Cadet Class World Championships in Poland Overall Report
by Roger Wilson 8 Aug 2000 19:34 BST
The Stal Yacht Club near Gdynia in Northern Poland played host to the
International Cadet World Championships from 25th July to 1st August
2000. There has been some talk in the Cadet class this year that the
quality of sailing at the top end of the Cadet fleet would give us
the best chance for a number of years to win the world championships.
There must have been something in it. Sam Carter (Waldringfield) and
Rob Graves (Corinthian Otters) have brought home the big prize,
winning the 2000 world championships by a comfortable points margin
and with two races to spare against 84 other boats. Britain also had two
other boats in the top ten and totally dominated the Challenger fleet with
the Brits taking the top seven places.
With the help of RYA lottery funding, Britain sent two teams of seven
Cadets plus four coaches. After the retirement of Michael McNamara
as class coach earlier this year (what a great job he has done for
the class), Malav Shroff was very ably assisted by Liam Murray,
Dominica Lindsay and James Ward.
By a wonderful twist of fate, it was James who crewed for Jamie Lea
when Britain last won the worlds 10 years ago. And that was in
Poland too. James has always kept the Union Jack which he paraded
with the team at the time and decided to take it with him to Poland
this time as a lucky mascot. Great work, James!
After 10 Races in a mix of very light to maximum of 15 knots the
final places were:
Pos | Sail No. | Helm | . | Crew | . | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | Pts |
---|
1 | GBR-8546 | Sam | Carter | Robert | Graves | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 19* | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8* | 18 | 2 | BEL-8518 | Jim | Haverhals | Kyo-lee | Michielsens | 2 | 2 | 22* | 8 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 19* | 7 | 3 | 46 | 3 | ARG-7155 | Matias | Buhler | Fernando | Garillo | 44* | 5 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 23* | 3 | 10 | 52 | 4 | GBR-9000 | Pippa | Wilson | Charlie | Hatfield | 1 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 9 | RAF* | 4 | 22 | 38* | 13 | 66 | 5 | ARG-8019 | Fernando | Gwozdz | Fernando | Fabian Augusto | 15 | 10 | 1 | 30* | 8 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 35* | 2 | 73 | 6 | ESP-8626 | Miquel Salom | Martorell | Borja | Matarranaz | 13 | 28* | 12 | DSQ* | 15 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 77 | 7 | GBR-8539 | Matt | Summers | Tom | Hannington | 11 | 25 | 14 | 18 | BFD* | 2 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 34* | 85 | 8 | ESP-9086 | Francisco | Iglesias Palacio | Maria | Iglesias Palacio | 3 | OCS* | 16 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 48* | 30 | 89 | 9 | POL-9142 | Michal | Strumnik | Karol | Banczak | 52* | 3 | 20 | 9 | BFD* | 22 | 23 | 2 | 11 | 16 | 106 | 10 | RUS-9009 | Dymitry | Stukalov | Alex | Lukianchenko | 63* | 6 | 10 | 24 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 12 | 51* | 5 | 110 | Other British Placings: | 14 | GBR-8528 | Iain | Watson | Paul | Ellis | 56* | 26 | 7 | 27 | 29 | 32* | 9 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 134 | 23 | GBR-9038 | Julia | Cornah | Oren | Richards | 29 | OCS* | BFD* | 22 | 38 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 165 | 27 | GBR-8445 | Catherine | Putt | Robyn | Stock | 31 | 31 | 28 | 6 | 41 | 27 | 2 | 49* | 13 | 46* | 179 | 28 | GBR-8541 | Sophie | Harrison | Niki | Johnson | 8 | 14 | BFD* | 32 | 48* | 6 | 37 | 31 | 46 | 26 | 200 |
|
RACE BY RACE REPORT
Wednesday 26th July
Race 1
Wind strength 1-3 knots in a northerly direction, grey and misty.
After four recalls the race got away under black flag start at 12.15.
Wilson (9000) made a clear start with Carter (8546), Putt (8445) and
Harrison (8541) all gaining clear air before a significant wind shift
upset many of the front of the fleet. Julia Cornah (9038) and Matt
Summers (8539) also made good starts to tack well up the first beat
in the very light breeze. Regrettably, Watson (8528) was penalised
by the Jury boat at the start and after completing their turn started
well down, tacking hard right with most of the Argentinian boats
including Martias Buhler with Fernando Garillo (7155). After the
second reach Dutch, Belgium and Polish boats had shown significant
speed catching the right side of the shift opening up from the bulk
of the fleet.
With the wind dropping away, the race was shortened on the second
beat to finish with another wind shift. Belgium boat 8518 Jim
Haverhals and with Kyoo-Lee Michielsen was leading the fleet, but
Wilson sailed higher, managing to overhaul the Belgium boat in the
closing minutes to take the lead with Jim and Kyoo-Lee finishing 2nd
and 3rd the Spaniards 9086 Francisco and Maria Palacio Iglesias who
sailed consistently well very close behind. Carter pulled up along
the beat to 4th with Harrison improving through the race to finish
8th.
The wind disappeared altogether and the second race of the day was
abandoned after a postponement at 15.00 hrs, to be re-sailed another
day.
Thursday 27th July
Race 2
The start was at 11.30 with the wind in a westerly direction at 8
knts under an overcast sky. After one general recall and an
individual on the second attempt, the British boats made a good start
with Carter, Wilson and Harrison all at the front of the fleet. At
the first mark Carter had a 15 second lead with Polish and Belgian
boats Jim Haverhaus and Kyoo-Lee Michielsen following close behind.
The second windward leg became a reach with Carter leading, Wilson in
3rd and Harrison dropping to 15th. Watson was down the fleet and
Cornah had been OCS. A significant wind shift led to a course change
with Carter holding on to the lead pursued by Haverhals, POL 9142
Michal Strumnik and Karol Bancrak and Wilson. At the finish line
Carter was 1st, Haverhals moved up to Strumnik 3rd.
Race 3
The freshening Northerly wind increased to a steady 15 knots making
for very choppy conditions and some white horses. The black flag was
used after the second general recall catching several boats including
both Harrison and Cornah. At the windward mark Argentine 8019
Fernando Gwozdy with Fabian De Mare sped away on the reach showing
excellent speed, closely followed by Iain Watson and Paul Ellis. At
the second windward mark the Argentine and British boats were clearly
enjoying exciting conditions. Wilson was racing hard in 5th with Putt
in 14th and Summers 16th.
A significant 30 degree wind change on the final beat kept ARG 8019
Gwozdy in the lead and ARG 5517 Juan Ignacio Vita with Josefina
Gonzalez Solveyra in second with Carter and Graves in 3rd, but a
number of changers further down. Watson finished 7th, his best
result, with Wilson 12th, Summers 16th and Putt 30th. Harrison and
Cornah were both blackflagged.
Friday 27th July
Race 4
After a one hour postponement due to lack of wind, the first start
was at 12.35 in a 4-5 knot North-easterly. There was one general
recall, a Black Flag and at the 3rd Black Flag start, Summers broke
clear tacking hard to port with Haverhals. But at 1st windward it was
ARG 7155 Matias Buhler& Fernando Garillo who held the lead with
Spain 2nd and Belgium 8404 3rd. At the 2nd windward mark Matias
increased his lead and with a course change due to the shifting light
breeze ESP 9120 Antonio Aguirre with Juan Conona Marion were in 2nd
with Pippa Wilson and Robyn Stock in 3rd. Down the run Carter made
up places and both he and Wilson overtook Aguirre to finish Wilson
2nd and Carter 3rd.
Race 5
In the afternoon, the wind was now E/NE and less than 5 knots. Once
again there was a general recall followed by a black flag and general
recall. Approximately 10 boats blackflagged including Matt Summers
GBR 8539. Finally the race started at 15.45 in slight chop and
variable wind filling from the left. At the windward mark GER 8875
led from RUS 2nd and POL 9131 3rd. In the very testing conditions of
almost zero wind, the race was shortened after the first triangle and
finished on the beat.
The local boats managed the conditions best, with POL 9131 Dominik
Kasprzak and Maroin Korbik winning from POL 9235 Kamil Baczek
andSylwaster Baczek. Wilson faired the best of the British boats,
managing 9th, but Carter was 19th, Watson 29th, Cornah 38th, Putt
41st and Harrison 48th.
Saturday 28th July
The parent's supper and competitor's disco on the Friday everning
found many of the parents really enjoying themselves and the lay day
was a useful recovery period. Names have been withheld to protect
the innocent, but there was evidence to suggest that drinking
industrial quantities of Vodka and standing up are not compatible.
The team enjoyed a well earned rest on the lay day and made their way
down to breakfast looking more bleary eyed than some. Eventually the
sun shone and most went to the beach in true British style to dig
holes and bounce on bouncy castles. I cannot report whether knotted
hankies were worn.
Race 6
The conditions had improved with winds of 12-15 knots giving good
visiblity and choppy waters.
Approx. 8 min before the crucial 5 minute gun Pippa Wilson GBR 9000
had her bow chain plate lift from the deck. Frantic emergency
repairs were made by British support rib COBRA who valiantly repaired
the boat in choppy conditions and tried desperately to get Wilson
away before the crucial 5 minute gun! However despite all their best
endeavours the boat sailed away just 10 seconds into the 5 minute
rule. The girls scrambled for the start line whilst hoisting sails
and made what looked like a good start tacking hard to the right side
of the course.
Summers made a clean start from the middle of the line and led at the
windward mark followed by ARG 8059 and Carter with ESP 8626 Miguel
Salom Martorell and Borja Matarranaz and Sophie Harrison with Nick
Johnson GBR 8541 in 5th. Julia Cornah with Oren Richards GBR 9038
were holding 7th in their best race of the championships.
In sparkling conditions the British dominated the top slots finding
the 12/15 knots and choppy conditions to their liking. At the second
rounding Carter and Graves had taken the lead with Matt Summers & Tom
Hannington GBR 8539 2nd, Julia Cornah & Oren Richards GBR 9038
steaming up to 3rd and Sophie Harrison & Nick Johnson GBR 8541 in 6th.
This sequence was maintained with ESP 8626 Martorell sailing well in
the breezy conditions closely followed by Sophie Harrison 8541 and
BEL 8518 Haverhals. Into the final leg and all the British boats wer
sailing really well, holding their positions to the finish. Carter &
Graves were 1st, Summers & Hannington 2nd and Cornah & Richards were
3rd. Martorell was 4th ahead of Haverhals and Harrison in 6th.
Sunday 30th June
Race 7
After 3 starts, 2 of which were black flagged, the fleet were clean
away in very similar conditions to the morning. Off the start line
POL 9035 appeared to make a good start tacking hard right but at the
first windward mark it was Belgium, Australia and GBR 8445 Catherine
Putt & Robyn Stock 3rd.
In the fast reaching conditions and close sailing, Putt took the lead
and at the second windward mark Carter had made up places, screaming
down the reach to gain 4th then 2nd up the beat with ARG 8019 Gwozds
close behind and Wilson & Hatfield in hot pursuit. At the line
Carter took 1st from Putt in 2nd, Gwodzs 3rd and Wilson 4th. Other
British boats also notched up some impressive results in the very
competitive fleet with Summers & Hannington 12th, Watson & Ellis
14th, and Cornah and Richards 16th.
Monday 31st July
Race 8
The wind had moved round to the West, but the conditions were similar
to the previous day, a 10-15 knot wind with significant chop. After
two general recalls the black flag was used and the fleet finally got
away. The wind swung 30 degrees during the first beat and at the
windward mark POL 9142 Strumnik led from Summers and POL 1707 Lodyga.
Most of the British boats were mid fleet, having a troubled time in
the shifting conditions, including championship leaders Carter and
Graves. They rounded in 16th but made up places down the reach
fighting back to 7th at the gybe mark.
The wind dropped away through the race to less than 5 knots with
constant shifts. At the second windward, POL 9142 led with Summers
closing the gap. RUS 9081 moved up to 3rd with ARG 5517 Juan Ignacio
Vita and POL Lodyga close behind. Down the run in the decreasing
wind, Summers took the lead, and in the shifting, drifting conditions
the course was shortened giving Summers 1st from POL 9142 2nd. Carter
and Graves played the final shifts perfectly to move up from 7th to
3rd to confirm them as World Champions for 2000 with 2 races still in
hand.
Iain Watson GBR 8528 had one of his best races finishing 7th, while
Cornah who was continually improving took 20th. Pippa Wilson misread
the shift on the final beat to finish 22nd, and Spohie Harrison
managed 31st.
With the knowledge that the Challenger fleet was being dominated by
the Brits and with Carter and Graves assured of the World
Champioships, there were great celebrations in the British camp at
the end of the day and just a little way into the evening!
Monday 31st July
Race 9
Another black flag at the start and the fleet drifted again in the
light shifting winds of 5 knots and less with a short wave chop. ARG
8014 Galvan led away from the start, closely followed by Watson &
Ellis and Carter & Graves in 3rd (sailing the last two races on Team
Coach advice) and Belgium 8332 4th. On the reaches Carter and Graves
overhauled ARG 8024 Lamas but up to the next windward mark there was
a significant wind shift and Lamas slipped through with Carter &
Graves attacking again at 2nd. Third round was ARG 7155 Buhler. The
fleet was now very spread out in the light shifting conditions as the
wind dropped to almost zero and Carter and Graves took the lead with
200 metres to the finish. The finishing mark was suprisingly moved
and ARG 8024 moved ahead of the British pair to win. Buhler was 3rd,
and AUS 4109 Jake Newman and Blayne Wagoner were 4th. Watson had a
consistent day to finish 10th, Putt 13th, Cornah 22nd, Wilson 38th
and Harrison 46th.
Tuesday 1st August
Race 10
For the last race of the series there were 10-12 knots of breeze from
the Northwest and some light chop. BEL 8518 Haverhals & Kyo-Lee
Michielson went hard right with ARG 8059 Juan Fransisco Amuchastequi
& Gonzalo Amuchastequi, tacking in to the windward mark in the lead.
Rounding the windward mark next was RUS 2 Sergey Musikhin & Roman
Gusev sailing very fast and POL 9065 Becker with BEL 8518 close
behind. The two leading Argentine and Russian boats held their
position down the reaches showing impressive downwind performance.
With the wind shifting on the last beat 1st across the line was ARG
8059 Amuchastequi followed by ARG 8019 Gwodz. BEL 8518 Jim Haverhals
& Kyo-Lee Michielson continued to show impressive boat speed, sailing
very well in the shifty conditions, and pulled up to 3rd with RUS 2
Musikhin 4th.
British placing in this race, 8th GBR 8546 , 13th GBR 9000, 19th GBR
9038, 20th GBR 8528, 26th
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