Noble Marine International OK Youth and Junior Championships

OK Dinghy Youth and Junior Championship © Ed Bradburn

OK Dinghy Youth and Junior Championship © Ed Bradburn

OK Dinghy Youth and Junior Championship © Ed Bradburn

South Staffordshire Sailing Club hosted 8 boats for the International OK Youth and Junior Championships sponsored by Noble Marine. The format followed previous years with 3 races sailed and two to count.

The day started in a patchy and varying f2 with PRO Mike Senior setting a challenging course using all 7 marks to not only test the competitors sailing ability but also their directional and memory skills. The first start got away cleanly and it was the two time Honda Youth Rib Champion Kamila Czartolomna from South Staffs who had a good lead at the first mark with Ben Pickering from Chase SC rounding second and the chasing bunch hot on his heels. Kamilla made the most of the patchy wind and held the lead for the majority of the race until she decided to follow in the footsteps of a number of seasoned OK sailors by sailing the wrong course allowing Ben Pickering into the lead. At this point it seemed that the newcomers to the OK had found their feet as Jack Aston from Christchurch SC and Jason Culmer from Tamworth SC started to pull through the pack. As the breeze picked up slightly Ben Pickering managed to consolidate his lead with Jack Aston In second and Sam Bailey pulling through to third on the final beat.

After a substantial lunch the Fleet set out for the second race where again the fleet started cleanly. Ben Pickering managed to get into the lead at the first mark with James King from Chase SC pressing hard in second and Jason Culmer leading the battle in the pack. As the wind died Ben continued to pull away leaving a significant gap between himself and the chasing bunch. Places in the rest of the fleet changed multiple times before eventually the breeze returned for the last lap resulting in a few casualties downwind. At the gun it was Ben Pickering who took the win and with it the overall victory. The battle behind for second continued with local sailor Sam Bailey from South Staffs emerging on the final run to take second from James Culmer in third.

With the winner decided the fleet took to the water for the third race where all was still to play for with the 18 and under and 16 and under prizes still up for grabs, not to mention the final placing's. After another clean start the fleet split up the first beat with Jack Aston and James King finding a nice gust on the starboard lay line which took them to the first mark in 1st and 2nd respectively. The rest of the fleet had missed this gust and continued to tussle to the top mark with Sam Bailey rounding in third closely followed by the rest. Jack and James continued to battle at the front until the second beat where once again Mike "Turing" Senior's Enigma like course took its toll. Jack and James sailed to the wrong mark allowing Sam Bailey into the lead and losing out to a number of other boats in the process. Once again the fickle winds played their part allowing Sam to sail into an unassailable lead whilst the others did battle a bit further behind. At the end of the race it was Sam Bailey who took the bullet with Ben Pickering sailing through to second with Jack Aston pulling it back to third.

Overall Ben Pickering took the under 21 prize and the overall win with Sam Bailey 2nd and first 16 and under and Jack Aston in 3rd. First 18 and under went to Jason Culmer from Tamworth. A massive well done to all who took part where some incredibly close competition was had by all with all taking their turn at the front.

OK Dinghy Youth and Junior Championship - photo © Ed Bradburn

A huge thank you must also go to South Staffs SC for hosting and also to all who lent boats to allow individuals to take part and hopefully inspiring some future OK sailors in the process. If you are interested in trying an OK or taking part in any events in the future please get in touch with the class association via the website. www.okdinghy.co.uk/okcont.php

Overall Results: