Noble Marine & Sailingfast ILCA 4 boys Autumn Qualifier (Q6) at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy
by Will Hakes 26 Oct 2023 21:05 BST
21-22 October 2023
Noble Marine & Sailingfast ILCA 4 boys Autumn Qualifier (Q6) at Weymouth © Lotte Johnson /
www.lottejohnson.com
Over 160 boats arrived in Weymouth this weekend for the 6th UKLA Qualifier of 2023. The 4s had a strong turnout, with 60 boats split into two fleets - the males and females - for the first time ever.
On Saturday, we launched into a light north-easterly wind, and began the trek out to Weymouth Bay, where racing was set to be for the day. The sail out proved to be the opposite of the weather for the day, and as we reached the bay the wind picked up as a counter/cross swell complicated the already tricky conditions. As the fleet spread out across the race area, warming themselves up for the racing ahead, clouds began to build over the Dorset hills.
After a short postponement, the ILCA 7s got off racing, however a big shift forced an abandonment and restart of their race. Shortly after, the ILCA 4 girls, and then boys, got off racing.
After good starts in race one, Tom Hakes and Ben Anderson worked hard to get ahead at the windward mark. These two sailors proved to be the sailors of the day, sharing the three race victories between them. The top reach was a place for gains to be made all weekend, with some sailors opting to sail higher and faster, but more distance, and others lower but shorter distance.
By the end of the race the breeze had built significantly and there were gusts up to 30 knots. The first race ended with Tom Hakes taking the win, but only by a small margin to myself and Ben.
The second race was sailed in similar conditions, with another battle between Ben and Tom. This time Ben Anderson prevailed. For the final race of the day, the wind eased off slightly for the tired and thankful sailors. Tom Hakes sailed away from the fleet for his second victory of the day, putting him into first place overnight. Toby Waggett and Oscar Bartlett finished off the podium in race three, managing to get away from the pressure of a tight pack.
All the sailors arrived on the shore tired but with big smiles on their faces, and happily ate the pasta that was waiting for them at tally.
The second day had quite different conditions. The P flag was raised, signalling that we were to be racing in Portland Harbour that day. Moderate south-westerly winds with flat water made for champagne sailing conditions as we sailed downwind toward the committee boat. We quickly got started, and the first race was dominated by Tom Hakes once again. Max Bromilow also sailed an outstanding race to get himself into second place.
The second race was quite similar. Thomas Davey led round the first mark, but constant pressure from Ben Anderson on the second beat put him into the lead. The final race of the weekend took place in dropping wind and ended up being the event decider after a great weekend-long battle between Ben Anderson and Tom Hakes. Ben led off to the left side of the race track after a good start and established an early lead to his close competitor. However, Tom kept the pressure on heading into the second lap but fell short to Ben's speedy sailing. Will Moss had a great race, finishing second.
Well done to all competitors, but especially to Ben and Tom who battled each other hard all weekend with Ben ultimately prevailing by one point.
On behalf of all the ILCA 4 sailors, I would like to thank UKLA, the race committee, mark-laying boats, safety boats, and everyone else who volunteered to make the event happen.
Also we must thank UKLA's terrific sponsors for their continuing support at the qualifiers. Many have been supporting us over many years through difficult times... thank you. Noble Marine, Ovington, Sailingfast and Rooster.
ILCA 4 boys Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 210099 | Ben Anderson | Ryde School | 3 | 1 | ‑5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 212405 | Tom Hakes | Parkstone Yacht Club | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ‑6 | 10 |
| 3 | 212400 | Will Hakes | Parkstone Yacht Club | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ‑16 | 8 | 21 |
| 4 | 212670 | Toby Waggett | Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club | ‑17 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
| 5 | 213516 | Thomas Davey | Royal Harwich YC / Royal Hospital Sch | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 2 | ‑12 | 27 |
| 6 | 213658 | Oscar Bartlett | | 4 | 8 | 3 | ‑16 | 9 | 3 | 27 |
| 7 | 217303 | Alex Jones | Parkstone Yacht Club | ‑10 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 36 |
| 8 | 221789 | Tate Kump | | 5 | 6 | 12 | 9 | ‑17 | 9 | 41 |
| 9 | 166633 | Robbie Hudson | Royal Lymington YC | 11 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | ‑17 | 41 |
| 10 | 198317 | Oliver McCormick | Parkstone yacht club | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 12 | ‑16 | 43 |
| 11 | 215303 | Max Bromilow | Parkstone Yacht Club | 12 | 12 | ‑18 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 55 |
| 12 | 222567 | William Moss | Barnt Green SC | 22 | ‑30 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 56 |
| 13 | 201022 | Eddie Dorsett | Parkstone YC | 9 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 6 | ‑25 | 63 |
| 14 | 213644 | Sam Romer | St Catherines SC | 15 | 19 | ‑22 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 64 |
| 15 | 211166 | Seb Lyttle | | 14 | 16 | ‑21 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 69 |
| 16 | 214587 | Ethan Wild | | 8 | 18 | 11 | 17 | ‑20 | 18 | 72 |
| 17 | 219830 | Gethin Kelly | Llyn Brenig | 16 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 13 | ‑26 | 75 |
| 18 | 209134 | Tristan Harding | | ‑26 | 25 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 10 | 91 |
| 19 | 210220 | Mortimer mastin | dabchicks | 18 | 17 | 14 | 24 | ‑28 | 22 | 95 |
| 20 | 192844 | Tom Yates | Gurnard Sailing Club | 21 | 24 | 17 | ‑25 | 19 | 23 | 104 |
| 21 | 213540 | Lucas Symons | Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club | 13 | 13 | 24 | ‑28 | 27 | 28 | 105 |
| 22 | 204915 | Will Webster | Parkstone YC | ‑28 | 20 | 23 | 18 | 18 | 27 | 106 |
| 23 | 207296 | Zachary Chappell | Parkstone Yacht Club | 23 | ‑28 | 26 | 20 | 26 | 13 | 108 |
| 24 | 209190 | Alex Charlton‑Jones | Chipstead Sailing Club | 31 | 26 | 20 | 12 | 21 | ‑32 | 110 |
| 25 | 222766 | Macsen barber | Dale yacht club | ‑30 | 22 | 19 | 26 | 22 | 24 | 113 |
| 26 | 189314 | Harry Franklin | | (RET) | DNC | DNC | 11 | 10 | 15 | 116 |
| 27 | 171897 | George Hutcheon | Burnham‑on‑Crouch Sailing Club / Corinth | 19 | 14 | 25 | 27 | ‑35 | 33 | 118 |
| 28 | 209216 | Oliver Smith | HISC/Gurnard SC | 27 | 23 | (DNC) | 30 | 23 | 19 | 122 |
| 29 | 210981 | Tom Covell | Poole Yacht Club | 25 | 27 | 28 | ‑32 | 30 | 21 | 131 |
| 30 | 215690 | Oscar Filtness | | 20 | 21 | 27 | 34 | 31 | ‑37 | 133 |
| 31 | 122214 | Jamie Robinson | Lee on The Solent Sailing club | ‑32 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 32 | 20 | 142 |
| 32 | 209016 | Barnaby Watson | Guernsey yacht club | 24 | 29 | 30 | ‑33 | 33 | 31 | 147 |
| 33 | 215613 | William Haines | Gurnard Sailing Club | (DNF) | DNS | DNC | 23 | 25 | 34 | 162 |
| 34 | 187036 | Kit Lester | | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 31 | 29 | 29 | 169 |
| 35 | 165641 | Finlay Lloyd | Lee‑on‑the‑Solent | 34 | (DNC) | DNC | 35 | 34 | 30 | 173 |
| 36 | 218986 | William Brown | | 29 | 31 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 180 |
| 37 | 160507 | Wilf Tovey | Cardiff Bay yacht club / TATA | 33 | (DNC) | DNC | 37 | 37 | 35 | 182 |
| 38 | 185722 | Finlay Todd | Island Barn Reservoir SC | 35 | (DNS) | DNC | 36 | 36 | 36 | 183 |
| 39 | 221319 | Edward Roberts‑Straw | CBYC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 200 |