British Cadet Team at the Cadet Worlds in Melbourne - Day 4
by Neil Collingridge 1 Jan 2023 11:49 GMT
26 December 2022 - 2 January 2023
We have one day and one race to go but we have British World Champions "elect" in Toby Bush and Kemmel Thorogood; that is provided they don't pick up a DNE tomorrow so the (ever so strong) advice is that they are not going anywhere near a Cadet for the last race.
What a topsy turvy day that has been. Light winds from the North straight out of the City. Bands of pressure - 12knts one minute, next to nothing the next. It was hard, ever so hard... for everyone, parents included.
Race 9 - Bushman and Kemdog looking like if they are going to do it they are going to do it the hard way. Buried up the first beat and only 17th at the finish - a discard, they hope. Meantime a number of other GBR team boats starting to exert some pressure. Ed and Alex with a cracking race win and carrying their momentum forwards from before the rest day. Will and Annabel loving these Frensham-style, shifty conditions and bagging a 2nd and Mish and Rhona back on song with a 3rd - a GBR podium lock-out (our first of these Champs!). Sarah and Holly too making the top 10 in 9th, their second race running.
On to race 10. Still light and patchy as hell. Loads of boats over on the start, no general recall so he knows which ones, and even after several have returned the individual recall flag remains displayed - nervous times. Mish and Rhona scamper up the beat and a decent 100m lead at the top, Will and Annabel also there or thereabouts. No change by the gate on the outer loop and then up the second beat the fleet turns inside out - quite literally. Mish and Rhona now nearer the back than the front and everyone arriving at the gate getting lifted straight back upwind on port - they are pointing at the windward without needing a tack. Will and Annabel have suffered similarly (and anyway are later to find they are OCS)....but Toby and Kemmel must have done something special in a previous life because they literally go from near the back to right up the front and finish with a 3rd. I commented at the time that was probably the thing that secured them the worlds - sometimes you need a bit of luck in sailing and they got it in spades....but I've commented before the more you practice the luckier you get so no one is begrudging them that. Mish and Rhona dug back in to retrieve a 6th - remarkable given where they were at one point and Ed and Alex yet another top 10 result; a 7th and perhaps ruing their inconsistency earlier in the week. Robbie Stewart and Dylan McArdle had their best result of the week so far with an 8th and a particularly impressive last mark rounding where they kept a huge raft at bay on the outside as they rounded. And as we are talking about best results so far, Sophia Sfaxi and Immy Sherwood also into the top 10th in 10th.
On to race 11. Really, really light winds into the start and Mish and Rhona get themselves a yellow flag in a raft of boats on the line - in less than 3knts of wind a 720 wasn't the quickest thing to do. That put pay to their challenge as they were next to last at the windward. Meantime Will and Annabel were flying again - they finished 2nd behind the Aussie National Champions Evi MacDonald and Jack Jones who won their second race on the trot. Ed and Alex bagged a 6th but crucially Toby and Kem came through for a 5th. No one was celebrating yet - abacuses at the ready...what did it all mean? Well if Toby and Kem have a shocker tomorrow (or even if they don't sail) they will add their currently discarded 13th to their 34 points and go to 47 points. If Will and Annabel were to win that race they too would be on 47 points but would lose on countback - number of 1st places. Of course that's rather prejudging the outcome of the race anyway but the nub of it is Toby Bush and Kemmel Thorogood are Cadet World Champions....provided they don't get a DNE (they won't). There are still places to fight for; Will and Annabel I'm sure will be determined to hold onto 2nd overall...they have a 5 point cushion, and Mish and Rhona (currently 5th) and Ed and Alex (currently 8th) will both be looking to try to improve. I've no doubt the same goes for the rest of the team wherever they lie. It's a World Champs after all and you want to do your best.
And a word for our 3 Promo fleet boats - they've all had moments to gain encouragement from and they will all certainly be better for the experience of being here. With an 8th in today's first race Gwen Thorogood and Josh Davidson are 13th overall, The TomToms - Shepherd and Stoddart had a cracking 6th in race 11 and are now 16th and Oscar Bush and Dom McArdle are 19th after also getting a top 10 in race 10 (a 9th as it happens).
So one more update to go tomorrow but in the meantime a huge GBR congratulations to Toby Bush and Kemmel Thorogood of Waldringfield Sailing Club, 2022 International Cadet Class World Champions... ("elect").
More information on the event website, cadetworlds2022.com.au