrett won the girls U19 fleet ahead of Charlotte Videlo and Samantha Edwards, with Iris Singleton winning the girls U17 ahead of Lucy Davis and Dru Townsend.
South East Sailboat’s Max Hunt continued to impress again, winning the master category.
Medals Winners:
Mens Overall
Gold – Finley Dickinson
Silver – Shotaro Kikkawa
Bronze – Sebastian Kemp
U19 Winner – Finley Dickinson
U17 Winner – Sebastian Kemp
M Winner – Max Hunt
Women Overall
Gold – Matilda Nicholls
Silver -- Hannah Snellgrove
Bronze – Daisy Collingridge
U21 Winner – Matilda Nicholls
U19 Winner – Coco Barrett
U17 Winner – Iris Singleton
Many thanks also to Paul Jackson and his team for being so patient particularly with the ILCA6 fleet on Sunday and our event sponsors:
Noble Marine - Ian MacManus (the man behind the name) has crafted a very competitive and excellent insurance product for all Laser/ILCA sailors. A very personal service and a extremely useful website help make this the ‘go to’ company.
Sailingfast – Duncan brings his battle buss down from Scotland for most the big events, which is so ridiculously well equipped, you could replace everything on your boat. Although based in Scotland they will get anything to you super fast. He also supplied many of the prizes.
Weymouth & Portland Sailing National Academy - The home of the British Sailing Team and one of the best racing venues in the country if not the world the WPNSA offers first class facilities with either harbour or open water racing and hosting the sailing for the 2012 Olympics.
'An Hour With Flower' – UKLA presents the Ben Flower Podcasts
Ben Flower has been moving up the fleet steadily in recent years and has experienced many of the high and lows of Laser/ILCA racing. In what is to become a regular feature. Ben chats to some of the sailors and volunteers from the Laser/ILCA community.
Ben Flower talks to Anthony Parke - ‘An Hour With Flower’ Podcast
Ben Flower talks to Sam Whaley - ‘An Hour With Flower’ Podcast
Ben flower. @ Sam Pearce
Our sport, the great sport of sailing, is not covered particularly well on mainstream media so it is up to us to create our own coverage. Since January the UKLA website has had nearly a quarter of a million hits with more than 60,000 people regularly visiting - and this in a time of COVID-19! The few National events we've managed to put on have been incredibly well attended on top of this we have had a very healthy resurgence of Laser/ILCA at local clubs.
With this in mind UKLA have been looking for ways to unite the Laser/ILCA sailing community.
Most of us absolutely love racing and have done for many years and are interested in the people involved in the sport especially those involved with the Laser. So with that in mind UKLA would like to present An Hour with Flower - a rolling series of podcasts where Ben Flower talks to different people from the sailing community. Ben is one of the ILCA/Laser fleets most colourful characters and a very talented sailor. He has been knocking on the door of the BST for some months and has been gradually improving – one to watch!
Each podcast is about an hour long, would you believe, and has started with Anthony Parke. Anthony’s talk is fascinating because it gives an insight into the transition from 4.7 through Radial and onto standard rigs. Many of you will be hoping one day to make the British sailing team but for all sorts of reasons this may not happen. Anthony beautifully describes his journey and how events unfold in a quite unexpected way.
The second talk is with Sam Whaley. Sam needs very little introduction apart from being a very smart guy, an incredible sailor and pretty damn handsome he doesn’t have much going for him! So be nice, have a listen … poor chap he needs our support.
These Podcasts should be a great addition to the terrific video interviews Jon Emmett does with our sailor at events. UKLA are planning many other initiatives over these next few months so stay tuned there is more to come.