Conditions continue to delay RYA Youth National Championships

Sailors wait for instructional flags - RYA Youth National Championships © Marc Turner / RYA

Day two racing at the 2018 RYA Youth National Championships was yet again foiled by the extreme weather conditions in Largs, Scotland, as eager sailors continue to wait for their shot at a national title.

There were high hopes of racing among the 227 sailors and event organisers with forecasts showing a windy and gusty morning in Largs which was to die down to sailable conditions that would have allowed for a first taste of 2018 Youth Nationals action.

Unfortunately the prediction never materialised and the weather proved too much to send any sailors afloat. For the second day in a row the race committee had no choice but to put safety first.

Principle Race Officer (PRO) in charge of race management, Ian Bullock, and the race committee made the decision that keeping the sailors hanging on when the rain and wind was moving in was not in the best interests of the competitors and made the difficult call.

"No one wants to cancel two days of an event," said Bullock, "we have had our teams out on the water all day to give us minute by minute updates to try and get the sailors racing.

"Unfortunately all the data that was coming back to shore was bad news, and with the forecasts that we were monitoring we felt we that the only decision was to cancel."

The forecasts for day three look promising and the possibility of an earlier start is likely for the Youth National competitors.