Cadet Nationals at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy - Day 1
by Peter Collyer 9 Aug 2014 22:14 BST
9-12 August 2014
Launching on day 1 of the Cadet Nationals at the WPNSA © Peter Collyer
All the talk in the last few days before the Cadet Nationals had been about the remnants of the tropical storm that is threatening to disrupt Days 2 and 3. Thankfully Day 1 produced champagne sailing conditions – plenty of sunshine and a reasonably steady F4 blowing across Portland Harbour.
After a morning of registration, rigging and renewing friendships with the many international visitors using the event as a warm-up for next week's Worlds, it was an enthusiastic fleet of 81 boats that charged out of the marina, spinnakers flying, at 1pm.
The Race Officer laid a trapezoidal course that gave the Gold and Silver fleets some windward-leeward loops and the Bronze fleet a straightforward lap. Race 1 got away at the second attempt and it was visitors BEL8522 Juris Van Geneugden and Jan Smet who led at the first windward with compatriots BEL8519 Seppe Greeve/Cedric Geivers and BEL8443 Kato Spittaels/Thibaud Drix close behind. Top home boat at this point was GBR9050, Jamie/Bettine Harris, both fresh from a week of racing in the Optimists Nationals. The breeze became more shifty and gusty as the race progressed, creating opportunities to make big gains up-wind and down, and while BEL8522 held on for the win GBR8352 Lucy/Cally Terkelsen came through the fleet to snatch 2nd at the finish, with BEL8519 3rd and GBR9050 4th.
Race 2 saw GBR9635 Louis Mellor/Rosie Targett leading at the first windward, a particularly impressive achievement considering that Louis (and his boat) had been stuck in traffic and missed Race 1. Hot on their heels were GBR8441 Ben Shorrock/Ellie Watling, GBR9050 and GBR8561 Alex/James Colquit, and a close battle ensured for the remainder of the race, with BEL8522 coming through to win again from GBR 9050 with GBR8432 Lulu Knott/Daisy Nunn gaining all the time to finish a very close 3rd and GBR9635 holding on for 4th.
Race 3 got away at the second attempt with the black flag flying and once again the shifting and building breeze made the first beat very tricky. GBR8441 led at the top of the course with GBR8521 Alex Page/Aaron Chadwick very close in second and GBR9050 continuing their very consistent day in 3rd. It was all change by the finish though, with BEL8520 Cesar Smet/Emilie Mariem coming thought to win from BEL8522 with BEL8519 completing an all-Belguim podium to round off the day.
Overall, a brilliant day's sailing for all. As expected Belgium has sent a very strong team for the Worlds, and they are clearly going to feature this week too. In the home fleet consistency seems hard to find, although Jamie and Betine Harris were the pick of the day with 4,2,6. Full results can be found at www.cadetclass.org.uk/sitedata/Entries/2014_nationals_results.pdf. Fingers crossed that the weather forecasters are wrong about tomorrow!