Cadet National Championship 2022 at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Overall

Day 3

Day 3 at the Cadet Nationals at RTYC continued as a light wind affair.

Race 5 was won by Loic Schoonooghe and Emiel Van Daele (BEL) with an increasingly consistent Will Shepherd and Joe Mycroft (GBR) second and Lulu Mayhew and Henry Camm (GBR) third. These two had tacked away after the start and found pressure on the right to come in a staggering minute and 43 seconds ahead at the first windward mark.

They worked so hard to hold their lead but were ultimately overhauled on the last beat to the finish. Nevertheless a tremendous result for these two.

In Regatta Fleet Josh and Natasha Davidson (GBR) took their first win of the week from Thomas Pontet and Benjy Bullock (GBR).

An attempt to sail a sixth race was abandoned half way down the first run as the wind dipped below 4 knots and, after a wait in vain for more pressure, things were drawn to a close for the day.

Day 4

On to Day 4 then and still it looked light and shifty - the forecast wasn't particularly encouraging as the wind was scheduled to shift continually right and with little increase in force but there was just enough to get things going and perhaps even to get back on track with the schedule if three races could be slotted in.

Race 6 was won by Oliver Brands and Hannelore Cammaer (BEL) - their second bullet of the week. Second were Wouter Groeneweg and Luuk Boekhorst (NED) with Will and Joe again bagging a podium place in third to tighten their grip on the overall lead.

Race 7 saw the start of a push by the Polish boat Sebastian Czerwinski and Mateusz (POL) to put some pressure on Will and Joe but these two responded with yet another second place as they started to prove the adage you don't need to win races to win championships.

Third were Moritz Schroder and Kai Zolondek (GER) although these two later added a scoring penalty for a technical infringement.

And so to race 8 - almost a carbon copy of the seventh with Sebastian and Mateusz winning but Will and Joe following close enough in second, this time Wouter and Luuk in third. This left Will and Joe looking extremely strong going into the final day - they hadn't quite wrapped it up yet but their consistency when so many others had been struggling to find it was great to see.

In regatta fleet race 6 went to Thomas and Benjy from Jemima McMorris and Harriet Davies (GBR), with the latter taking race 7 to tighten their grip on the overall lead. Second in race 7 were Ned Fairhurst and Sam English (GBR) who remained in touch for the overall lead.

In race 8 these two boats then reversed positions which tightened things up nicely for the final day.

Will Shepherd and Joe Mycroft win the 2022 Cadet UK Nationals in Torquay - photo © UKNCCA

Day 5

The final day on Friday wasn't giving much away to those hoping for more breeze. In fact the wind was much the same strength and from much the same direction.

What had changed (seemingly in quite random fashion) was that the left which had paid on Thursday became a soggy no pressure zone on Friday. You didn't want to be in the there on the first beat! Sailing in the pressure was paramount.

Will and Joe did enough in race 9 to take the champs with a race to spare as Sebastian and Mateusz got buried and scored a discard.

First were Mara Riedel and Jannie Sommer (GER) scoring far and away their best result of the week. Second were Wouter and Luuk and third Moritz and Kai again.

The final race saw Sebastian and Mateusz again take a bullet - that was enough to secure second overall for them from Toby Bush and Kemmel Thorogood (GBR) third overall. Wouter and Luuk gained another second in race 10 from Will and Joe, third.

Regatta fleet meanwhile saw Dom McArdle and Jacob Myers (GBR) take race 9 from Monty Slump and Immy Sherwood (GBR) and then race 10 saw Jemima and Harriet win (and also take first overall) from Teya and Kyla Brezan (GBR) scoring their best result of the week.

Overall

So that was it - Will and Joe are the 2022 UK National Champions and worthy winners with a dominant display of super consistent sailing in very testing conditions.

The prize-giving was an excellent affair - we are blessed with many trophies with wonderful histories and covered in names of sailors who have gone on to greater things. Whatever they are doing now, one thing they no doubt always say is "you never forget your first Cadet".

As always we are very indebted to our sponsors. Vaikobi and youcantalk.net help us run these events affordably and enable some great prizes to be won... and in some cases help keep the parents calm and lubricated after sailing finishes. Thank you to all of them.

The 2022 Europeans start today - there's more boats (85 entries) and more wind so stay tuned for more updates from Torbados!

Cadet UK Nationals in Torquay - photo © UKNCCA

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Cadet nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here

Main fleet - Gold:

Main fleet - Silver:

Regatta fleet:

Cadet UK Nationals in Torquay - photo © UKNCCA