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UKLA Noble Marine & Sailingfast ILCA 4 Inland Championships 2023 at Draycote Water Sailing Club

by Toby Waggett & UKLA 7 Nov 2023 18:59 GMT 4-5 November 2023

The ILCA Inland National Championship 2023 was held at Draycote Sailing Club with 132 taking part - 38 sailors in the ILCA4 fleet.

On Saturday the fleet launched into a shifty breeze with 18 knots and large downpours. As the fleet began warming up and the rain developed the sailors worked out that staying in the pressure bands and looking down the race course for the gusts was going to be key to their strategies.

Race 1 started promptly due to a strong race committee doing their best with the shifts. Ben Anderson took the early lead with Ralph Surguy and Jessica Powell hot on his heels but a confusion between many sailors not knowing how many laps to do saw Will Hakes dominate race 1 with Jessica Powell in second and Bronwen Thomas in third.

Over half the fleet ended up with a NSC result.

Race 2 started cleanly and again Ben Anderson took the early lead from the right handside with Seb Lyttle challenging him for the win and Bronwen Thomas again taking 3rd in the race. William Moss with local knowledge sailed well and took 4th, Gethin Kelly sailed a solid race and took 5th place.

Race 3 saw light winds begin and all the sailors let their controls off as the wind dropped to 8 knots. Toby Waggett sailed a good upwind and led around the windward mark closely followed by Ben Anderson and a top three appearance on her first ILCA 4, event Olivia Coady. The wind grew lighter and on the second beat Will Hakes took the lead and won the race with Tristan Harding making a top three appearance and taking 2nd over Toby Waggett.

Going into Sunday Jess Powell led over Will Hakes. At launch there was a lighter wind than expected and a clean start by the ILCA 4s. Toby Waggett took the lead around the windward mark, followed by Bronwen Thomas and Ralph Surguy. Jess Powell made a great decision on the second beat and took the lead, followed by Ralph Surguy and then Toby Waggett. Fred Buckley, again new to the ILCA 4 fleet this year, came fourth.

Race 5 started and the lead boats headed out to the right hand side due to it paying on race 4 which was unexpected. A few boats headed out left but no left lift came and saw those boats round the mark in mid fleet. Ben Anderson led the boats to the right and won the race with Seb Lyttle taking second after a strong race and the Moss brothers Will and Finley fighting for third and fourth.

The last race of the event began and another clean start on the final race saw Will Hakes lead out left, many boats went out to the right due to the previous races but Tom Yates and Will Hakes dominated from the left and Ralph Surguy sailed strongly on the right. A good few battles downwind formed but Will won the final race of the day.

The overall results saw Jess Powell take victory on home waters, Will Hakes second and Ralph Surguy third.

Event winner Jess Powell says, "I'm really pleased to win the ILCA 4 Inlands. It was a tough event with the 4 fleet being so competitive at the moment. The key was to be consistent across all of the races and that was made tricky by the shifty winds."

A big thanks on behalf of the ILCA4 sailors to the race committee, volunteers and Draycote Water Sailing Club.

We would also like to thank our very generous sponsors who provided such great prizes for this event: Ovington Boats, Rooster, Sailingfast, Noble Marine, and Fernhurst Books.

ILCA 4 Results:

PosSail NoHelmClub NameR1R2R3R4R5R6PenaltiesPts
1st211078Jessica PowellDraycote Water Sailing Club27515‑11 20
2nd212400Will HakesParkstone Yacht Club1‑1319111 23
3rd219833Ralph SurguyCorinthian Otters89‑11272 28
4th221496Bronwen ThomasPPSA33‑135612 29
5th210099Ben AndersonRyde School‑161121017 31
6th212670Toby WaggettDerwent Reservoir Sailing Club9‑1033106 31
7th222567William MossBarnt Green SC1044153‑17 36
8th211166Seb Lyttle 5222‑2428 39
9th213540Lucas SymonsIsland Barn Reservoir Sailing Club411‑2181818 59
10th222576Finley MossBarnt Green SC(NSC)61927410 66
11th220518Fred Buckley 6‑30274264 67
12th202463Annabelle Hacker 121492016‑21 71
13th197632Thomas SaundersWarsash(NSC)18616239 72
14th192844Tom YatesGurnard Sailing Club723‑2423173 73
15th164422Dilara Soyer 1512171713‑20 74
16th189314Harry Franklin 1129(UFD)13814 75
17th172789Olivia Coady (NSC)25826125 76
18th201861Sara GoujonHunts Sailing Club(NSC)87212119 76
19th210220Mortimer mastindabchicks(NSC)171662813 80
20th212661Josie KellyFelpham SC(DNC)161072522 80
21st219830Gethin KellyLlyn Brenig(UFD)526121523 81
22nd209134Tristan Harding (NSC)152192724 87
23rd166633Robbie HudsonRoyal Lymington YC(NSC)192531916 100
24th215413Holly Cole (NSC)24151122265103
25th197690Chloe GraytonNotts County / Draycote Academy14221418(DNC)DNC 106
26th194123Jago MooreFrensham(NSC)20183420155112
27th203527Corneille Leprince (NSC)2128.5221929 119.5
28th176733Alice PopeRoyal Victoria YC(NSC)2723142432 120
29th199495Alanna StarkieDerwent reservoir sailing club(NSC)2828.5281425 123.5
30th184840Lottie EyrePoole YC132631(DNC)DNCDNC 146
31st171897George HutcheonBurnham‑on‑Crouch Sailing Club / Corinth(NSC)3132253127 146
32nd222777William Swann (NSC)332033NSC30 154
33rd215695Harriet ConnollyDraycote Water Sailing Club Shustoke Sa(NSC)3233292931 154
34th198302Finley MonksWinsford Flash Sailing Club(NSC)3430323334 163
35th215613William HainesGurnard Sailing Club(DNC)DNCDNC303028 164
36th160507Wilf ToveyCardiff Bay yacht club / TATA(NSC)3534353233 169
37th189138Dixon Kyle (RET)DNF3536UFDDNC 185

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