Cadet Eastern Series at Waldringfield Sailing Club - Day 1

Cadet Eastern Area Series racing at Waldringfield © Steve Proffitt

First east coast Open Meeting of the year

Following on from last weekend’s indicator at Stone, competition continues on the East coast with the Open Meeting at Waldringfield Sailing Club. With six races scheduled over two days and sponsored by Anglia Factors, the event also counts towards the Eastern Area Series. Eighteen crews from the host club have been joined by eight visitors. Competitors include this year’s Inland Champions and winners of the Stone indicator, Will Kennedy & Rhos Hawes sailing 8539 “Genesis”, four National Junior Squad members and four Zone Squad members.

Four races were held today downstream of the clubhouse on the stretch of the River Deben known as “The Rocks” with a course comprising three laps incorporating four marks. A shifty 15 knot wind provided testing conditions for the two races held before lunch. In the first race, Will Kennedy & Rhos Hawes in 8539 led at the windward mark and held on to take the gun from Henry Mills & Oliver Jones in 8845 “Hot Rocks”, John & Alex Page in 8521 “Gnat” and James Jopling and Sam Yale in 9046 “Get a Grip”.

In the second race, John & Alex opened an early lead over James & Sam, with Will & Rhos in third, Mark Yale and Theo Passmore in 9292 “I’m a Bullet Too” in fourth and Emma & Lulu Knott in 8350 “Trident”, fifth. At the second windward, the top four places were unchanged, with Max & Francesca Ingall in 8855 “Flirting with Danger” up to fifth place. Then, on the final lap that Will & Rhos made their move, first passing James & Sam and then John & Alex, for their second bullet of the day.

By the start of the third race, the wind had settled into a 16-17 knot Easterly, but the incoming tide pushed crews over the line resulting in a general recall. Away at the second attempt, Mark Yale & Theo Passmore in 9292 led the fleet into the windward, closely followed by the ever-present Will Kennedy & Rhos Hawes. Emma & Lulu Knott in 8350 were third, followed by Joseph Butterworth & Joseph Chadwick in 8847 “Lethal Menace” and John & Alex Page in 8521. However, by the end of the first lap, Will & Rhos had again showed their skills in moving to the head of the fleet; a position they did not surrender to maintain their one-hundred per cent record. John & Alex took second place from Emma & Lulu, with Max & Francesca Ingall in 8855 in fourth.

Would Will & Rhos make it four out of four? At the first windward, it seemed very unlikely. The lead was held by Max & Francesca in 8855, followed by Henry Mills & Oliver Jones in 8845, Anna Davies & Amy Allen in 8230 “Shadow” and Joseph Butterworth & Joseph Chadwick in 8847, with Will & Rhos back in eighth place. One lap later, they were up to second and rapidly closing on the leaders. But that was it. In a tight finish, Max & Francesca held off the challenge of Will & Rhos and took the gun, with Henry Mills and Oliver Jones in third place.

Results after Day 1: (top six)