Youth Laser Regatta at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club

Abby Childerley and Eve Kennedy (Parkstone YC) enjoying the challenge during the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open © Christine Spreiter

Organisers of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open meeting were rewarded by superb sailing conditions for the 67 sailors competing over the past weekend. Some sailors had travelled to the Solent from as far as Scotland, the North and the East of England. The aim of the regatta was to get the sailors back on the water, racing on Championship courses, straight after the exam season.

The sailors were welcomed to the event with message of good luck from two of RLymYC's most illustrious members, Sir Ben Ainslie and Nick Thompson. International Race Office Peter Saxton ran an efficient race team, whilst International Juror John Doerr ran an experienced Jury and Protest panel. The event was extremely grateful to the title sponsors, Neil Pryde Sailing and Harken, who donated very generous prizes.

Matilda Nicholls port-tacks the fleet during the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Ben Nicholls

The aim was to provide a fun event for the sailors, as well as a professional racing experience. Much fun was had by all at the family BBQ on Saturday night, with very hungry sailors and hard working parents being treated to a first class dinner. Each morning, competitors, volunteers and parents were met with piping hot bacon rolls and coffee. New Forest Ice Creams were given to each sailor when they tallied after each day's racing. A raffle was held in aid of the RNLI which raised a fantastic £80. First prize, of a day of coaching with one of the club's top Laser coaches, went to Ellie Huthcings (Paignton SC) and second prize, of a Land Rover BAR poster signed by the BAR America's Cup team, went to Charlie South (Stokes Bay SC).

Jake Bowhay heading into 3rd place overall in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Christine Spreiter

On the race course, winds were steady at around 240 and 20-22 knots, with only the occasional gust over 25 knots. The big variable was the tide in West Solent. On day 1, all 3 races saw wind over tide; on day 2 the first two races had wind and tide together, before it switched back to wavy wind against tide for the final race. The 3 fleets (4.7, Radial and Standard) raced on trapezoid courses; the inner loop somewhat protected by Hurst Castle, but the outer loop seeing significant waves. The conditions required the boats and equipment to be race prepared and the sailors fit and strong! Despite faultless race management, mark 2 managed to escape during the last race on Sunday, heading off to Hurst Castle before being brought back under control. As a result, race 6 for the Radials and Standards had to be abandoned, with the Radials already well into the second beat. Exhausted sailors lined up for a restart, at which point the Committee boat registered a gust of 32 knots. They all impressively made it around again, arriving back in the boat park on their last legs!

4.7 rig fleet during the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Ben Nicholls

The Laser 4.7s attracted the largest entry (35 entries), with so many sailors preparing for the World Championships in a few weeks' time. The front of the fleet saw great competition between Royal Lymington's Matilda Nicholls (returning temporarily to the 4.7 from the Radial, ahead of the 4.7 Worlds), Matt Beck (Bowmoor SC) and Nick Wellbourn (Hykeham SC). Matilda took the overall win, with Matt taking 2nd on count back from Nick in 3rd. Alex Schonrock (Parkstone YC) was 4th, 2nd girl and 1st U16 girl and Royal Lymington's Tom Mitchell rounded out the top 5 as 3rd boy and 1st U16 boy. The battle for 3rd girl went to Abby Childerley (Royal Southern YC/RORC). The award for the youngest sailor went to Iona Cole (Spinnaker SC) and the prize for the sailor who had the highest points, but battled on to complete all races, went to Jack Oswald (Gurnard SC). A number of the 4.7s were new to Laser sailing and appeared to relish the experience. Most notable was Optimist sailor James Foster, who at 50kgs only collected his Laser a week earlier, yet came 10th overall.

Commodore Dunlop Steward presenting to Matilda Nicholls, Overall winner 4.7, 1st girl and 1st Royal Lymington member in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Christine Spreiter

The Radial fleet saw a battle royal evolve between 2 boats who shared 1st and 2nd in 5 of the 6 races. There was a tie on final points, the break being decided by the final race result, with Royal Lymington's Milo Gill-Taylor edging Jordan Giles (Datchet Water SC) to take the win overall. 3rd to 6th had an equally close contest, with Jake Bowhay (Stokes Bay SC) narrowly taking 3rd from Royal Lymington's Arthur Fry, who was 1st U17 boy. Paignton SC's Ellie Hutchings was 1st girl, ahead of Paige Caldecoat (visiting from Australia) and Ellie Poole (also Paignton SC and 1st U17 girl). Youngest sailor, at just 13 years of age, was Charlie South (Stokes Bay SC) and the Endeavour prize went to Christine Wood (CCCDS).

Commodore Dunlop Stewart presenting to Milo Gill-Taylor, Overall winner Radials, 1st boy and 1st Royal Lymington sailor in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Christine Spreiter

The Standard Fleet had a lot to deal with, the biggest rig making it extremely physical for the young sailors. 16 year old Joseph Drake (RNSYC), in his first event in the Standard, and David Saunders (Stokes Bay SC) batted it out for 1st place, with Jo narrowly taking the win and 1st U19. Royal Lymington's Robbie Boyd was an impressive 3rd.

Jo Drake taking to the Standard in impressive style: Overall winner and 1st U19 in the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Christine Spreiter

Ashore the Commodore congratulated the sailors on their efforts in completing 6 races. The Race Team and Jury were thanked and praised by the competitors, and the busy safety team, led by Alastair Beardsall, were also thanked for their hard work. Juror John Doerr said "Clearly this event attracted a wide range of sailors and the challenging conditions gave an opportunity for the more experienced to shine. However the talent displayed was awesome and holds well for the future of British Olympic sailing. I am a fervent believer that sailing offers young people an opportunity to develop skills that will help them in life, way beyond sailing. It was a pleasure to see those skills on display and i hope that I can be part of a similar event in the future.'' Race Office Peter Saxton said "It's great to see youth sailors enjoying racing when the going gets tough - having good safety cover meant that we could continue racing in challenging conditions, which would have sent many fleets ashore. The competitors coped impressively well, gaining valuable experience whatever the level of skill. The organisational support from the club, parent organisers and jury made it a very enjoyable event."

Prize winners on the club balcony after the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Youth Laser Open - photo © Christine Spreiter

Thanks go once again to our fantastic sponsors. Winners received Neil Pryde Elite Matrix Long Johns and Harken McLube, with category winners receiving Neil Pryde Elite buoyancy vests and Harken sailing bags. Runners up received an array of prizes, including Neil Pryde Elite gloves and Harken document wallets and water bottles.

We wish all the Laser sailors heading to major international regattas this summer the best of luck. Sailors will be competing in the Laser 4.7 Worlds and U21 Worlds in Nieuwpoort, Belgium and the Youth Laser Radial Euros in Gdynia and the Youth Laser Radial Worlds in Medemblik, Holland.

Many sailors have told us that this was one of the best Laser events they have attended and so plans are underway for another Youth Laser event at RLymYC later this year.

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