Cadet World Championships at the WPNSA - Day 2

The 'unseasonably blustery weather' (to paraphrase every weather-forecaster on radio and TV this weekend) dished up a particularly excellent day for World Championship Cadet sailing at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on Sunday. Day 2, sponsored by Thorpe Bay Yacht Club, dawned under leaden skies and the promised 25knt gusts were whipping around the dinghy park as the young sailors rigged their boats in anticipation of another exciting day on the water. However, a slight moderation in the conditions by the time the fleet launched meant that a course could be laid inside the harbour that made the most of the15-20knt westerly that had settled in for day.

For Race 3 the Race Officer went straight to the black flag and got the fleet away to a prompt start. With many going wide to either the left or right it was inevitable that a conservative course up the middle would pay, and sure enough the stars of the show so far, AUS9616 Thomas/Sophie Alexander, emerged from the pack with a clear lead at the windward mark. Hot on their heels were a select group of 3, ARG9472 Nahuel Ponce/Lucas Pruden, GBR9877 Daisy/Hattie Collingridge and AUS9551 Yasmin Galbraith/Matilda O'Donoghue, while behind these the first 20 boats came round the mark nose-to-tail, everyone fighting for position on the reach to the outer loop. By the end of the run AUS9616 had extended their lead, AUS9931 Louis Schofield/Peter Allen had flown down the run to steal 2nd and GBR9877 had hung on to 3rd. Positions continued to change between the top boats around the final loop and when they got back to the top of the course for the final time ARG9472 were still in 2nd place with space behind them. However, they then threw the podium wide-open again by capsizing near the bottom of the run allowing the charging GER9690 Julian Mathwig/Matthias Henning though to 2nd. A quick recovery kept the Argentinian boat in contention and after the final reach and beat to finish AUS9616 won from GER9690. An arbitration hearing after the race took ARG9472 out of the results and left AUS9931 3rd, BEL8520 4th and GBR9877 first British boat in 5th.

Race 4 followed a short break on the water for food and drinks, and once again the black flag ensured that the fleet got away first time. At the windward mark it was GER9690 that appeared in the lead but with AUS9616 in close attendance. A fierce battle ensued that lasted for the rest of the race, with the two boats neck and neck down the runs and swapping tacks up the beats. The Australians just stole it at the end of the last run to take yet another win, but the performance of the German boat in this race showed that the contest is far from over. Sailing clear of the chasing pack to take a strong 3rd was GBR8541 Alex Warrington/Anna Wootton, a fitting tribute to Alex's home club and the day's sponsors, Thorpe Bay YC.

In the Promotional fleet competition remains close between the leading boats with several partnerships taking the podium for the second day running. GBR8420 Lainey Terkelsen/Martha Jones ran away with Race 3, winning by a huge margin from GBR8432 Lulu Knott/Daisy Nunn with GBR8852 Archie Penn/Hazel Whittle taking 3rd. The three boats set themselves up for the podium equivalent of Musical Chairs in Race 4 when Archie and Haze won from Lainey and Martha with Lulu and Daisy 3rd.

Off the water a BBQ for all the competitors was followed by Dragon Boat racing for those with any energy left. Monday promises plenty of wind again and a re-schedule in response to the long-range forecast may yet postpone the lay-day to Wednesday. Follow the racing on our Twitter feed @GBRCadets or the class Facebook page.

Full results for the Worlds and the Promotional Regatta can be found at www.cadetclass.org.uk/sitedata/Worlds_14/Cadet_Worlds_Results.pdf