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Musto 2023 HPX LEADERBOARD

ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

by Tom Mitchell 23 Jun 2021 21:55 BST 19-20 June 2021

On the weekend of 19th and 20th June the ILCA6s and ILCA7s made their way from as far afield as Scotland for the 50th Anniversary Regatta and Masters Qualifier. Held at Stokes Bay Sailing Club, we were all looking forward to some great racing with a very decent turnout of over 101 boats.

Saturday racing

On the Saturday morning we were met with a light and shifting breeze which made for tricky racing. The ILCA 6 fleet completed two races, the race officer considered the breeze was too inconsistent to run a third. The tide was against the wind, resulting in boats being pushed quickly over the start line. This lead to lots of general recalls before getting race 1 away.

The ILCA 6 fleet were on inner loop with the ILCA 7s on the outer loop. After a few attempts on the black flag, race 1 eventually got under way. It was a tricky first beat with lots of variation in pressure across the course, the pressure was tending to come in from the left hand side of the course with a slight left shift. I [Tom Mitchell] lead round the windward mark with Ben Elvin, Ollie Wilcox and Alastair Brown close behind. This ended up being one of the longest legs due to the strong incoming tide.

We all stayed very close on the downwind and ended up within a few boat lengths of each of at the leeward gate. I managed to hold onto the lead before Alastair Brown broke free on the last downwind. I missed a couple of gusts leading to Ben and Ollie overtaking me; Alastair was not to be caught, taking the race win.

Race two stared much the same, with a few recalls and AP going up. I struggled to get off the start line meaning I had to play catch-up for the whole race. I worked my way up the left hand side of the course as I felt there was still more pressure there, rounding the windward mark somewhere inside the top fifteen.

I sailed a good downwind staying in the pressure most of the time which saw me gain a few places back. At the last upwind mark Joe Scurrah was in the lead with Edwin Cross in second, I rounded in the top five somewhere before gaining a few places back to finish third. That was the conclusion of day one, I led overnight by one point to Ollie Wilcox.

Saturday evening

Ashore the fleet enjoyed a great evening meal put on by the club and a fundraiser for the Andrew Simpson Foundation. UKLA have adopted the ASF as their official charity. This is the perfect fit as Andrew Simpson, known to all as Bart, and most of an extraordinary generation of UK sailors have learnt to sail in the Laser/ILCA. Nick Harrison, SBSC legend, is deeply involved in the Foundation's work and gave a moving account of a character that made a deep impression on all those he met.

A prize draw handed out over a dozen prizes supplied by UKLA's great sponsors SAILINGFAST and SOUTHEAST SAILBOATS - thanks Duncan and Max. The ASF generously donated two coaching days which were won by Zoe McCaig and me.

Another Fleet Legend, Stick Daring (Neil Peters) hosted a very bonkers quiz. Getting 2 'Brains' to guess the answers to questions such as how many mountain bikes are there in the Philippines ? You really needed to be there! £750 was raised for the ASF; please check out www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ukla-team as it's not too late to contribute.

Sunday racing

On day two we were met with grey skies and drizzle; the Isle of Wight had disappeared. There was a lack of wind which led to a short postponement. Not too long however, and both fleets headed out, the ILCA 6 fleet starting first today and on outer loop.

Race 3 got under way in about 5 knots of wind. It was a very tricky first beat with lots of shifts. The leaders at mark one came from the left on a nice left shift. Ollie Wilcox led downwind. The breeze started to drop off, meaning the second beat was all about staying in the pressure and not sailing into the holes. There tended to be more pressure on the right hand side.

James Curtis led round the top mark, closely followed by a group of perusing boats. The downwind was real snakes and ladders, with lots of changes in places. In the end Jack Graham-Trol finished first, myself second, and James Curtis third.

Race 4 took ages to get under way with the fleet being over the line very early, leading to lots of postponements going up. Eventually the fleet got away clean. The breeze was up to about 12knts. Hannah Snellgrove lead from the start and went on to take the race win, with Ben Elvin securing second place. A good start was key as it was a very short race, meaning that there was not much chance to fight back.

The race officer was determined to get a fifth race in, however we were getting very close to the 3pm cut-off time for the last race. We only had one chance to get a clean start, otherwise it would have been after the time limit. In the end the race officer got the race away with 3 minutes to spare.

The breeze started to drop back off from what it was in race 4 and there were lots of opportunity to gain places back on the downwind. Alastair Brown led from the last upwind to take the race win, followed by Ollie Wilcox and Hannah Snellgrove.

All very close in the end on completion of racing. I secured overall victory of the event by one point over Ben Elvin with Alistair Brown in third place.

UKLA would like to thank all those at Stokes Bay SC for making its members so warmly welcome and for making it possible to race at this great venue.

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. He also supplied many of the prizes for the draw on Saturday evening. sailingfast.co.uk

SouthEast Sailboats - Max brings bespoke quality at affordable prices to the class. His passion for detail has made his products a must have for anyone who wants quality. He also supplied many great prizes for the event. southeastsailboats.co.uk

Ovington Boats - Chris Turner lives dinghies and has been a significance presence in the boat building world for decades. OB are now the official UK builders of ILCAs. A very smart new Ovington ILCA Dinghy was on display at the Masters event. www.ovingtonboats.com

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmClubCategoryR1R2R3R4R5Pts
1st209119Tom MitchellRoyal Tay YCU19432‑8413
2nd214268Ben ElvinStokes Bay SCAM2‑2052514
3rd216646Alastair BrownGreat Moor SCU2119‑105116
4th216724Oliver Allen‑WilcoxChew Valley SC / RLymSC / Castle Cove SCU19356‑13216
5th218716Hannah SnellgroveLymington Town SCA510‑121319
6th211013James Curtis U17‑11736622
7th201587Sam Dickinson U17‑154841026
8th213563Joe ScurrahCarsington Lake SCA1019‑211434
9th214007Jack Graham‑TrollRoyal Lymington Yacht ClubU17‑221919837
10th213544Luke AnsteyFrensham Pond SCU191315‑203738
11th203084Freddie HowarthParkstone YCU177131311‑2644
12th210001Chloe BarrStokes Bay SCA6‑292271247
13th214560Terry HackerRutland SCU19‑1781714948
14th211875Mila MonaghanCardiff Bay YCA811‑32101948
15th216601Antonio PascaliIsland Barn Reservoir SCU1716121812‑2058
16th208650Henry KoeIsland Barn Reservoir SCU171417‑37191565
17th217881Charlotte VideloFrensham Pond SCU1924624(BFD)1367
18th200510Ian GregoryFrensham Pond SCM2131417‑3373
19th218860Max HuntWhitstable YCGM9‑2827261173
20th212946Edwin Cross U1718229‑322574
21st216655Edward BakerChew Valley Lake SC/Bowmoor SCU19122211‑483479
22nd213540Coco Barrett U19231430(BFD)1683
23rd216122George ColquittWest Kirby SCU17‑332719182286
24th211165Josh LyttleDatchet Water SCU172733720(DNC)87
25th198049Keijiro KikkawaStokes Bay SCU1920‑3221163087
26th205147Vittorio BoccoliniSeafarers SCAM19241530‑3688
27th195049Daniel FletcherIsland Barn SCU19252623‑271892
28th208163George Ellis‑MillerBosham SCU21‑4030381517100
29th208680Oliver WoodleyRLYCU193716‑413121105
30th206856Iris SingletonDraycote Water SCU19(OCS)35143523107
31st197693Sergio MessinaBough Beech SCGM262336(BFD)24109
32nd209425Carys AttwellRutland SCU1731‑54312232116
33rd213516Niall PeeloQueen Mary SCM3236‑532335126
34th217515James KnightDraycote Water SCU17304128(BFD)27126
35th208659Luka FranklinIBRSCU192837‑474228135
36th209056Oliver PayneStokes Bay SCU17‑5838253442139
37th213537Kristian SchaferBrading Haven YCU1948‑51332929139
38th215421William SunderlandDraycote WaterU19343434‑5244146
39th215118Keiran Bray U1938‑48164747148
40th195243Miles VidlerCrawley Mariners YCU19414535(DNC)31152
41st208325Dru TownsendPortishead Y & SCU1750255028‑55153
42nd215305Jasmin RobertsonNairn SCU193649‑563645166
43rd212573Rhys Powell U1945‑62434139168
44th8James Russell U1954215440‑57169
45th212783Archie WrightWarsash SCU17423939‑4949169
46th201709Bob DraperStokes Bay SCGGM‑5740424443169
47th152548Finn SinclairNeyland YC/ Pembrokeshire Performance SaU175142‑593941173
48th195242Rob Kemp GM49434438‑51174
49th190996Honor ProcterCardiff Bay YCU174657‑582453180
50th204539Anya MorrisRLymYC/MYCU1747504045(DNC)182
51st188220William ThorogoodOrwell YCU19‑6155452558183
52nd205144Ollie FreemantlePoole YCU173560(DNC)3752184
53rd198189Andrew Chapman GM444626(DNC)DNC187
54th193786Llion Morris U17‑5656524337188
55th206251John Russell M5252‑554638188
56th216002Lydia BarberStokes Bay SC/Blithfield SCU21(DNC)DNC463340190
57th136530James BarrettOxford SCU173953(DNC)5050192
58th177861Alison StevensQueen Mary SCAM594748(BFD)46200
59th216647Xavier DunnWarsash SCU174318(DNC)DNCDNC203
60th182565Matthew StubbinsLlandudno SCU1755‑61495148203
61st216919Jessica PerkinsWarsash Sailing ClubU1753‑59515356213
62nd162576Terry ScutcherShotley SCGM2944(DNC)DNCDNC215
63rd146162Zoe McCaigNewhaven and Seaford Sailing ClubAM605857(BFD)54229
64th206878Zoe MalamStokes Bay Sailing ClubU196263(DNC)DNCDNC267
65th190673Joe Mole U17(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284
65th196244Zak Crane‑WhatmoreHill Head SCU17(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284
65th213579Ian RawetGrafham Water SCLegend(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284
65th214933Sebastian KempeRoyal Bermuda YCU17(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284
65th216212Christopher MarshWhitstable YCU17(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284
65th216648Max SteeleWembley SC; Stokes Bay SCU17(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNC284

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