Noble Marine / Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 4 at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy

Noble Marine / Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 4 at the WPNSA © Giles Smith

Noble Marine / Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 4 at the WPNSA © Giles Smith

With many events scheduled for the weekend cancelled it was with great respect that the competitors arrived at Weymouth on Saturday morning. Each boat flew a black ribbon from their mast heads in memory of the Queen.

After a break from National racing since the ILCA Nationals at Hayling Island, UKLA Qualifier 4 kicked off in Weymouth with two days of racing for a 175 ILCAs. The weekend also saw the annual Bart's Bash. Here, James Curtis reports on the 81 boat ILCA 6 fleet.

After being held ashore, waiting for the wind to fill in, the first day saw racing in Portland Harbour. The wind was around 8 to 11 knots, from a Northwesterly direction, backing to Westerly as the day went on. The day seemed to be dictated by pressure driven shifts. The sailors topping the leaderboard were able to connect bands of pressure across the racecourse, taking the lifts that came with the pressure when they could. Often there were decisions to be made about whether a band of pressure would stay, (and the shift that came with it), or if it would only last a short period of time. This often meant a decision whether to 'dig in' to a shift, or conversely tack on the shifts as they came. This 'type of day' meant having the option to tack was key. Therefore a good start was especially helpful! All the top sailors demonstrated this, and Under 19 sailor Jack Graham-Troll had a superb weekend.

Boats seemed to do well from both sides of the course, with no real gain feature on the course being observed. The second race saw a black flag start, with several attempts at starting being made, as the fleet was repeatedly pushing the line. Overall the results were mixed throughout the fleet, with no sailor dominating completely. Eve McMahon, from Ireland, was the most consistent in the top few boats, with two 3rds and one 2nd.

Day two's race course was out in Weymouth Bay. The wind was from a South Easterly direction, building throughout the day, ranging from 10 to 15 knots. The location, combined with the direction, allowed for slightly larger waves to form, compared to the harbour. Again the day was dictated by pressure driven shifts, although arguably pressure was the more dominant factor. The top sailors were able to connect the pressure, after having options after the start.

Compared to the previous day, there was far less line sag, and unsurprisingly the first race started off with three attempts to start, with general recalls, resulting in the use of a black flag. Eventually the fleet got away, with the boats towards the pin end gaining the best starts, utilising the bias to their advantage. The third race saw slightly windier conditions.The boats that made it to the right and side of the race course, where there was more wind, rounding the windward mark in the top few places. The first downwind saw some sailors making gains, due to the course skew, as the wind was coming more from the right hand side of the course.

Noble Marine / Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 4 at the WPNSA - photo © Andrew Simpson Foundation / Lindsay Porter

Overall it was an amazing weekend, with all six races completed. It was also nice to see several newcomers to the ILCA 6 fleet, making a good start after having transitioned from the ILCA 4.

Congratulations to Matilda Nicholls for winning the event, Daisy Collingridge for second and Eve McMahon third.

A special thank you to the Andrew Simpson Foundation and Lindsay Porter who help provide some excellent photos. Also our terrific sponsors, Noble Marine and Vaikobi who support the class so loyally:

• Noble Marine has crafted a very competitive and excellent insurance product for all Laser/ILCA sailors. A very personal service and an extremely useful website help make this the 'go to' company. www.noblemarine.co.uk
• Vaikobi - a brand born on the waters of Sydney Harbour, out of a passion for all ocean sports. Across the team, we paddle, Surfski, SUP, Wing Foil and Sail. www.vaikobi.com

The ILCA6 Fleet would like to thank everyone who made this great event happen.

Overall Results: