420 Competitor Report of the Tiger Trophy at Rutland
by Hugo Valentine 3 Sep 2021 12:42 BST
28-29 August 2021
This weekend at the postponed Tiger Trophy, 420s dominated the Youth classes, taking both the John Merricks Youth and Junior trophies in light and shifty winds, despite these not being ideal 420 conditions!
Day one consisted of three, one hour-long handicap races in a fluctuating 10 knots of northeasterly breeze, and 49 boats from all over the country lined up for race one. Four 420s turned up to compete against this ferocious fleet as the largest double hander class. During the racing there were lots of large shifts and the racecourse was very patchy all day making the racing super difficult and very close. Joe Warwicker and Hugo Valentine took second place in the first race of the day with Harry George and Ralph Cawthorne taking 6th.
From here, the breeze started to drop off, making it harder for us to sail to the Great Lakes adjusted 420 handicap. However in the 3rd race George Creasy and David Bromilow took first 420, stretching out their lead after a tight first lap to finish 7th. Oliver Rayner and his brother Matthew had consistent top 20 results after switching up roles and sailing with each other for the first time. In the evening, competitors enjoyed the Tiger Dinner of a fantastic hog roast, and a chance to relax after a long day on the water.
Day two commenced with very similar conditions from the same direction, but this time there would only be one long pursuit race to decide the overall results. This race went around every corner of Rutland Water, testing the sailors with starboard hoists and two beats per lap. The race lasted two and half hours, meaning that it was certainly not over until it was over.
George and David led the 420s around the first mark after a great start, closely followed by the rest of the fleet. However around 40 minutes in they lost their lead to Joe and Hugo. Harry, Ralph, Joe and Hugo then had a very close race until the end, each taking turns to lead and only being a few boat lengths apart for the rest of the marathon race. Harry and Ralph were ahead at the finish gun, and were 8th overall closely followed by Joe and Hugo in 9th. George and David were not far behind in 10th. This non-discardable race made the points very tight overall.
After all the results were in, Joe and Hugo ended as the first 420, in 6th overall, and first U19 Youth boat. Harry and Ralph took 10th overall and first U16 Junior boat. George and David finished 15th and Oliver and Matthew 22nd. David Hall and Paul Constable won the event in their Fireball. Huge thanks go to Rutland Sailing Club and the Selden SailJuice organisers for managing to reschedule this event, which was in aid of the great work done for Youth Sailing by the John Merricks Sailing Trust.