2025 ILCA UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - ILCA 4 fleet report

The first ILCA UK National Open of the year took place this weekend at a very cold Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) with arctic winds from the N/NE. Six, 40-minute races took place across the weekend in the harbour on Saturday and Sunday for the ILCA 4s, 6s & 7s fleet.

Saturday morning provided 13-17 knots from the NE, with the sun shining but a Baltic 4 degrees. The first race went to Ethan Rhodes, overtaking Nina Marsh following some confusion at the top mark on the final leg. Zach Chappell won race 2 after getting a strong start and finish, managing to hold off the fierce competition, closely followed by Chloe Grayton and Ollie Atkin.

The final race of day one went to the eventual overall winner Alex Jones after a race-long battle with Thomas Saunders, who came in 2nd. A tally penalty was awarded to Alex adding a permanent 3 points to his score, so Ethan held 1st position overnight and topped the table going into the second day of the competition.

ILCA 4 UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - photo © Steven Angell

Sunday provided another sunny, starting breezy - 15-19 knots, but later dropping off to 12-16 knots, from a more Easterly direction. All to play for at the top of the table, Race 4 (the first race of day two) went to Ethan Rhodes after a strong start and first beat, he led the fleet throughout the race extending his overall lead but was closely followed by a determined Alex in 2nd and Chloe Grayton 3rd.

Race 5 saw a strong contender for a podium place, Thomas Saunders picked up an unlucky black flag, Alex Jones won the race by over a minute and Chloe Grayton finished with a 3rd.

However, William Moss showed great improvements from day one with a 2nd and a 3rd place in races 5 and 6 to move him further up the table. The final race (6) after a race-long battle with Thomas Saunders was won by Alex Jones and Thomas in second.

ILCA 4 UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

Even with the discard Ethan Rhodes couldn't hold off Alex Jones (Parkstone YC) with a strong performance of 2,1,1 from the day, which saw him take the overall win by a convincing 7 points, followed by Ethan Rhodes (Warsash SC) in 2nd on 18 points and Chloe Grayton (Notts County SC) in 3rd on 23 points.

The race committee delivered a highly professional and efficiently executed weekend of top-tier racing, despite the challenging conditions. The strong winds tested sailors' endurance and boat-handling skills, making for an exciting regatta. A huge thank you to the organisers, race committee, WPNSA, and volunteers for running such a fantastic event.

With Trac Trac providing race tracking for the ILCA 4 and 7s this weekend (the ILCA 6 will have tracking next weekend), the season has started in style—offering valuable learning experiences for all competitors.

ILCA 4 UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

Thanks also to the event sponsors, particularly Sailingfast for their support and Noble Marine as both the series and class sponsor. Next weekend, 22nd-23rd March, Rooster will take on the role of event sponsor at WPNSA.

Series and Event Sponsors: Noble Marine, Sailingfast, Rooster, Ovington Boats, Trac Trac, Tideway Wealth.

Interviews with Competitors are on the ILCA UK Facebook Page.

GPS Race tracking at tractrac.com/event-page/event_20250315_ILCAUKNati/3119

Overall Results:

Overall Youth Women:
1. Chloe Grayton U16
2. Merry Lewis U18
3. Emily Shearer U18

Overall Youth Men:
1. Alex Jones U18
2. Ethan Rhodes U16
3. Oliver Smith U16

ILCA 4 UK National Open 1 at the WPNSA - photo © Steven Angell