Nacra 15s at Weston Sailing Club's January Cup

Ben Harris & Annabel Luxton win the Fast fleet at Weston SC's January Cup © Olly Harris

This weekend saw Weston Sailing Club's January Cup, a weekend regatta consisting of six races, open to both club members and visitors, as the first event of the Open Freezer series, with 30 boats on the water in three fleets.

Four youth Nacra 15 teams raced in the fast handicap fleet, a mix of F18s, Nacra Carbon 20s, Spitfires, A-Class, RS800s and Hobie 16s, using the weekend as an opportunity to race in a strong mixed fleet alongside other Nacra 15s. These teams ranged from RYA UK Youth Squad members to sailors just making the move into the class.

On Saturday, the first two races were sailed in light wind, gradually building during the second race. Ben Harris & Annabel Luxton lead these two races, followed closely by Morgan Smith & Alex Hamel who took second place in the first race, and Will Homewood and Albie Cutbill who took second in the second race. Sam Steward, sailing with ex-Youth Catamaran sailor Nia Crockford, finished closely behind, with Sam quickly getting to grips with the Nacra 15.

After a short break onshore, the teams re-launched and race 3 was started in a stronger breeze blowing from the Solent, generating steeper chop. Ben and Annabel raced closely with Morgan and Alex, finishing first and second respectively, also taking the top two positions in the handicap results from former Nacra 15 Youth Sailing World Championship representative Will Smith in his F18.

Sunday saw the fleet begin racing at 10:45, with wind reading 15-25 knots. The first race was a close battle between Smith & Hamel and Harris & Luxton however, after an early retirement by Ben & Annabel, it was Morgan & Alex who finished in first place, with Will & Albie finishing closely behind.

The final two races saw Harris/Luxton take two more bullets, with Smith/Hamel and Homewood/Cutbill taking second place in each race respectively.

Morgan Smith and Alex Hamel take third Fast fleet at Weston SC's January Cup - photo © Olly Harris

Thanks go to Weston Sailing Club for organising the weekend's racing, as well as to Cathy Sherratt and Paul Howard who were Race Officers for the weekend. The club welcomes visiting boats for their Open Freezer Series, running until the 29th March.

The Nacra 15 fleet continues to grow both in the UK and Internationally. The upcoming focus for the UK fleet is the RYA UK Youth National Championships in Pwhelli in April, which will also act as the second event in the Nacra 15 European Super Series. We hope to welcome many international teams, as well as both new and established British teams.

If you are interested in joining the Nacra 15 class, do not hesitate to make contact on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nacra15UK
Instagram: www.instagram.com/nacra15gbr
Email:

Fast Fleet Results: (other fleet's results here)

Sam Steward and Nia Crockford in Weston SC's January Cup - photo © Nathan Ezra Steffenoni