420 Grand Prix 1 at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy

Tilda Brayshay and Charlie Howard - 420 Grand Prix 1 at Weymouth © Tom Jones

Champagne sailing conditions greeted the fourteen 420s on Saturday morning with a 15 knots breeze at a combined Cadet and 420 GP.

The first race got away after a short AP, and we saw Tilda and Charlie have a great first beat but were overthrown by Alice and Oliver. With a dropping breeze, for the second race, Alice and Oliver won again with Joe and Hugo in second.

Race three started with an impressive first half of the race by Imogen and Ollie meaning they were in second, however, due to a miscommunication by the race committee the windward mark had been moved. This meant that the top boats had sailed to the wrong mark so then had to sail downwind to the new mark to fight back the places lost. With some super tight racing the win was taken by Alice and Ollie and second went to Arwen and Arlo.

The final race of the day only had the 420s on the course as the Cadets were finished. With the breeze back up, this race was super close and good fun, the win was taken by Emma and Charlotte closely followed by Imogen and Ollie.

Day two brought a glamorous 12 knots with some sun appearing at times. After the results being so close on day one it was all to play for, only one point separated each place from second to fifth.

With the wind in a new direction for the second day, the fleet had to learn quickly. With most of the fleet getting it correct and going right, the racing was tight but we saw Alice and Ollie navigate their way to the lead once again.

In race 6, we saw a new sibling pairing of Joe and Clara Jones race very well into second place just piping Joe and Hugo across the line. Alice and Oliver took the lead again with a masterclass performance.

In the lighter breeze of race 7, Alice and Oliver's winning streak was broken by the temporary pairing of Imogen and Ollie, who held a convincing lead. Joe and Hugo, Alice and Oliver, completed the podium.

420 Grand Prix 1 at Weymouth - photo © Tom Jones

Going into the last race of the event, the points were very tight, Joe and Hugo, and Arwen and Alro were equal 3rd and not far behind, Imogen and Ollie. However Alice and Oliver had already secured the win showing the fleet how it's done. At the top mark, we saw Arlo and Arwen leading closely followed by the rest of the fleet.

Due to a tricky race course and many place changes, Alice and Oliver took the lead once again and the rest of the top three mirrored the top three overall, Alice and Oliver 1st, Imogen and Ollie second, and Joe and Hugo third. Tilda and Charlie sailed an outstanding weekend to finish seventh overall and first under 17.

Well done to all of the competitors and thank you so much to all of the event organisers for helping make everything run so smoothly.

Overall Results: