Noble Marine / Sailingfast ILCA 4 UK Qualifier 2 at the WPNSA

This weekend was an event with two very different days. The first day was blistering, with over 30 kts of breeze, whereas the second day was almost cancelled due to a lack of it. The combined fleets of 122 ILCAs were in for a very mixed set of races.

Day 1

The first race was a pin end bias line, with nobody over and the lane holding off of the line it was a struggle to maintain boat speed over the chop. Once the fleet separated the boats that started pin end were ahead coming into the windward mark. Some sailors struggled to bear away around the windward mark onto the reach which was fast paced and brutal. Onto the downwind, 1st place was Jessica Powell, followed by Toby Waggett and Fred Buckley. Most of the fleet followed with some sailors struggling in the harsh conditions to stay upright, and there was a big split left and right down the run. For the harbour, the waves were tall and close together, making catching and surfing them difficult but very exhilarating. The right gate paid and Jessica maintained her lead, while Toby, who went around the other gate, gave up a position to Fred. Going up the beat we sailed past many upside down sailors having trouble because of the unstable downwind. Toby struggled to bear down at the windward mark and so was put down into third place for good, the gaps between the three leaders were quite widespread. The race lasted about 40 minutes for the leaders, whereas some people didn't finish or were whiskey flagged. What a race!

ILCA 4 UK Qualifier 2 at the WPNSA - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

The second race was similar, with a port bias line and harsh winds on the legs. Around the windward mark there were some different faces and more people together at the front on the reach and downwind. Once again, the right gate paid, and people were fighting downwind for the room at the mark. The rest of the race played out similarly to the first race, however, Jessica lost out to Oscar Bartlett on the last run with Fred in third.

The third race was just as difficult as the other two with the wind seeming to pick up even more. First place went to Jessica, second place to Fred and third place to Oscar.

Well done to any sailors who stayed out for the entire day because there were many who couldn't because of the high wind speed, and thank you to the safety team for helping out, with apparently 4 broken boats out on the water. The race committee called it a day and there was no 4th race as planned.

ILCA 4 UK Qualifier 2 at the WPNSA - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

Great decision.

Day 2

The second day was a polar opposite to the first. With no wind on or offshore some were waiting in anticipation to amend their scores from yesterday with discards, or others not bothered, and content with their results. Finally some breeze gathered and the fleets launched at 1 pm. Once we got out on the water, we quickly got to racing in about 6 kts of breeze which was dependent on pressure and boatspeed.

After a hugely port biased start, the pin end starters tacked over the rest of the fleet with a huge lead on them, and furthermore, there was also more pressure on the left side of the course, which resulted in many sailors banging the left lay line. Nina Marsh was leading by quite a way for the rest of the race.

ILCA 4 UK Qualifier 2 at the WPNSA - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

The fifth race played out very differently to the fourth, still with pin end as the priority, however a right shift came through, so sailors who banged left again struggled to make it back to the middle because of a header. The breeze then died down and the fleet had a shortened course. William Moss had a very good day 2 with a 1st and 2nd, Chloe Grayton with a weekend PB of 2nd in race 5, along with Ellie Thwaites leaving with 9th overall.

The weekend consisted of two contrasting days of sailing with different directions and wind strengths, meaning different priorities, and a strong mindset were required to kick back into sailing mode after the break in the morning of the second day. It was a really great weekend of racing, well done to all the sailors for some absolutely fantastic racing in extremely challenging conditions.

The UKLA Qualifier series is kindly sponsored by Noble Marine, Ovington Boats, Sailingfast and Rooster. In Qualifier 2 Noble Marine and Sailingfast supplied the prizes which were gratefully received by all the sailors.

Massive thanks to all the volunteers, who without this event would not be possible. WPNSA were also fantastic, making pasta after sailing and making us feel very welcome. Sailors are looking forward to the next weekend where we back in Weymouth.

Overall Results: