UKLA Noble Marine & Sailingfast ILCA 6 Inland Championships 2023 at Draycote Water Sailing Club

63 sailors played skilful game of snakes and ladders which made for great racing despite the cold weather at Draycote Water.

On Saturday morning, cold weather and a 10kt easterly breeze met the 63 strong ILCA 6 fleet so the fleet all launched promptly to avoid a 180 degrees wind shift forecast for later in the day...

Race one started with a wind that had built up to 15kts and shifted heavily right leading to the first and only general recall of the day. Once the race finally got away a tough battle developed between taking more risk on the right or getting more consistent pressure on the left, this battle was won on the final of 3 laps giving the win to Jon Emmett followed by Freddie Maclaverty - an impressive performance for an U17.

UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championships at Draycote Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.photoboat.co.uk

Race 2 was much the same in terms of strategy, but as ever with inland racing it was close until the end. Joe Rowe led the first lap with Hamish Collingridge in close pursuit, the pair then started match racing which allowed Robin Phipps and the rest of the chasing pack to close up to the leaders. On the third lap Robbie split at the bottom gate putting him into a leading position from which he went on to win.

Charlotte Videlo led up the girls with a 6th and was followed by Iris Singleton in 11th.

Race 3 began with a dying wind on the right but much of the fleet failed to notice this allowing Lewis Bacon, Ollie Hirst, Alfie Noel and Kaitlyn Wyatt all to feature in the top 5 with Thomas Bates taking an impressive win followed by Iris Singleton - her best race of the event so far. The rest of the fleet slowly made their way across in a dying wind to end a difficult day one, but with it all to play for on day 2.

UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championships at Draycote Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.photoboat.co.uk

Day 2 began with a 12 kt westerly breeze and both the male and female leaders - Jon Emmett and Iris Singleton were under pressure to maintain their leads despite intense pressure by the rest of the fleet.

Race one featured short sharp shifts with Hamish Collingridge making an impressive start from the pin before port tacking the fleet midway up the beat to take the eventual win, closely followed by Robin Phipps and Iris Singleton.

Race 2 was a similar story except there was an incredibly tight battle on the final downwind where Joe Rowe and Sam Grayton battled each other out to the left side allowing Thomas Bates to come from 7th to take the lead with Iris, Lewis Bacon and Charlotte Videlo close behind. Then a gust came down the middle which Leo Yates got to first and combined with some good positioning managed to get to the inside and clinched the win, followed only meters behind by Thomas Bates, Lewis Bacon and Charlotte Videlo - keeping the girls battle alive.

UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championships at Draycote Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.photoboat.co.uk

In Race 3 the wind steadied meaning that the entire mid pack of 30+ boats arrived at the first mark at the same time from both port and starboard, but with the jury's watchful eye the racing was kept clean and fair - although a little chaotic. The wind then picked up for the final two laps and some slower and longer shifts put a greater emphasis on boat speed.. But Jon Emmett won with a substantial lead followed by Hamish Collingridge and Jack Graham-Troll. What a great race to finish such a shifty, tough and competitive event.

Overall, Jon Emmett won the event and the men's trophy with an impressive display of consistency despite the challenging conditions. The women's was won convincingly by Iris Singleton who had a great result in 3rd overall and one of the most impressive performances of the whole event.

Jack Graham-Troll won 2nd Male and 1st Under 19 - a strong performance for his last event before the Youth Worlds in Brazil in Early December. Kaitlyn Wyatt won the Under 19 Female with a 20-point gap and Amélie Hacker won the U17 by the same margin.

It was a tight battle for the U17 boys with Freddie Maclaverty winning by one point over Leo Yates after another competitor got a DNE.

UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championships at Draycote Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.photoboat.co.uk

Thanks to the Race officer PJ and the rest of the race committee and mark laying team for getting six full races in a challenging venue. We also cannot forget Brett and the rest of his safety team for keeping the fleet warm safe and fed throughout.

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 6 Results:

UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championships at Draycote Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.photoboat.co.uk