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420 Winter Championships 2023 at the WPNSA

by Will Fletcher and Ethan Sparkes 15 Feb 2023 15:48 GMT 4-5 February 2023
420 Winter Championships 2023 at the WPNSA © Ruth Epstein

The Winter Championships saw a good fleet with 33 boats entered for the first of the three regatta qualifying series for places at this Summer's European and World Championships. It was good to see an influx of younger, new pairings alongside established teams - a great indication that the class is going from strength to strength.

The forecast for the weekend was for a light wind event and that was pretty much what the fleet got. However, the race officer did a great job and managed to get 7 races away over the two days.

The winds were light all Saturday, leading to some very close and interesting races. Race one and two were both light, shifty races with the wind coming over Chesil beach. Race one was won by Alice Davis and Oliver Rayner, with race two being won by the u17 girls, Sabine Potter and Merle Nieuwland.

During race three the wind almost completely died, the race officer shortened the course, leading to the entire fleet having to drift 'downwind' towards the gate - the new finish line, with the Whiskey flag deployed to finish the race. This time it was the turn of the u17 boys Harry George and Ralph Cawthorne to take the win.

Whilst there was some controversy surrounding the results of race three with a number of competitors feeling they had been scored incorrectly, the results stood. Helpfully, Ian Walker, the Chair of the Selection Committee, sent out a very informative email after the event explaining why the results would not be changed.

Whilst rigging on Sunday the wind kept building. Sadly, these strong winds only lasted until the end of race four, won by Arwen Fflur and Arlo Braund. The wind on Sunday had almost completely swapped directions since Saturday, as it was now coming from the east with the forecasts predicting for it to go further east.

By race five we were back into light wind territory of around 6 knots, similar to the winds on Saturday, and that race was won by us, Will Fletcher and Ethan Sparkes benefitting from a decision to go hard right.

Race six followed a similar pattern to race 5, except the wind shifted left leaving quite a few boats "stranded" on the right, having thought it was still the favoured side. This race saw Alice Davis and Oliver Rayner, the eventual regatta winners, collect their second bullet of the weekend.

The final race saw Sabine Potter and Merle Niewland match Alice and Oliver with a second bullet having played the shifts well on the two beats.

Overall Results:

PosBow NoSail NoHelmCrewFleetR1R2R3R4R5R6R7Pts
1st4257259Alice DavisOliver RaynerOpen Mixed1‑52221210
2nd4557275Harry GeorgeRalph CawthorneU17 Male‑1561747328
3rd3257411William FletcherEthan SparksU17 Male4‑1451219435
4th6356342Sabine PotterMerle NieuwlandU17 Female2128(RET)33138
5th4156007Arwen FflurArlo BraundOpen Mixed3961912‑1440
6th1755854Joe WarwickerHugo ValentineOpen Male7(UFD)103681044
7th4456091Imogen WadeTeddy DunnOpen Mixed‑1811144713655
8th8255242Joe JonesHennie BurltonU17 Mixed529178‑181859
9th2154481Holly WrightOlivia NixonFemale632014125‑2360
10th3855244Henry HeathcoteOli McGillOpen Male9(UFD)1713182564
11th5757224Noa MoskovitchGabs BurltonFemale1010‑2615196868
12th6456108William BaileyMatthew RaynerOpen Male16‑191561610972
13th5657286Ellie CreightonBea GreenfieldFemale17(UFD)278104773
14th5055517Emma BreeseCharlotte BeardsallFemale1313‑161013111575
15th9951369Arthur GreavesAngus McEwenU17 Male12163‑1815141676
16th3954297Mathias PotterOlivia CreasyOpen Mixed817711‑21211781
17th6254849George CreasyDavid BromilowOpen Male1921‑24511151384
18th2456339Heather QuinnGwyneth LanyonFemale141841917‑201991
19th2057272Freya SewellArthur BaileyOpen Mixed1172192817‑2993
20th555402Oscar FryJemima FryOpen Mixed211582220‑2921107
21st5453959Tabitha DaviesMadeleine GreavesFemale221219‑25252212112
22nd3656467Clem MiddleSam GraytonU17 Mixed‑2525231652522116
23rd3055169Matthew MasonCharlie HowardU17 Male238222022‑2825120
24th2357273Rosie SheahanSusie SheahanFemale202311‑28242320121
25th8657214Dylan CreightonWill AdamsU17 Male2427‑3021271611126
26th3153332Jess HaighLucy ShelterFemale27201323‑301924126
27th2252230Nia MecklenburghImmy JonesU17 Female26(UFD)1824142631139
28th6754089Chris HampshireOllie LumbU17 Male‑30261227292426144
29th5554124Ella MartinGeorge SelfU17 Mixed2924292623‑3030161
30th4054853Oli HaleAmber HaleOpen Mixed(UFD)425DNCDNCDNCDNC165
31st5355375India LanceCian EpsteinOpen Mixed282231(DNC)313127170
32nd1654848Zac ShepherdArthur SothallU17 Mixed(DNC)DNCDNC29262728178
33rd7054947George LanceJames GossonOpen Male(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC204

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