Weston Sailing Club Youth Regatta sponsored by Andark
by Olly Harris 27 Jun 2017 09:03 BST
24 June 2017
Saturday June 24th saw 22 young sailors arrive at Weston Sailing Club, mostly by water in the case of the visiting sailors from nearby clubs. That's one of the attractions of this series of events, designed to allow young sailors to enjoy racing against their school mates and local friends without travelling very far. The breeze was gusting Force 5, making for great sailing for the fleet which included a "silver" start for those new to racing.
Race 1 saw a strong start by Ben Harris from Weston sailing his Europe, with Ben going on to win the race from Robert McFarlane (Hamble River) in a Laser Radial, closely followed by Emily Denham (Netley) sailing a Topper.
The second race of the day saw a similar starting strategy from Ben, quickly accelerated off the line, pulling away from the Fevas and Lasers. Cameron Barr, showing great skill in single-handing his RS Feva remained close however it was Ben who took the win by just 9 seconds on handicap with Robert just a few seconds after that. Racing was similarly close right through the fleet often with just a few seconds separating a number of places.
It was then time for a break, allowing Ben to make some hurried repairs to his sail while the rest ate their lunch. In the next race in a freshening breeze, Ben struggled to separate himself from the fleet, whilst Archie Smoker, sailing very well on a distinctive yellow and purple Topaz Uno, kept up with the leaders and won by over 3 minutes on handicap. Emily continued her consistent run to take 3rd, while Cameron and the Feva of Adam and Polly Sandison, always pushing hard at the starts, enjoyed a really close race.
Race 4 saw Archie clinching the win from Ben, however this time by just 20 seconds on corrected time. This was a great race for the Teras with a brilliant effort by 11 year old James Praine sailing his Tera Sport to 3rd place, ahead of many older sailors but just 1 second ahead of Sophie Watson from the Silver fleet.
The final race was a 1 lap sprint, and saw a dominant performance from James Taylor in a Laser Radial. James Praine again sailed well to 2nd place, just ahead of Robert McFarlane.
Overall, it was Ben Harris who won, also taking home the Smoker Compass for first Weston SC sailor. Second overall was Archie Smoker from Netley Sailing Club, with Hamble River SC's Robert McFarlane in third, just beating Emily Denham from Netley on countback.
The very generous sponsorship from Andark meant that all competitors received a prize, with many getting vouchers to spend in store, as well as hats and chocolate.
A big thank you was given to Race Officer Chris Brown and all of his team in the race box and RIBs, Christine in the Galley, the shore helpers and all the parents who helped to run such a great event.
The next youth regatta is at Hamble River SC on Saturday 8th July.
Overall Results: (top five)
1 Europe, Ben Harris (Weston SC) 6pts
2 Topaz Uno, Archie Smoker (Netley SC) 11pts
3 Laser 4.7, Robert McFarlane (Hamble River SC) 15pts
4 Topper, Emily Denham (Netley SC) 15pts
5 Laser Radial, James Taylor (Netley SC) 16pts