2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club
by Ollie Payne 9 Nov 2022 23:11 PST
5-6 November 2022
2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water © Georgie Altham /
www.facebook.com/galthamphotography
Twists, turns and shifts. Classic inland sailing with Alastair Brown retaining his ILCA6 crown... but only just.
Day 1
An alternative setting from the familiar bay of Weymouth, found the ILCA fleet on the reservoir of Grafham Water, but only just! As up until a week before, the water level was frighteningly low, threatening to prevent the last event of the year. However, thanks to the recent storms, enough rainfall provided confirmation of another exciting regatta.
Due to the outstanding 190 entries, the ILCA 4's and 7's were split off onto the western course leaving the 6's on the central race area; yet due to the amount of competitors, this fleet was divided into 4 groups, each set to race each other on Saturday - in a qualifying series - before gold and silver flights were decided for Sunday's racing.
Day 1's forecast was fairly consistent with a southerly and 15-20 knots holding throughout the day, enabling oscillating and predictable shifts, typical of an inland event. With no tide, land or other major gain features to consider (at least for the 6's on the central course), establishing the pattern of the shifts and staying in phase was the key to success on Saturday with the leaders making big gains by having the freedom to tack consistently in time with the shifts and minimise time spent on headers. Although this proves more challenging when in the middle of a pack as the smaller race course resulted in closer proximity limiting your options to tack when needed and forcing you to prioritise between clean wind and sailing on the lift.
Saturday - as expected - was proving to be an 'eyes-out-of-the-boat' day making watching for the gusts sweeping down the course also an important factor due to the prerequisite of constant gear shifts in order to maintain boat speed; both upwind and downwind as the flat water made spotting the gusts even more paramount on the runs due to the lack of waves. Perhaps the most unusual thing though, was the 3-2-1 countdown, untypical from the standard 5 minutes, creating a sense of haste as the races were rapidly under way ensuring that all were completed before the darkness rolled in.
There were some great day one performances from Josh Lyttle, Edwin Cross, Ollie Payne, Henry Koe, Freddie Howarth and Terry Hacker who were among a sizeable group pushing the leaders and making it into the gold fleet.
Day 2
Scores were close and the stakes were high leading into Sunday as a result of the nature of the 'double races' on Saturday. Now split into gold and silver, the competition was even tougher with everything to lose as the Inland title was still up for grabs and it was anyone's game. Whilst a slightly lighter 10 knots was forecasted for Sunday, the strategy was predicted to be similar as the southerly would return however, as the day developed, the shifts became more persistent and the windward mark was moved further down from the shoreline (due to the light winds) further reducing the frequency of the shifts in the top section. This meant that securing a clean lane off the start was even more vital on day 2 as you would be in one phase for a lot longer so falling into dirty wind was just not an option.
The first beat of the day showed the left to be favoured as the lefty came in and lifted the fleet up to the port lay-line, stranding those out on the right. However soon after, the wind began to flick further and further right with each shift and some reaching 30° above the average. It became a game of holding your nerve to see how far right you were willing to go before taking the lift back up towards the mark - particularly on some of the second and third beats - since the grey overcast made it tricky to predict how long the shift would stay and when it was about to flick back.
The top 3 were incredibly close with first, second and third finishing on 13, 14 and 15 points however it was Alastair Brown who defended his 2021 win and took the victory, followed by Jack Graham-Troll and Jon Emmett in 2nd and 3rd. This event's special shoutout goes to the Under-17's who occupied 5 places out of the top 14: Freddie Sunderland, Josh Lyttle, Edwin Cross, Christopher Marsh and Ollie Payne.
In such a large fleet it's easy to miss those who, while not being consistent enough to make it to the top spots of the gold fleet, never-the-less tasted a podium finish. Imogen Palmer, Honor Proctor, Wai Chai Tsui, Ruairi Herrington, Hamish Collingridge, Alex Conan Sivarajan, Megan Thompson, Kai Hockley and Rhys Powell all took at least one 1st in the Silver fleet. A special cheers to Freddie Maclaverty (14) and Samson Cross (14) who were the two youngest ILCA6 competitors.
And finally a massive thank you on behalf of all the ILCA sailors from the weekend to all the helpers and volunteers who made this event possible. Especially the RO Nigel Denchfield.
Thanks also to our main weekend sponsors, Noble Marine, Ovington Boats, Vaikobi and Sailingfast who support the class so loyally.
- Noble Marine - has crafted a very competitive and excellent insurance product for all Laser/ILCA sailors. A very personal service and an extremely useful website help make this the 'go to' company to insure your boat. www.noblemarine.co.uk
- Sailingfast - Duncan brings his battle buss down from Scotland for most the big events, which is so ridiculously well equipped, you could replace everything on your boat. Although based in Scotland they will get anything to you super fast. sailingfast.co.uk
- Vaikobi - a brand born on the waters of Sydney Harbour, out of a passion for all ocean sports. Across the team, we paddle, Surfski, SUP, Wing Foil and Sail. www.vaikobi.com
- Ovington Boats - one of the biggest and best dinghy builders in the world and are now the official UK builders of ILCAs. www.ovingtonboats.com
Overall Results:
| Pos | Division | Sail No | Helm | Age Group | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| Gold Flight |
|---|
| 1 | Red | 216646 | Alastair Brown | A | Stokes Bay SC Great Moor SC | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑20 | 3 | 13 |
| 2 | Blue | 214007 | Jack Graham‑Troll | U19 | Royal Lymington Yacht Club | 2 | (SCP) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 3 | Green | 216115 | Jon Emmett | M | Weir Wood SC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | ‑11 | 15 |
| 4 | Red | 216023 | Freddie Sunderland | U17 | Draycote Water | ‑7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| 5 | Yellow | 211165 | Josh Lyttle | U17 | Queen Mary SC | 1 | 5 | 6 | ‑24 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| 6 | Blue | 201703 | Fred Salter | U19 | Gurnard Sailing Club / Brading Haven | 3 | 11 | ‑13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 7 | Yellow | 216656 | Edwin Cross | U17 | Shoreham | 5 | 10 | 1 | ‑15 | 6 | 8 | 30 |
| 8 | Green | 220776 | Freddie Howarth | U19 | Parkstone YC | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 9 | ‑19 | 30 |
| 9 | Red | 217515 | James Knight | U19 | Draycote Water SC | 6 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | ‑26 | 38 |
| 10 | Green | 214560 | Terry Hacker | U19 | Rutland SC | 8 | 2 | 13 | ‑20 | 11 | 5 | 39 |
| 11 | Blue | 215835 | Tim Evans | U19 | Grafham Water SC | 4 | 8 | ‑14 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 39 |
| 12 | Red | 216724 | Oliver Allen‑Wilcox | U19 | Chew Valley SC / Parkstone Yacht Club | ‑13 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 40 |
| 13 | Red | 216212 | Christopher Marsh | U17 | Whitstable YC | 5 | 8 | 6 | 9 | ‑16 | 15 | 43 |
| 14 | Red | 209056 | Oliver Payne | U17 | Stokes Bay SC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 15 | ‑24 | 46 |
| 15 | Green | 216648 | Max Steele | U19 | Wembley SC; Stokes Bay SC | 12 | (UFD) | 11 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 52 |
| 16 | Blue | 214203 | Alfie Noel | U17 | Stokes Bay SC | 14 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 8 | ‑23 | 54 |
| 17 | Green | 213524 | Jamie Tylecote | U19 | Rutland SC | 11 | 12 | 8 | 12 | ‑19 | 13 | 56 |
| 18 | Red | 215206 | Roo Purves | U17 | East Lothian Yacht Club | 9 | 7 | 4 | 19 | ‑22 | 22 | 61 |
| 19 | Green | 217881 | Charlotte Videlo | U21 | Frensham Pond SC / Stokes Bay SC | 10 | 6 | 4 | 29 | ‑34 | 18 | 67 |
| 20 | Yellow | 209425 | Carys Attwell | U19 | Rutland SC | 11 | 13 | 12 | ‑18 | 18 | 17 | 71 |
| 21 | Blue | 207087 | Archie Burton | U17 | Beaver & Draycote | 15 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 17 | ‑27 | 72 |
| 22 | Red | 214268 | Noah Evans | U17 | Royal Victoria Yacht Club | 21 | 19 | 10 | ‑27 | 14 | 10 | 74 |
| 23 | Blue | 206839 | Henry Redmond | U19 | Covenham SC | 9 | 5 | 11 | 26 | ‑31 | 25 | 76 |
| 24 | Yellow | 215383 | Thomas Bates | U19 | Ripon SC | 17 | 9 | 14 | ‑31 | 21 | 20 | 81 |
| 25 | Green | 220514 | Millie Lewis | U17 | Medway YC | 18 | 10 | 16 | 23 | ‑30 | 16 | 83 |
| 26 | Yellow | 206856 | Iris Singleton | U19 | Draycote Water SC | 10 | 16 | 7 | 28 | 24 | ‑37 | 85 |
| 27 | Green | 212008 | Samantha Edwards | U21 | QMSC / Stokes Bay | 14 | 15 | 9 | 25 | 23 | ‑35 | 86 |
| 28 | Red | 173611 | Oliver Woodley | U19 | RLYC | 20 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 25 | (BFD) | 87 |
| 29 | Green | 217872 | Tom Moss | U17 | Scaling Dam SC | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | ‑32 | 30 | 89 |
| 30 | Red | 205176 | Samson Cross | U17 | Shoreham | 19 | 17 | 7 | ‑30 | 27 | 21 | 91 |
| 31 | Yellow | 206301 | James Russell | U19 | RHYC | 12 | 18 | 18 | ‑37 | 29 | 14 | 91 |
| 32 | Yellow | 208711 | Henry Koe | U19 | Island Barn Reservoir SC | 8 | 6 | 5 | ‑38 | 37 | 33 | 94 |
| 33 | Blue | 171988 | Toby Bush | U19 | Waldringfield SC | 13 | 17 | 17 | 21 | ‑35 | 29 | 97 |
| 34 | Blue | 221181 | Reuben hudson | U17 | Shoreham Sailing Club | 6 | 14 | 19 | ‑32 | 28 | 28 | 100 |
| 35 | Yellow | 213644 | Robin Phipps | U17 | Parkstone Yacht Club | 7 | 14 | 17 | ‑33 | 33 | 31 | 102 |
| 36 | Red | 183264 | Savva Tretyakov | A | Penarth Yacht Club | 17 | 15 | 18 | ‑36 | 26 | 36 | 112 |
| 37 | Green | 201358 | Daisy Fisher | U19 | Hollingworth Lake SC | 16 | 18 | 10 | 35 | ‑36 | 34 | 113 |
| 38 | Blue | 214074 | Samuel Osborne | U17 | Royal Victoria yacht club | 16 | 13 | 20 | 34 | ‑38 | 32 | 115 |
| Silver Flight |
|---|
| 1 | Yellow | 210368 | Matthew Botten | U19 | Weir Wood SC | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ‑12 | 7 | 21 |
| 2 | Red | 216141 | Alex Horsman | U17 | | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | ‑20 | 23 |
| 3 | Green | 217873 | Alex Cogan Sivarajan | U19 | CCCDS | ‑11 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 24 |
| 4 | Red | 219660 | Rhys Powell | U19 | | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | ‑24 | 25 |
| 5 | Green | 219090 | Kai Hockley | U19 | Greig City Academy | 4 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 1 | ‑18 | 25 |
| 6 | Red | 218432 | Honor Procter | U19 | Cardiff Bay YC | 1 | 14 | 3 | 3 | (BFD) | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | Green | 216513 | Megan Thomson | U17 | Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 10 | ‑12 | 25 |
| 8 | Blue | 214580 | Hamish Collingridge | U17 | Waldringfield SC | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ‑15 | 9 | 31 |
| 9 | Green | 221583 | Freddie Maclaverty | U17 | Llandudno SC/ Rydal school | (DNC) | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 31 |
| 10 | Blue | 215531 | Ruairi Herrington | U17 | | 8 | 7 | 1 | ‑18 | 13 | 5 | 34 |
| 11 | Yellow | 189366 | Tess Crooks | U19 | Prestwick Sailing club | 3 | 8 | 7 | ‑24 | 17 | 10 | 45 |
| 12 | Blue | 219022 | Georgia Hughes | U19 | Llandegfedd SC | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | ‑21 | 17 | 48 |
| 13 | Green | 218036 | Imogen Palmer | U17 | RSC/RCYC | 7 | 10 | 15 | 20 | ‑23 | 1 | 53 |
| 14 | Red | 218524 | Dominic Atherton | U17 | Grafham Water Sailing Club | 8 | 5 | 11 | ‑30 | 9 | 22 | 55 |
| 15 | Yellow | 203312 | Lauren Irons | U17 | Papercourt SC / Island Barn RSC | 10 | 7 | 14 | 16 | ‑20 | 8 | 55 |
| 16 | Yellow | 211681 | William Tsui | U21 | | 9 | 12 | 5 | ‑23 | 14 | 16 | 56 |
| 17 | Red | 210241 | Henry Smith | U17 | West Riding SC | 13 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 19 | ‑32 | 60 |
| 18 | Blue | 209950 | Wai Chak Tsui | U17 | Hong Kong Sports Institute | (DNS) | 1 | DNC | 15 | 4 | 2 | 61 |
| 19 | Yellow | 215377 | Richard Major | GGM | Grafham Water SC | 2 | 13 | 9 | 11 | ‑22 | 21 | 61 |
| 20 | Blue | 212037 | Aimee Bray | U17 | Felpham Sailing Club | 11 | 9 | 12 | ‑25 | 25 | 6 | 63 |
| 21 | Green | 212224 | Alex Canham | U17 | Dabchicks Sailing Club | 12 | 14 | 11 | 19 | ‑24 | 15 | 71 |
| 22 | Yellow | 218015 | Arlo Turner | U17 | Glossop SC | 7 | 3 | 3 | 29 | ‑35 | 31 | 73 |
| 23 | Red | 216870 | Finn Goodman | U17 | Teesdale Sailing & Watersports Club | 6 | 9 | 13 | ‑34 | 27 | 27 | 82 |
| 24 | Yellow | 214935 | Bjorn Handley | U17 | Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club | 15 | (DNF) | DNC | 10 | 7 | 11 | 82 |
| 25 | Blue | 209413 | Alistair MacKinnon | U17 | | 12 | 17 | 15 | 17 | ‑31 | 23 | 84 |
| 26 | Yellow | 189200 | Mike Heap | GGM | Ogston SC | 13 | 15 | 8 | 22 | 26 | ‑29 | 89 |
| 27 | Blue | 186677 | Jonathan Powell | A | Grafham Water Sailing Vlub | 14 | 12 | 9 | 27 | ‑30 | 30 | 92 |
| 28 | Green | 156188 | Rose Jury | U19 | | 10 | 13 | 13 | ‑31 | 28 | 28 | 92 |
| 29 | Yellow | 215416 | Peter Gee | GM | Grafham Water SC | (DNC) | 6 | 12 | 32 | 18 | 26 | 94 |
| 30 | Yellow | 205307 | Poppy Lowe | U17 | Royal Hospital School/Dabchicks Sailing | 18 | 11 | 16 | 33 | 16 | ‑37 | 94 |
| 31 | Blue | 179812 | Arran Goodman | U17 | Hill Head SC | 19 | 16 | 16 | 26 | ‑37 | 19 | 96 |
| 32 | Blue | 164447 | Josh Donley | U19 | | 16 | 15 | 7 | 28 | ‑36 | 34 | 100 |
| 33 | Red | 180958 | Charlie Newell‑Johnson | U19 | Royal Hospital School | 9 | 17 | 10 | 35 | 29 | (DNC) | 100 |
| 34 | Blue | 209933 | Julian Lloyd | GM | Notts County SC | 17 | 18 | 18 | ‑37 | 33 | 25 | 111 |
| 35 | Red | 217500 | Emelia Tinch | U17 | Cardiff Bay YC | 14 | 16 | 17 | ‑38 | 32 | 33 | 112 |
| 36 | Yellow | 217035 | Maddie Childs | U19 | King George SC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 21 | 5 | 14 | 118 |
| 37 | | 214960 | Lucy Davis | U19 | RSrnYC and RTYC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 2 | 11 | 35 | 126 |
| 38 | Blue | 220440 | Max Hunt | GGM | Whitstable YC | 5 | 6 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 128 |
| 39 | Blue | 189138 | Jessye Opoku‑Ware | M | | (RET) | DNF | 14 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 159 |
