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ILCA 6 Masters Nationals at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

by Ross Harvey 10 Jul 2022 06:27 BST 1-3 July 2022

The 2022 Masters National Championships attracted 114 ILCAs, split fairly evenly between the of ICLA6s and ILCA7s, two 50 plus boat fleets and a forecast of big breeze and sunshine would provide some of the most challenging racing many of the UK Masters have seen in years. As promised the breeze came and some of the sunshine but it was certainly not warm!

Camping available on site in a field right next to the dinghy park overlooking the sea, meals laid on every evening and spot prizes available for those who stayed made for a sociable event, helped by a large marquee in case the unreliable British weather decided to rain on our parade!

The ICLA6s saw the return to the class of Steve and Sarah Cockerill, and Ross Harvey after a ten year break but having stretched his legs in the ICLA a fair few times over the last couple of years, to decided quite suddenly after this Moth broke (again!) to fully commit and buy a fresh new ILCA.

In the first race the 4 boats closest to the pin shot away gaining a small lead on the rest of the fleet. Emmett started closest to the pin and immediately went into high mode, Elvin decided he'd had enough of chopping wood and footed off below Emmett.

Elvin had slightly more pace on the downwind and took the lead but eventually snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by sailing too high on the final reach, Harvey chasing hard capitalised on this mistake and took the glory of the 'under-role' and the race win.

In the next two races Joe Scurrah was showing good upwind pace but Cockerill had the better of him downwind. The same was true between Harvey and Elvin.

In both these races the eventual finish order was Elvin, Harvey, Emmett, Cockerill, Scurrah.

The moral of the story...
...be fast upwind, be even faster downwind!

Day 2 dawned bright and breezy, with the tide holding the fleet back from the line it was a battle of the ends, Ann Keates started on port and crossed most of the fleet but it was Cockerill who took an early lead with a great start from near the starboard end.

Terry Scutcher pushed into the top four at the windward mark but couldn't quite match the pace of Cockerill et al downwind.

By the last race the fleet was definitely slowing, sore legs and backs and general fatigue was setting in. The extra freedom of not having Emmett too close behind allowed Harvey close the gap on Elvin downwind to finish close enough it didn't look like Elvin had it all his own way.

After a short delay due to light wind, the final day of racing got under way. The sailors that started next to the committee boat and tacked to try the get out of the tide soon regretted it as the wind shifted left and built.

The top three deadlock was finally broken. Scurrah took the win which put pressure on Cockerill in the overall standings. Ian Gregory and Max Hunt filled the rest of the top spots.

Going into the final race and with the top four boats overall all using up their discard in the previous race it was lining up to be a great battle.

With two minutes until the start it was obvious that the ICLA 7s would be coming around their leeward mark as the ILCA 6s started. A difficult decision had to be made, take the bias at the pin but risk being in dirty air or start further down the line.

Emmett, Elvin and Harvey all started at the pin but as predicted the 7s rounded their mark and slammed on some beautiful cover tacks, 'cheers lads'. Harvey tacked and had a bit on to duck the first boat but managed to cross the rest of the fleet. As the fleet got clear of the 7s, Emmett was leading and in the close battle with Elvin, but as they approached the starboard lay line the wind shifted left and they lost their slender advantage. It was a packed top ten at the first mark with Sarah Cockerill, Richard Smith, Ian Gregory and Roberta Hartley all in the mix.

Emmett and Elvin continued their battle with Elvin eventually pulling away taking the race win and the Championship. Harvey caught a couple of waves just before the leeward mark and nipped ahead of Cockerill taking third in the final race and enough to claim second overall. Cockerill's fourth place was still just enough for him to hold onto fourth overall by a couple of points.

A well deserved win in the ILCA6s by Ben Elvin, combined with 2nd place by Ross Harvey and Nick Harrison 6th place in the ILCA7s was enough for Stokes Bay SC to win the club trophy against rivals Queen Mary SC.

A big thank you to Stokes Bay SC, Tim Pearce and all the volunteers from the club helped make everything go smoothly, particularly anyone who helped with trollies and pulling boats up that lovely beach! The Race Committee, all the mark layers and on-the-water volunteers were superb. UKLA's Ellie and Alison deserve a medal each for pulling the whole thing together.

The next event of UKLA is the Open National Championships just along the coast at Hayling Island 17th to 22nd July - with 250 entries this is likely to be bigger than last year's 50th.

Once again our sponsors provided a fantastic range of great prizes - a special mention goes to Wildwind holidays who provided a free holiday. The lucky winner was Nick VanTienen. Mike Kinnear and Ross Harvey won very posh Ovington foil bags.

Overall Results:

PosNatSail NoHelmClubCatR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8Pts
1stGBR214268Ben ElvinStokes Bay SCAM211211‑1119
2ndGBR218942Ross HarveyHayling Island SC / Stokes Bay SCAM122322‑19315
3rdGBR216115Jon EmmettWeir Wood SCM333133‑10218
4thGBR220151Stephen CockerillStokes Bay Sailing ClubGM444474‑16431
5thGBR213563Joe ScurrahCarsington Lake SCAM555‑7461733
6thGBR220041Ian GregoryFrensham Pond SCM7‑876672540
7thGBR162576Terry ScutcherShotley SCGM666555‑17942
8thGBR219390Niall PeeloQueen Mary SCM878888(UFD)1158
9thGBR211458Richard SmithWOBYCM109911(DNC)155665
10thGBR220152Sarah Cockerill GM911109129‑22868
11thGBR220440Max HuntWhitstable YCGGM13‑21141291131779
12thGBR216654Roberta HartleyParkstone Yacht ClubGM181613131010‑211393
13thGBR215230Gareth EdwardsQueen Mary SCGM141215151514‑331095
14thGBR180664Martyn JonesHayling Island SCM1219‑26161113141499
15thGBR220439Ann Keates GGM15221214(UFD)171312105
16thGBR213052David BindingWeir Wood SCGGM1610(RET)1014162816110
17thIRL217179John CurranWembley SCM19171119202112‑29119
18thFRA147669Alain Renaud M171320181319‑2923123
19thGBR219047Alison StevensQueen Mary SCAM202518221720‑4021143
20thCAY219098Andrew WhittakerQueen Mary SCAM25151923211237(DNC)152
21stGBR198964John ReayRYAGGM33181717161834‑35153
22ndGBR180288Simon Beckett GM292321202524‑4120162
23rdGBR183153Matthew FletcherIsland Barn SCM30302228193018‑32177
24thGBR186375Richard GrayQueen Mary SCGM22‑31282923253022179
25thGBR185608Mike ShepherdStokes Bay SCM(NSC)32272124233125183
26thGBR213579Ian RawetGrafham Water SCLEGEND28(RET)DNC251822928188
27thGBR213542Jonathan JonesWaveney & Oulton Broad YCGGM‑3935233027282424191
28thGBR195029David WilliamsGrafham Water SCGM37(UFD)30263226438193
29thGBR213093Michael KinnearGrafham Water SCLEGEND2124242722(DNC)3841202
30thGBR215405Glyn PurnellLeigh & Lowton/West Kirby SCGGM242029(DNC)DNCDNC619214
31stGBR191405Mark MahySwanage SCGM272732332631‑4640216
32ndGBR215416Peter GeeGrafham Water SCGM3226253229(DNC)4234220
33rdGBR168986John GoldsbroughWeston Sailing ClubGGM41(DNC)DNC343133727231
34thGBR219061Bob DraperStokes Bay SCGGM36(RET)DNC2428272037235
35thGBR209933Julian LloydNotts County SCGM40(RET)333130322544235
36thGBR203157Mihail YankovQueen Mary SCM42293137342945‑46247
37thGBR214189Paul HeathLeigh & Lowton SCGM111416(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC273
38thGBR146162Zoe McCaigNewhaven and Seaford Sailing ClubM(DNC)DNCDNC3633352731278
39thGBR205147Vittorio BoccoliniSeafarers SCAM3828(DNC)DNCDNCDNC2318281
40thGBR177861Jo West AM(DNC)DNCDNC3535343239291
41stGBR198505Neil DunkleySaltash Sailing ClubGGM3136(DNC)DNCDNCDNC3615292
42ndGBR202204Roger WilliamsStarcross YCLEGEND(DNC)DNCDNC3836DNC843299
43rdGBR198189Andrew ChapmanNetley SCGGM2633(DNC)DNCDNCDNC3930302
44thSUI212744Jacques PerretCercle de la Voile de NeuchâtelGGM34(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC1526307
45thGBR213094Ian Ritchie M23(RET)DNCDNCDNCDNC2633314
46thGBR196166Graham Macwhirter GM3534(RET)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC359
47thGBR206891Ben SharpQMSCGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC3536361
48thGBR209958Ant LawRoyal Corinthian YCLEGEND(DNC)DNCDNCRETDNCDNC4442376
49thGBR217901Guy Hickman GGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC4348381
50thGBR160649Sarah HardingChew Valley Lake SCGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC4845383
51stGBR194124mark tinklerBurghfield Sailing ClubGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC4947386
52ndGBR200998Christi BrasherChew Valley SCGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC4749386
53rdGBR212407Bob CudmoreParkstone YCGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC406
53rdGBR206502Hilary ThomasLocks SCLEGEND(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC406
53rdGBR210779John MastersChipstead SCLEGEND(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC406
53rdFRA218170Tatibouet ClaudineC N SchoelcherGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC406
53rdGBR213707Jimmy CarterLancing SCGM(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC406

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