A big well done to all of the 12 youth boats who competed at the RYA Youth National Championships on the 4th to 10th of April at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. It was an amazing turnout despite the tricky light wind conditions. An even bigger thank-you to our Class Association members who were able to loan boats to eager sailors who would otherwise have been unable to compete.
Day 1- The first day saw the fleet heading out into the bay. With winds about 3-7 knots and due to drop off the race officer was keen to get races in quickly. It was an incredibly tough race with patches of wind and shifts having no particular pattern. The race finished with Bridle 1st, Barker 2nd and Philpott 3rd. Unfortunately, the sea breeze and the actual wind made it so that it was impossible to get another race in as the wind direction wouldn’t settle.
Day 2- The next day brought he sun but no wind so the fleet spent hour’s afloat waiting for something to happen. They brought us into the harbour where there was a bit of wind circling, which was really beneficial to the local Sam Barker, who managed to pick up two firsts.
Day 3- Saw the fleet racing inside the harbour again and once again in light, shifty patchy conditions which made it extremely difficult for us sailors. It also saw the fleet’s first U flag of the week, which went to Eddie and I. Effectively making the battle for silver a lot tougher than it might have been.
Day 4- The wind had eventually filled in and everyone was desperate to get some decent racing in but we were not so lucky because the fog rolled in, making it impossible to see 5 boat lengths ahead let alone the top mark so the race officer cancelled racing for the day. To pass the time the squad took out 420 sailors for a Spitfire sail!
Day 5- All to play for on the last day with four boats having the chance to grab silver. There was a little bit more breeze than the other racing days. The first two races were extremely close filtering the battle for second down to two boats. After the second race the wind went away and span round in circles, making the thought of another race seem very optimistic. Luckily, the wind settled in a constant direction and piped up so that we actually had decent sailing conditions and actually got a good race in.
Thanks goes to the RYA and the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
Results:
1st Sam Barker and Victoria Akhurst
2nd Eddie Bridle and James King – 1st Under 19 and selected for the Eurosafs
3rd Jack Butters and Sam James – Selected for the Eurosafs
| Pos | Nation | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GBR159 |
Sam BARKER | Victoria Akhurst | (2.0) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7 |
| 2 | GBR106 |
Eddie BRIDLE | James KING | 1.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | (UFD [13.0]) | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 23 |
| 3 | GBR128 |
Jack BUTTERS | Sam JAMES | 5.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | (9.0) | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 24 |
| 4 | GBR145 |
Alex PHILPOTT | Jess D’ARCY | 3.0 | 7.0 | (9.0) | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 30 |
| 5 | GBR57 |
Nia CROCKFORD | Caleb COOPER | 6.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | (10.0) | 7.0 | 35 |
| 6 | GBR53 |
William SMITH | Megan SMITH | 4.0 | 6.0 | (7.0) | 6.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 36 |
| 7 | GBR160 |
Oliver KING | Tilly CHESTER | 8.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | (DNF [13.0]) | 8.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 38 |
| 8 | GBR105 |
Jack COLLIS | Cameron HARRIS | 9.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | (11.0) | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 52 |
| 9 | GBR100 |
Eliza COX | Augustus COX | 7.0 | 8.0 | (12.0) | 7.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 11.0 | 8.0 | 55 |
| 10 | GBR28 |
Alex CLEAVER | Charlotte PEARSON | (DNF [13.0]) | 12.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 10.0 | 68 |
| 11 | GBR136 |
Olly CORNFORTH | Chelsea FURBER | (DNF [13.0]) | 9.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 7.0 | 11.0 | 8.0 | 11.0 | 69 |
| 12 | GBR82 |
Lotte JOHNSON | Becki JOHNSON | 10.0 | 11.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 9.0 | (UFD [13.0]) | 69 |
