2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club

by Ollie Payne 10 Nov 2022 07:11 GMT 5-6 November 2022

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Twists, turns and shifts. Classic inland sailing with Alastair Brown retaining his ILCA6 crown... but only just.

Day 1

An alternative setting from the familiar bay of Weymouth, found the ILCA fleet on the reservoir of Grafham Water, but only just! As up until a week before, the water level was frighteningly low, threatening to prevent the last event of the year. However, thanks to the recent storms, enough rainfall provided confirmation of another exciting regatta.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Due to the outstanding 190 entries, the ILCA 4's and 7's were split off onto the western course leaving the 6's on the central race area; yet due to the amount of competitors, this fleet was divided into 4 groups, each set to race each other on Saturday - in a qualifying series - before gold and silver flights were decided for Sunday's racing.

Day 1's forecast was fairly consistent with a southerly and 15-20 knots holding throughout the day, enabling oscillating and predictable shifts, typical of an inland event. With no tide, land or other major gain features to consider (at least for the 6's on the central course), establishing the pattern of the shifts and staying in phase was the key to success on Saturday with the leaders making big gains by having the freedom to tack consistently in time with the shifts and minimise time spent on headers. Although this proves more challenging when in the middle of a pack as the smaller race course resulted in closer proximity limiting your options to tack when needed and forcing you to prioritise between clean wind and sailing on the lift.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Saturday - as expected - was proving to be an 'eyes-out-of-the-boat' day making watching for the gusts sweeping down the course also an important factor due to the prerequisite of constant gear shifts in order to maintain boat speed; both upwind and downwind as the flat water made spotting the gusts even more paramount on the runs due to the lack of waves. Perhaps the most unusual thing though, was the 3-2-1 countdown, untypical from the standard 5 minutes, creating a sense of haste as the races were rapidly under way ensuring that all were completed before the darkness rolled in.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

There were some great day one performances from Josh Lyttle, Edwin Cross, Ollie Payne, Henry Koe, Freddie Howarth and Terry Hacker who were among a sizeable group pushing the leaders and making it into the gold fleet.

Day 2

Scores were close and the stakes were high leading into Sunday as a result of the nature of the 'double races' on Saturday. Now split into gold and silver, the competition was even tougher with everything to lose as the Inland title was still up for grabs and it was anyone's game. Whilst a slightly lighter 10 knots was forecasted for Sunday, the strategy was predicted to be similar as the southerly would return however, as the day developed, the shifts became more persistent and the windward mark was moved further down from the shoreline (due to the light winds) further reducing the frequency of the shifts in the top section. This meant that securing a clean lane off the start was even more vital on day 2 as you would be in one phase for a lot longer so falling into dirty wind was just not an option.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

The first beat of the day showed the left to be favoured as the lefty came in and lifted the fleet up to the port lay-line, stranding those out on the right. However soon after, the wind began to flick further and further right with each shift and some reaching 30° above the average. It became a game of holding your nerve to see how far right you were willing to go before taking the lift back up towards the mark - particularly on some of the second and third beats - since the grey overcast made it tricky to predict how long the shift would stay and when it was about to flick back.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

The top 3 were incredibly close with first, second and third finishing on 13, 14 and 15 points however it was Alastair Brown who defended his 2021 win and took the victory, followed by Jack Graham-Troll and Jon Emmett in 2nd and 3rd. This event's special shoutout goes to the Under-17's who occupied 5 places out of the top 14: Freddie Sunderland, Josh Lyttle, Edwin Cross, Christopher Marsh and Ollie Payne.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

In such a large fleet it's easy to miss those who, while not being consistent enough to make it to the top spots of the gold fleet, never-the-less tasted a podium finish. Imogen Palmer, Honor Proctor, Wai Chai Tsui, Ruairi Herrington, Hamish Collingridge, Alex Conan Sivarajan, Megan Thompson, Kai Hockley and Rhys Powell all took at least one 1st in the Silver fleet. A special cheers to Freddie Maclaverty (14) and Samson Cross (14) who were the two youngest ILCA6 competitors.

And finally a massive thank you on behalf of all the ILCA sailors from the weekend to all the helpers and volunteers who made this event possible. Especially the RO Nigel Denchfield.

2022 Noble Marine UKLA ILCA 6 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Thanks also to our main weekend sponsors, Noble Marine, Ovington Boats, Vaikobi and Sailingfast 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 to insure your boat. www.noblemarine.co.uk
Sailingfast - Duncan brings his battle buss down from Scotland for most the big events, which is so ridiculously well equipped, you could replace everything on your boat. Although based in Scotland they will get anything to you super fast. sailingfast.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
Ovington Boats - one of the biggest and best dinghy builders in the world and are now the official UK builders of ILCAs. www.ovingtonboats.com

Overall Results:

Pos	Division	Sail No	Helm	Age Group	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
Gold Flight
1	Red	216646	Alastair Brown	A	Stokes Bay SC Great Moor SC	2	1	2	5	‑20	3	13
2	Blue	214007	Jack Graham‑Troll	U19	Royal Lymington Yacht Club	2	(SCP)	1	2	3	6	14
3	Green	216115	Jon Emmett	M	Weir Wood SC	1	1	2	1	10	‑11	15
4	Red	216023	Freddie Sunderland	U17	Draycote Water	‑7	4	5	7	2	1	19
5	Yellow	211165	Josh Lyttle	U17	Queen Mary SC	1	5	6	‑24	5	4	21
6	Blue	201703	Fred Salter	U19	Gurnard Sailing Club / Brading Haven	3	11	‑13	6	1	2	23
7	Yellow	216656	Edwin Cross	U17	Shoreham	5	10	1	‑15	6	8	30
8	Green	220776	Freddie Howarth	U19	Parkstone YC	4	3	3	11	9	‑19	30
9	Red	217515	James Knight	U19	Draycote Water SC	6	12	12	4	4	‑26	38
10	Green	214560	Terry Hacker	U19	Rutland SC	8	2	13	‑20	11	5	39
11	Blue	215835	Tim Evans	U19	Grafham Water SC	4	8	‑14	3	7	12	39
12	Red	216724	Oliver Allen‑Wilcox	U19	Chew Valley SC / Parkstone Yacht Club	‑13	2	8	8	13	9	40
13	Red	216212	Christopher Marsh	U17	Whitstable YC	5	8	6	9	‑16	15	43
14	Red	209056	Oliver Payne	U17	Stokes Bay SC	3	3	3	22	15	‑24	46
15	Green	216648	Max Steele	U19	Wembley SC; Stokes Bay SC	12	(UFD)	11	10	12	7	52
16	Blue	214203	Alfie Noel	U17	Stokes Bay SC	14	9	9	14	8	‑23	54
17	Green	213524	Jamie Tylecote	U19	Rutland SC	11	12	8	12	‑19	13	56
18	Red	215206	Roo Purves	U17	East Lothian Yacht Club	9	7	4	19	‑22	22	61
19	Green	217881	Charlotte Videlo	U21	Frensham Pond SC / Stokes Bay SC	10	6	4	29	‑34	18	67
20	Yellow	209425	Carys Attwell	U19	Rutland SC	11	13	12	‑18	18	17	71
21	Blue	207087	Archie Burton	U17	Beaver & Draycote	15	7	16	17	17	‑27	72
22	Red	214268	Noah Evans	U17	Royal Victoria Yacht Club	21	19	10	‑27	14	10	74
23	Blue	206839	Henry Redmond	U19	Covenham SC	9	5	11	26	‑31	25	76
24	Yellow	215383	Thomas Bates	U19	Ripon SC	17	9	14	‑31	21	20	81
25	Green	220514	Millie Lewis	U17	Medway YC	18	10	16	23	‑30	16	83
26	Yellow	206856	Iris Singleton	U19	Draycote Water SC	10	16	7	28	24	‑37	85
27	Green	212008	Samantha Edwards	U21	QMSC / Stokes Bay	14	15	9	25	23	‑35	86
28	Red	173611	Oliver Woodley	U19	RLYC	20	11	15	16	25	(BFD)	87
29	Green	217872	Tom Moss	U17	Scaling Dam SC	15	16	15	13	‑32	30	89
30	Red	205176	Samson Cross	U17	Shoreham	19	17	7	‑30	27	21	91
31	Yellow	206301	James Russell	U19	RHYC	12	18	18	‑37	29	14	91
32	Yellow	208711	Henry Koe	U19	Island Barn Reservoir SC	8	6	5	‑38	37	33	94
33	Blue	171988	Toby Bush	U19	Waldringfield SC	13	17	17	21	‑35	29	97
34	Blue	221181	Reuben hudson	U17	Shoreham Sailing Club	6	14	19	‑32	28	28	100
35	Yellow	213644	Robin Phipps	U17	Parkstone Yacht Club	7	14	17	‑33	33	31	102
36	Red	183264	Savva Tretyakov	A	Penarth Yacht Club	17	15	18	‑36	26	36	112
37	Green	201358	Daisy Fisher	U19	Hollingworth Lake SC	16	18	10	35	‑36	34	113
38	Blue	214074	Samuel Osborne	U17	Royal Victoria yacht club	16	13	20	34	‑38	32	115
Silver Flight
1	Yellow	210368	Matthew Botten	U19	Weir Wood SC	4	2	4	4	‑12	7	21
2	Red	216141	Alex Horsman	U17		5	4	6	6	2	‑20	23
3	Green	217873	Alex Cogan Sivarajan	U19	CCCDS	‑11	11	6	1	3	3	24
4	Red	219660	Rhys Powell	U19		2	1	2	12	8	‑24	25
5	Green	219090	Kai Hockley	U19	Greig City Academy	4	2	10	8	1	‑18	25
6	Red	218432	Honor Procter	U19	Cardiff Bay YC	1	14	3	3	(BFD)	4	25
7	Green	216513	Megan Thomson	U17	Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club	3	4	1	7	10	‑12	25
8	Blue	214580	Hamish Collingridge	U17	Waldringfield SC	1	3	4	14	‑15	9	31
9	Green	221583	Freddie Maclaverty	U17	Llandudno SC/ Rydal school	(DNC)	5	2	5	6	13	31
10	Blue	215531	Ruairi Herrington	U17		8	7	1	‑18	13	5	34
11	Yellow	189366	Tess Crooks	U19	Prestwick Sailing club	3	8	7	‑24	17	10	45
12	Blue	219022	Georgia Hughes	U19	Llandegfedd SC	6	8	8	9	‑21	17	48
13	Green	218036	Imogen Palmer	U17	RSC/RCYC	7	10	15	20	‑23	1	53
14	Red	218524	Dominic Atherton	U17	Grafham Water Sailing Club	8	5	11	‑30	9	22	55
15	Yellow	203312	Lauren Irons	U17	Papercourt SC / Island Barn RSC	10	7	14	16	‑20	8	55
16	Yellow	211681	William Tsui	U21		9	12	5	‑23	14	16	56
17	Red	210241	Henry Smith	U17	West Riding SC	13	10	5	13	19	‑32	60
18	Blue	209950	Wai Chak Tsui	U17	Hong Kong Sports Institute	(DNS)	1	DNC	15	4	2	61
19	Yellow	215377	Richard Major	GGM	Grafham Water SC	2	13	9	11	‑22	21	61
20	Blue	212037	Aimee Bray	U17	Felpham Sailing Club	11	9	12	‑25	25	6	63
21	Green	212224	Alex Canham	U17	Dabchicks Sailing Club	12	14	11	19	‑24	15	71
22	Yellow	218015	Arlo Turner	U17	Glossop SC	7	3	3	29	‑35	31	73
23	Red	216870	Finn Goodman	U17	Teesdale Sailing & Watersports Club	6	9	13	‑34	27	27	82
24	Yellow	214935	Bjorn Handley	U17	Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club	15	(DNF)	DNC	10	7	11	82
25	Blue	209413	Alistair MacKinnon	U17		12	17	15	17	‑31	23	84
26	Yellow	189200	Mike Heap	GGM	Ogston SC	13	15	8	22	26	‑29	89
27	Blue	186677	Jonathan Powell	A	Grafham Water Sailing Vlub	14	12	9	27	‑30	30	92
28	Green	156188	Rose Jury	U19		10	13	13	‑31	28	28	92
29	Yellow	215416	Peter Gee	GM	Grafham Water SC	(DNC)	6	12	32	18	26	94
30	Yellow	205307	Poppy Lowe	U17	Royal Hospital School/Dabchicks Sailing	18	11	16	33	16	‑37	94
31	Blue	179812	Arran Goodman	U17	Hill Head SC	19	16	16	26	‑37	19	96
32	Blue	164447	Josh Donley	U19		16	15	7	28	‑36	34	100
33	Red	180958	Charlie Newell‑Johnson	U19	Royal Hospital School	9	17	10	35	29	(DNC)	100
34	Blue	209933	Julian Lloyd	GM	Notts County SC	17	18	18	‑37	33	25	111
35	Red	217500	Emelia Tinch	U17	Cardiff Bay YC	14	16	17	‑38	32	33	112
36	Yellow	217035	Maddie Childs	U19	King George SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	21	5	14	118
37		214960	Lucy Davis	U19	RSrnYC and RTYC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	2	11	35	126
38	Blue	220440	Max Hunt	GGM	Whitstable YC	5	6	(DNF)	DNC	DNC	DNC	128
39	Blue	189138	Jessye Opoku‑Ware	M		(RET)	DNF	14	36	34	36	159