UKLA Noble Marine / Rooster Spring ILCA 7 Qualifier at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Saturday, 4th March, was the first day of the Noble Marine & Rooster Qualifier at Stokes Bay Sailing Club. Being the first big event of the 2023 season it was great to see Rooster back as a main sponsor.

The first day of racing presented challenging conditions as the wind was light and shifty, with a north-east direction. This made the fetch to the windward mark very short, making racing incredibly tricky.

ILCA UKLA Qualifier 1 at Stokes Bay SC - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

It was great to see new talent emerging in the sport, with some new sailors to the ILCA 7 class showing outstanding performances. Noteworthy was Freddie Howarth's tremendous lead in the first race, which was particularly impressive. Oliver Wilcox also performed well and pieced together a terrific series. It's always good to see the youth progressing in the sport and I am excited to see what they will achieve in the future.

On the second day, the wind direction shifted more northerly, resulting in much colder weather. However, this also meant the fetch was longer, making for more consistent racing. These conditions were more favourable for myself and I was determined to improve on my performances from the previous day. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to achieve the result I had hoped for and finished in fourth place. It was great to have Sam Whaley back from Australia, who managed to make it to the course just in time for the first race.

ILCA UKLA Qualifier 1 at Stokes Bay SC - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

The conditions over the weekend taught me a lot about the importance of being adaptable and flexible in my approach to racing. It was not all about the tide! Being able to read the wind shifts and position my boat effectively was crucial to gaining any advantage over the competition. Consistency was key this weekend, and maintaining focus and concentration through the blistering cold and the lightest moments of the race was crucial.

I must congratulate Sam Whaley for finishing in 1st place, Jake Farren-Price for finishing in 2nd, and Luke Anstey for finishing in 3rd, who sailed a very good weekend indeed. Throughout the last year, Luke has attended all of the major international events and it was great to see all of his hard work paying off. There were notable performances from several Masters, Mark Lyttle, David Surkov, Michael Clark and Andy Le Grice who achieved at least one top ten finish.

ILCA UKLA Qualifier 1 at Stokes Bay SC - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

Overall, it was a great weekend of racing, although I didn't finish as well as I would have liked. I had a great time and learned a lot. The conditions were challenging, but they taught me important lessons that will carry me into the qualifiers coming up and into the Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, where I will use what I have learned from this weekend.

Thanks to the on the water teams who managed to get all six races off, the beach team and the club for putting on a great weekend. Thanks also to our sponsors who help make these events such a success:

• Noble Marine
• Rooster Sailing
• Ovington Boats
• Sailingfast

Overall Results: