Cadet World Championships at Lake Balaton, Hungary
by Mark Stone 10 Aug 2006 10:16 BST
21-30 July 2006
Action from the Cadet worlds at Lake Balaton in Hungary © Mark Stone
Eighty one boats from fourteen nations competed in the 2006 Cadet World Championships which were held at Lake Balaton in Hungary from 21st to 30th July.
The event was won by Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) with Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf (GBR) finishing second followed by Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) in third place.
Everyone was briefed to know it was going to be a tough event but I don’t think anyone really realised how tough. Temperatures in the high 30’s, exceptionally high humidity and generally wind less days were the norm and were energy sapping. To cap it all a sickness epidemic struck mid week which was rampant through the fleet although luckily this did not appear to affect to many of the British Team.
The practice race scheduled for Sunday was abandoned after half an hour or so owing to the light conditions.
Day 1
The fleet finally launched at about 11am after waiting for the wind. After several attempts the fleet got away on a black flag with 12 boats over the line (including GBR 7630 Miles Blaver-Mann). Chaos ensued when it transpired that the boat numbers were written on the blackboard in such small letters that no one could read them so all the black flagged boats finished the race! Miles took the committee to task requesting redress which he won ensuring he did not have to carry the points for the series. Although this race was started in a reasonable breeze this weakened towards the end of the race and consequently almost 30 boats were timed out and didn’t manage to finish. Francisco Cosentino started the series strongly to win this race followed by Peter Lawrence/ Liam Pardy (GBR) an excellent second and Arthur Ponieczynski/ Michael Wakulinski (POL) third. Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf finishing 4th. An approaching storm sent the organisers into panic mode and the fleet were sent ashore for safety reasons with no more racing that day.
Day 2
A frustrating day ashore waiting for wind – no racing.
Day 3
Finally a breath of wind and race two was under way. Once again the Argentinean had a flying start from the pin end and led the race until the last leeward mark. Hamish Stone/Aaron Woolf (GBR) showed blistering boat speed to recover from a dreadful start and pile back through the fleet to 5th at the last leeward mark and then to take the win. Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) finished second with fellow countrymen Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) in third. Katrina Brewer/ Christopher Brewer (GBR) finished 10th.
Race 3 got under way straight after race two and with the breeze dropping all the time this was eventually shortened and finished after the first triangle. Katrina Brewer/ Christopher Brewer (GBR) had a fantastic first leg to control a huge lead by the windward mark. However, the race ended with an Argentinean whitewash for the podium positions with the race being won by Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) with Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) second and Juan Mario Ferrantino/ Camilla Agnoletti (ARG) 3rd. Katrina Brewer/Chris Brewer (GBR) were first British boat finishing in 7th.
Another race was started in less than 1 knot of wind and abandoned after only 13 minutes when the fleet were only a third of the way up the first beat. The fleet was sent ashore and the Lay Day scheduled for Day 4 was cancelled.
Day 4
Another morning waiting around but when there was no wind by midday the race officer sent everyone home.
Day 5
The fleet launched to go racing but no sooner had they done so than the wind died totally and they all went ashore again to sit it out. Finally after several long postponements the fleet launched at about 5pm for Race 4 in a good breeze. Joshua Pistol/ Jamie Diamond (GBR) had pulled out a big lead by the first mark and were followed by Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf (GBR). Josh and Hamish held their positions to finish first and second followed by Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) in third. Chris Vidello/ Maddie Harris (GBR) had a stunning start and finished in 5th with Miles Blaver-Mann/Ole Alcock (GBR) finishing 6th.
Day 6
At last a light breeze to start the day and the fleet launched without delay. At the start of race 5 it looked as though Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) had made their first mistake when they were over the line at the start and had to round the pin. However, they made a miraculous recovery and went on to win the race! Juan Mario Ferrantino/ Camilla Agnoletti (ARG) finished second and Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) third. First British boat was Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf who finished 6th .
Race 6 once again saw the same top three but in a different order with Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) winning followed by Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai (ARG) in second and Juan Mario Ferrantino/ Camilla Agnoletti (ARG) in third. Of the British Katrina Brewer/ Christopher Brewer sailed an excellent race to finish 6th with Hamish Stone/Aaron Woolf finishing 9th.
Race 7 followed straight on and this time Hamish Stone/Aaron Woolf (GBR) started well to cross the fleet on port after the start and led the race to the finish. Damian Rzepkowski/ Filip Gorski (POL) finished second with Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) third. Joshua Pistol/ Jamie Diamond (GBR) sailed a good race to finish 5th with Miles Blaver-Mann/Ole Alcock GBR) in 9th.
Day 7
Race 8 was probably the most difficult race of the regatta with huge wind shifts and holes. Joshua Pistol/ Jamie Diamond (GBR) led at the first mark followed by Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf (GBR) from Quinten Lauwers/ Jules Greeve (BEL). The leading pack went right of middle up the last beat to find the wind fill in on the left and the leaders could only watch helpless as boats piled in to the finish. The race was won by Lukasz Kawinski/ Damian Frank (POL) with Miles Blaver-Mann/Ole Alcock (GBR) a stunning 2nd followed by Damian Rzepkowski/ Filip Gorski (POL) in third with Joshua Pistol/ Jamie Diamond (GBR) in 4th. Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf were big losers eventually ending up 17th! Several boats were eventually timed out.
Race 9 got underway in a light and shifting breeze. It looked as though the pin end had paid and Ed Impey/ Jack Wilson (GBR) looked to be leading at first. It then became apparent that Damian Rzepkowski/ Filip Gorski (POL) and Hamish Stone/Aaron Woolf (GBR) who had started nearer the committee boat were on the right end of a shift and this pair of boats led to the windward mark. These two boats picked up a large gust on the second reach and planed away from the rest of the fleet to pull out a big lead. The wind was dying up the final beat and getting even shiftier. There were many places exchanged but the race was won by Damian Rzepkowski/ Filip Gorski (POL) with Hamish Stone/Aaron Woolf (GBR) second from Quinten Lauers/ Jules Greeves (BEL) in third and an excellent 4th place for Peter Lawrence/ Liam Pardy (GBR). Miles Blaver-Mann/Ole Alcock (GBR) finished 9th. With the breeze dying there was no time to start another race before the time limit.
Hats off to the race officer who managed to slot so many races in such testing conditions this had been one of the hardest events the organisers could remember. Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro (ARG) were deserved winners having sailed an exceptionally consistent series in very testing conditions.
Overall Results:
1st ARG 8087, Francisco Consentino/ Sancho Castro
2nd GBR 8521, Hamish Stone/ Aaron Woolf
3rd ARG 8060, Gonsala Cosentino/ Lucas Cabrai
4th POL 9461, Damian RZepkowski/ Filip Gorski
5th BEL 8518, Quinten Lauwers/ Jules Greeves
6th ARG 8008, Juan Mario Ferrantino/ Camilla Agnoletti
7th POL 9065, Lukasz Kawinski/ Damian Frank
8th GBR 735, Joshua Pistol/ Jamie Diamond
9th GBR 7630, Miles Blaver-Mann/ Ole Alcock
10th ARG 4541, Gambaro Santiago/ Cabrai Magdalena
Other British places:
13th GBR 8445, Katrina Brewer/Christopher Brewer
18th GBR 7335, Peter Lawrence/ Liam Pardy
24th GBR 9047, Ed Impey/ Jack Wilson
27th GBR 8514, Christopher Vidello/ Madelaine Harris