420 Nationals at Pwllheli Sailing Club – Days 1 & 2
by Jan Lasko 20 Aug 2008 12:22 BST
18-22 August 2008
62 boats arrived at Pwllheli Sailing Club to compete in the annual 420 British Open Championships being run from the 18th – 22 August. With the 420 Junior European Championships finishing on the previous Friday, it was a rush for some of the British and Irish boats to return on time. The British 420 Class also welcomed sailors for the USA.
Day 1
Provisions were made for dealing with the late arrival of the boats from Croatia. As it turned out, hugh seas and strong winds, made sailing impossible on Monday, enabling all the boats to complete registration in time for racing on Tuesday.
Day 2
Another wet and windy day in Wales. The wind dropped to around 12 knots, with gusts of 17 knots from the NE. After yesterday’s lack of racing, the team were looking forward to sailing all three scheduled races.
In race 1, after a number of black flag starts, Ben Saxton (Junior European Silver Medalist) sailing with Claire Lasko (ISAF 29er Gold medallist) won the first race with James (Junior European Bronze Medalist) and Will Rusden in second. Matt Rainback and Simon Foskett were well on the pace and took third ahead of Peter Irwin and David Kohler. First ladies were Rebecca Kalderon and Rosie Sibthorp who finished in fifth.
The second race saw the top three swap places with Rainback/Foskett taking line honours with Saxton/Lasko in second. Rusden/Rusden took third with Irwin.Kohler again finishing in fourth. First ladies this time were Hermione Stanley/Hannah Mitchell in fifth.
The wind decreased and the sea state reduced as the day wore on. Phil Sparks and Ben Gratton showed their speed taking the win in race 3 ahead of Rusden/Rusden. Saxton/Lasko continued with their consistent form to finish in third. Kalderon/Sibthorp recovered from a poor second race to finish in fourth with Irish girls Jane Butler/Jennifer Andreasson in fifth.
Results after Race 3:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Races | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | GBR53303 | Ben Saxton | Claire Lasko | 1,2,3 | 6 |
| 2 | GBR53158 | James Rusden | Williams Rusden | 2,3,2 | 7 |
| 3 | GBR53229 | Peter Irwin | David Kohler | 4,4,9 | 17 |
| 4 | GBR 52759 | Phil Sparks | Ben Gratton | 6,11,1 | 18 |
| 5 | GBR 52426 | Tom Kinver | Charlie Makepeace | 7,7,6 | 20 |
| 6 | GBR53232 | Matt Rainback | Simon Foskett | 3,1,22 | 26 |
After the main races were completed, 16 boats started the crews race (the helm and crew swap positions) just off Pwllheli beach.
Winners of this year’s race were Charlie Makepeace/Tom Kinver with Claire Lasko/Ben Saxton in second and Katrina Brewer/Amy Seabright in third.
Once ashore a disco with a fancy dress theme was held for all the competitors.
Four races are scheduled for Wednesday.