RS500 World Championships 2023 at Yacht Club Nechranice
by James Curtis 2 Aug 2023 09:53 BST
23-28 July 2023
RS500 World Championships at Nechranice, Czech Republic © Petr Cepela
What do you get when you drive 10 hours to a lake in the Czech Republic for a world championship?
We knew there would be enthusiastic hosts. The Czech class has grown massively in the last few years with a mix of young teams, older teams who've moved over from slower classes, couples and families.
But what would await us on the water and ashore? We pitched up to find the club and our pitches. (Free camping next to the boat park and briefing area is a big plus in my book.) Upon registration we were given our own event engraved pint mug. Glassware before you've had to sail is another point in my book.
The event kicked off with the opening ceremony on the dam wall. They had closed the road for us (and some maintenance) and erected a stage which was occupied by a saxophonist, who greeted us once we had been dropped of the bus and handed our own event engraved prosecco flute. (See previous comment about glassware.) As the Prosecco flowed and was topped up extensively the flagbearers arrived by flotila to the pirates of the Caribbean theme. I've been to bigger opening ceremonies but I cant say I've been to better. I'm told 130 liters of Prosecco was drunk.
Race 1
The big question mark around Nechranicer was wind. The practice race and training day had been shifty affairs although with 10-20 knots, strength hadn't been the issue. Still we sat around on day one watching the SAP tracking and drone footage from the practice race on the big screen, by the now relocated stage. Eventually some pressure filled in and we got out on the water to get the championships properly under way.
The wind clocked right on both if the first two starts leading to general recalls in both. On the third start it had gone slightly left and got away clean with the Italian boys Iacopo & Federico Roncuzzi (ITA 1604) leading out of the left and Hugh & Luke Watson (GBR1746) coming across with a nice shift from the right. Michal Kijka had used a bit of Czech knowledge to round between the two of them as we headed downwind. The run was a case of keeping your head out of the boat and pressure hunting. In the puff you could get the boat up and planning so finding them was a must. The SIs had included a different top mark by default and the race office used this to push us further up the lake for lap two which by now was lead by Jesper Overbeeke & Merle Meinhardt (NED972) with Hugh & Luke and then Hylke Kooistra & Thomas Holewijn (NED 971) in third and being lifted up closest to the bank on the left. They were the top three at the top mark and till probably half way down the run when Steve & Sarah Cockerill (GBR1756) hooked into what would turn into the race winning gust to shoot past.
At the gun it was Steve & Sarah, then Jesper & Merla and Hugh & Luke. None of the pre regatta favorites had logged a shocker but looking at the tracking showed Steve and Sarah had done 45 maneuvers so there was going to be no time to relax in the racing.
After getting off the water later than scheduled there wasn't time for the International class meeting but we did have time to enjoy the leftover prosecco and an excellent banquet.
Day 2
dawned with a few sore heads, in addition to the free prosecco, a round of three beers cost me £3.46 so a few were had. Unfortunately the wind had a bit of a lie in as well so we sat around watching the tracker and Steve's incredible gust again. That's how it remained all day, but fortunately if there is a class that takes winning the social as seriously as winning the racing it's the 500s. First the organisers had put on a mini beer festival for us with three local breweries showing their wares and best of all it was free. Not a massive discount granted but the only thing better than a cold beer is a free one! There was also a tent doing cocktails for the less hop inclined, but that wasn't the only show in town.
There can be few sailing institutions more sacred than the RS500 Dutch party and 2023s lived up to the billing. You will have to experience it yourself because your correspondent can't remember all of it.
Day 3
It was starting to look like we were going to have as much fun as the Moths did at Weymouth albeit with cheaper beer. But don't worry, day three delivered.
Four races were on the schedule to compensate for the lost day. It was going to be mentally tough.
Race 2 was a horizon job from Jesper & Merla who managed to round mark one in second and take the gust away from the bunch who were left in soaking conditions. Steve and Sarah made the most of some shifts on the first run to climb into second and stay there with 2019 Champs Peter & James Curtis (GBR 1681) using a bit of their lake sailing nouse to riggle into third by the end.
Race 3 and the wind had built again to keep the boats planing downwind and all the sailors on their toes. Hylke & Thomas bounced back from their 13th in the previous race to take a dominant win. Steve & Sarah had started well and consolidated it into a second to really mark the start of a consistent series. Jesper & Merla came home in third after showing their pace as the wind dropped off by coming through the fleet.
Race 4 was another Hylke & Thomas show with the Dutch former vice champions once again showing the fleet a clean pair of heels. They liked to bounce off the left shore which had a nice corner with a wind bend if you timed it right. By now the fleet had noticed it as well and there was a lot of short tacking to try and hook into the bend. It was however easy to spend too much time changing direction and not enough time going fast with a few boats able to jump the bunch by sailing fast round the outside of the chaos. Estonians Oleg Egipte & Artur Mitsulis (EST 1616) sailed 8658m for 8th with Borek Borkovec & Matej Najvarek (CZE1052) only sailing 7403m for 9th
Race 5 and the fleet was starting to feel the impacts of a few nights parting and long day sailing. Iacopo & Fedirico managed to win the pin and took a line to line victory but when we came off the water there were three teams joined on 8 points leading the regatta. Hylke & Thomas, Steve & Sarah, Jesper & Merla. With two days left it was too close to call.
In the evening the sailors were treated to the usual excellent snack by the on site food tent. It turns out they don't let just anyone on Masterchef! What followed were three performances by a surprisingly good band and one by an unnamed British athlete leading an international troop of sailors/dancers in synchronized Abba moves from the stage. Well done dancing queen.
Day 4
Time to push for the chocolates. Another four race day which seemed intimidating as we launched into a decent high teens breeze.
Race 6 started in the strongest wind so far and surprisingly it was the light weight British team of Hugh and Luke leading out the gate. As the beat progressed the 30kg heavier Curtis pair reeled them back in but couldn't make the pass before the top mark was rounded and they disappeared off downwind. If you believe the RS website the 500 can take crews between 100-140kg but in practice crews as light as 120kg and as heavy as 155kg have won the worlds. In this race the heavier Curtis pair had a slight edge upwind carrying more power and the lighter Watsons could get a little lower while matching speeds. These two finished 1,2 but further back Steve and Sarah had infringed Jesper and Merla and would add a DSQ to their tally.
Race 7 and the Cockerill's took their chance to bounce back with an impressive bullet with the Italians putting in a second to show that they weren't out of the running yet. Fleur Leijs and Viktor Haaksman (NED 518) showed that there were more than two dutchies who could mix it at the front with a comfortable third. The other two British boats and the Estonians came next with a 7th and 8th for the two Dutch boats that had come into the day on 8 points.
Race 8 was possibly the most dramatic of the day. The Roncuzzis lead of the start with the Curtis's in hot pursuit. A tacking duel had to be postponed as the rest of the fleet pulled into the lead of the two boats who have battled before for eurocup silverware. At the top mark it was Italian advantage with the British crew following them down the right of the run. An early pack had gybed off and the two leaders had to panic their way across to the left and just hold on to a now slender lead ahead of Hugh & Luke who had been 12th at the top mark and Hylke and Thomas who'd been 9th. The places held up the next beat with many tacks exchanged as all the teams tried to string pressure bands together.
On the next run the Roncuzzis and Curtis's again found a band of pressure in the middle right but it wasn't as good as the stuff coming out of the left which pulled the Watsons into a close cross for the lead. A couple of zigs for gusts and zags for puffs had Hugh & Luke tearing in on the Starboard lay ahead of the Curtis's, they couldn't quite hit the slingshot round the mark and it allowed the other inside at the gate. The Curtis boat crossed the line in first but in a battle to stop Hylke and Thomas rolling over the top the Roncuzzies had lost sight of the end of the line and in the panic duck to get down through the line rolled it in on top of themselves, collecting the fast approaching Dutch boat in their unconventional mark trap. This left both boats with DSQs after the Jury laughed at* then studied the videos of the incident.
*Allegedly
Race 9 was calm by those standards. The 29er crew of Lucie Košatová & Vojtech Cibulka found the upwind grove of the 500 and led round the top mark. The usual suspects followed round and Steve & Sarah had managed to overhaul them at the finish. A 2nd place was not undeserved and they could definitely be a crew to watch if they stick with it.
The fleet came ashore for some beers and a Captain Morgan sponsored party with many free Rum based drinks consumed and a fair few branded pirate hats handed out although disappointingly none made it on the water the next day.
Day 5
The final day wasn't going to be a four race epic like the previous two as only two races were scheduled. The points leaderboard had been shaped by some visits to the Jury and with only two discards in play most boats couldn't afford a bad race.
Steve & Sarah had a few points in hand over Hylke & Thomas in 2nd and only needed one good race to take the title on their third attempt. The Dutch boys however were already discarding a 12th and 13th so had no room for error. Two points back the other two British boats were separated only on count back. Jesper & Merla and The Roncuzzis were both within striking distance and the podium could have had many different complexions once all the permutations were calculated.
Race 10
It was the British that had come out swinging with the inseparable Curtis's and Watson's leading round the top mark with the Cockerill's third and Richard Bartos & Sara Svobodova (CZE 1668) showing their speed that had seen them pressuring the top five all regatta. Hugh and Luke had got a head of Peter and James on the run but as they split gates at the bottom it was the Heavier Curtis team that managed to build a lead they wouldn't relinquish even after a few close crosses that couldn't afford a bad gybe. Steve & Sarah came in 4th which alongside the 16th for Hylke & Thomas cemented the championship. Unfortunately for the Dutch boys it also Pushed Peter & James and Hugh & Luke into the podium spots.
Race 11
With the battle for second not settled tension was up. Both the Curtis's and Watsons's started well at the pin and were joined by Samuel Deuloo & Oscar Deuloo (NED 526)who were having their race of the series although only taking a UFD away from it. All the Curtis's had to do was stay within one place of the Watsons due to their superior countback scores which was all going well until a rushed tack on a heading gust saw their jib recleat and the mast make its way into the tide, truly win or swim racing. As they pulled the boat back up 10 places back it looked all over.
Meanwhile in one of the other battles going on Jesper had stuck a covering tack onto the Roncuzzi's it truly wasn't over. The Curtis's had made it back into the lead group while some close tactical racing had been going on with Hugh & Luke and Hylke & Thomas were fighting for who could get higher on the podium. The positions held tight with Hylke & Thomas leading onto the second half of the last beat. Hugh & Luke couldn't break the band to Peter & James behind in third, when who comes storming out the right but the Champions Elect (the Cockerill's). They could have been the boat the Hugh & Luke needed to put between them and the Curtis's but it was the race victory that they were after.
Ultimately it was too little too late in that department as the Dutch boys held on by the skin of their teeth to just blast across the line first. It was a stressful but ultimately uneventful for the father and son teams as the positions were held and the podium steps were decided on Countback.
Tracking: rs500-worlds-2023.sapsailing.com/gwt/Home.html
Full results: www.sailing.cz/noticeboard/231612
Photo Gallery: ycnechranice.cz/fotky/mistrovstvi-sveta-rs500-2023
So what do you get when you drive to the Czech republic for a World Championship on a lake? One of the best weeks of your life filled with interesting sailing, fantastic hospitality, unrivalled passion and great people.
The good news is next year we are in the Netherlands and they know how to throw a party. You don't want to miss it!
Overall:
1st Stephen Cockerill and Sarah Cockerill, GBR 1756
2nd Peter Curtis and James Curtis, GBR 1681
3rd Hugh Watson and Luke Watson, GBR 1746
Ladies:
1st Anna Justová and Klára Houšková, CZE 1010
2nd Karolína Lojková and Tereza Dobrá, CZE 1688
3rd Danique Bancken and Nynke Hettema, NED 670
Under 21s:
1st Lucie Košatová and Vojtech Cibulka, CZE 535
2nd Lucas Leerdam and Daphne Feberwee, NED 777
3rd Karolína Lojková and Tereza Dobrá, CZE 1688
Masters:
1st Stephen Cockerill and Sarah Cockerill, GBR 1756
2nd Michal Lojka and Petra Lojková, CZE 1652
3rd Luboš Motl and Monika Martinkovicová, CZE 1087
Family:
1st Stephen Cockerill and Sarah Cockerill, GBR 1756
2nd Peter Curtis and James Curtis, GBR 1681
3rd Hugh Watson and Luke Watson, GBR 1746