RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships - Overall
by Ellie Williamson, RYA 28 Sep 2009 08:44 BST
26-27 September 2009
Race action for all events on the closing day of the RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships
More wind came out to play today (Sunday 27 September) for the closing off of the 2009 RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships allowing race action to take place at all nine championship events, including the South East (Datchet) which failed to get racing off the ground yesterday.
With more than 1000 of the nation’s Olympic sailing hopefuls hitting the water across Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales this weekend, hopes were high of getting a good days racing in today after races were hampered by yesterdays light winds.
Sailing more than three races over the weekend and making provision for one discard the South West (WPNSA), South (Poole), Northern Ireland (East Antrim), Scotland (Largs), East (Grafham) and Wales (Pwllheli) events rounded off a good championship today.
Having suffered the most yesterday was the South East (Datchet) event however, with a little wind today, all-be-it 1-2 knots, sailors were pleased to finally get some racing in with the 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 windsurfers completing one race.
Better luck was had at the North (Burton) and West (Draycote) events where today’s full complement of races were completed.
Head RYA High Performance Manager Chris Atherton was pleased to see the majority of the events get a good series in however, stressed that where racing was scarcer, competitors could still be assured of an objective selection policy to their squads.
He commented: “We’ve seen some great racing around the country this weekend with a number of events getting in a full series of races. Unfortunately, especially in the South East Zone the wind didn’t quite allow for as much racing as hoped, leaving some sailors with no racing. But although the Championships are a key selection event, the results from them are not the sole source of data for squad selection.”
“Sailors can be assured of objective decision making as High Performance Managers (HPMs) and coaches will take into account open training, key competition and performances over the summer, as well as other impending end-of-season class association events, in their selection decisions.” he concluded.
The Championships traditionally mark the end of the Junior racing season and are a key event for any young sailor wishing to be selected for the RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country squads, which are the first step on the pathway to Olympic Classes sailing.
RYA Volvo South Zone Championship (Poole)
The South’s sailors arrived this morning for the second day of their championship in yet more sunshine but this time, opposed to yesterday, there was enough of a breeze to get out racing straight away.
Having completed two races yesterday with a morning of no wind, the plan was to try and squeeze four races in today so a full series of six could be achieved.
Sailing back-to-back races the Toppers sailed three good races with the Mirrors, Cadets and Laser 4.7’s managing the target of four.
There was no change at the top of the Cadet class today with yesterday’s top three finishers sailing some great races and holding onto their positions securing championship honours. Mary Henderson and Annie Sibthorp scooped first with Matthew Currell and Theo Smith taking second and brothers Matthew and Ben Shorrock picking up third.
The Mirrors, Laser 4.7s and Toppers saw more of a shake-up in results today with the following sailors making the most of the days racing to secure themselves trophies.
Mirrors: First Peter Sedwick and Nick Pugh with Tom Lovesey and Milly Pugh picking up second and sisters Anna and Rosie Watkins taking third.
Laser 4.7: Andrew Bridgman took first with David Pain taking second and Georgina Dorah picking up third.
Toppers: Josh Stone took victory with Matthew Stevens taking second and Giles Kuzyk picking up third.
RYA Volvo South West Zone Championship (Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy)
In contrast to yesterday’s opening day, the young sailors at the South West event woke up to a steady 8-10 knot breeze and coupled with yet more wall-to-wall sunshine, conditions couldn’t have been any better for getting races in can.
The Toppers, Optimists and Feva’s were out on their race course by 10:00 eager to get underway. Race one saw some high speed action kicking off at 10:30 with race two taking a slightly more sedate pace as the sea breeze began to kill the morning’s north easterly wind.
The wind died completely at about 13:30 creating an ideal break for lunch and by the time that was over, the sea breeze had kicked in from the south west opening the door to more race action.
Having not quite managed to squeeze in a second race this morning, the Optimists sailed their second race of the day whilst the Toppers and Feva’s completed a third.
The windsurfers got in two races before lunch, the second requiring some serious pump action, and a further one race after.
Championship honours went to the following sailors:
Feva: 1st: Morgan Peach and Herbie Harferd, 2nd: Ruth and Tessa Allan, 3rd: Jack Hawkins and Chris Thomas
Optimist: 1st: Scott Wallis 2nd: Joshua Belben 3rd: Joe Burford
Topper: 1st: Ellie Cumpsty 2nd: Robbie Robinson 3rd: Edward Jones
Windsurfers:
3.5’s 1st: Ross Warren 2nd: Georgina Savage 3rd: Flora Todd
4.5s 1st: Molly Todd 2nd: Isabelle Savage 3rd: Ella Milne
5.5s 1st: Daniel Wilson 2nd: Lou Brown 3rd: Alex Parker
6.8s 1st: Ross Bromhead 2nd: Adam Greyston 3rd: Sebastian Cooper
7.8’s 1st: Zak Page 2nd: Andrew Robinson 3rd: Gemma Greyston
RYA Volvo Welsh Zone and Home Country Championships (Pwllheli)
The Welsh zone saw a postponement this morning after wind was non-existent to start off with however, by 12:30 it had built to give sailors a good five or so knots to play with and the opportunity to get out racing.
Building on yesterday’s full complement of three, two back-to-back races were sailed completing a successful day and weekend for the Home Country. The only complaint being; the sun wasn’t seen all day.
Picking up Welsh victories were:
Optimist: 1st: Josh Burgess 2nd: Myles Jackson 3rd: Gareth Viney
Topper: 1st: Ellie Meophan 2nd: Alex Jardine 3rd: Thomas Williams
RYA Volvo South East Championship (Datchet)
The South East’s sailors all went home with smiles on their faces despite another day ashore for the majority. Glorious sunshine made for great spectator sunbathing but mixed with hardly any wind again today racing was not going to happen for the 80 plus dinghy sailors who were at the event.
Racing was not all canned however, with the windsurfers going out over lunch for a very slow but much celebrated race. The 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5s got results in whilst the dinghies stayed ashore and listened to Event Coach Marcus Lynch’s two talks on mark rounding and start line techniques which went down well.
Event Director James Tilley reported that everyone enjoyed the weekend it was just a shame the weather didn’t allow for more racing.
Winning windsurfers were; Ellie Trollop in the 3.5’s with Zarah Petts second and Ellidh Hards third. Jenna Gibson in the 4.5’s with Jonny Dudfield second and Alec Goldstone third. And Henry Seifert in the 5.5’s with Jamie Earle second and Harriet Fry third.
RYA Volvo East Zone Championship (Grafham)
After a good day of racing yesterday, competitors woke up to a blanket of fog this morning. With the forecast promising six knots of wind later the mood was hopeful for some later race action.
By 13:00 the sun had burnt the fog away and with a gentle breeze filling in, racing was in action for all four fleets. The postponement meant that time ran out for any further races however, competitors went ashore happy to have got one in the can despite the earlier conditions.
Prize giving saw the following top three trophies awarded.
Topper: 1st: Bryony Bennett-Lloyde, 2nd: Anna Cattermole, 3rd: George Meredith
Cadet: 1st: Alex and Lucy Corby, 2nd: Joseph and Francis Butterworth, 3rd: Molly Brown and Angus Eckstein
Dragoon: 1st: Sebastian Samways and Daniel Chamming, 2nd: Jack Muldon and Rhys Cooke, 3rd: Adam and Jack Murphy
Optimist: 1st: James Hutton-Penman, 2nd: Oliver Chapman, 3rd: Chay Taylor
RYA Volvo West Zone Championship (Draycote)
The West Zone sailors had a fantastic day of racing today to round up their series. A steady 5-8 knots of breeze meant that conditions were great for fitting in the four scheduled races for the day.
Racing was highly competitive across all fleets with lots of place changing to keep it exciting.
Well fought championship trophies went to the following sailors:
4.5 Techno: First Sarah Labourne with Harry Davis in second and Jordan Howram in third.
5.5 Open: First John Davis with Cameron Coghill in second and Scott Collins in third.
6.8 Techno: First Oliver Bradley-Baker with Robert York in second and Max Bushell in third.
7.8 Techno: First Adam Purcell with Kieran Burley in second and Luke Patrick in third
Optimist: In first place Martin Wrigley with Haydn Griffiths in second and Boby Hewitt in third.
Topper: In first Matt Venables with brother Dan Venables in second and Curtis Mearns in third.
Feva: In first, Robert and Emma Loveridge, with Robert and Rebecca Morris in second and George and Ed Shelley in third.
RYA Volvo North Zone Championship (Burton)
Having had a great day of full race action yesterday the North event’s sailors were pleased to be greeted with more wind today which allowed another full day of three races to take place rounding of a brilliant closing day and very successful championship for the Zone.
The wind built up from five knots this morning to a good 6-8 knots and acting on the advice they received from Volvo for Life and Skandia Team GBR sailor Nick Rogers yesterday, the 70 plus sailors put in some great performances out on the water.
The following sailors finished the championship in a top three position:
Topper: 1st: Christopher Towers, 2nd: Hector Simpson, 3rd: Bradley Hilton
Optimist: 1st: Andrew Kilburn, 2nd: Georgina Booth, 3rd: Benjamin Brown
Mirror: 1st: Matthew and Ben Lulham-Robinson, 2nd: Edward Greyson and Alex Mowbray 3rd: Catherine and Eleanor Hide
RYAS Volvo Zone and Home Country Championship (Largs)
Not managing much in the way of racing yesterday competitors at the Scottish Home Country event were hoping for better conditions today.
The sky remained overcast for the day however, the wind came out to play blowing 12-13 knots by the end of the days racing which saw three races for the Topper fleet and four for the Windsurfers and Optimists.
Event Director Nick Scott was pleased with the days racing which made for much more competitive races than yesterday’s opening day.
Scooping Championship trophies were the following young sailors:
Optimist: 1st: Callum Airlie 2nd: Alistair Gray 3rd: Jamie Calder
Topper: 1st: Alexander Still 2nd: Rory Kilgore 3rd: Jordan Black
Windsurfers:
6.8s - 1st: Callum Kerr 2nd: Natalie McWilliams 3rd: Jan Goldbeck
7.8s - 1st: Ross Kenmuir 2nd: Torin Prescot 3rd: Annalee Hargreaves
RYA Volvo Northern Ireland Zone and Home Country Championship in Association with McCready Sailboats (East Antrim)
In contrast to the South East Zone, too much wind (25 knots plus) greeted young sailors at the Northern Ireland event this morning meaning racing was postponed for a couple of hours until conditions improved.
It was worth the wait as the wind moderated to a steady 15 knots and along with it came some sunshine making for a great day of racing.
The Laser 4.7’s were first out on the race course with the Toppers joining them after one race. A further two races went ahead in both classes with the following sailors achieving top three trophies at the event:
Laser 4.7: 1st: Chris Eams 2nd: Ben Reigan 3rd: Fionnan Martin
Laser Radial: 1st: Chris Penny 2nd: Robbie Gilmore 3rd: Oliver Loughead
Topper 4.2: 1st: Rory Fekkers 2nd: Peter Gilmore 3rd: Emily Hill
Topper: 1st: James O’Hare 2nd: Eoin Curran 3rd: Laura Gilmore
For further information visit www.ryaracingevents.org.uk