ILCA Open at Papercourt Sailing Club

Papercourt ILCA Open - Neil Crosby ahead of Colin Carver and the fleet in race 3 © Peter Snow

Despite a patchy light Westerly wind forecast, Papercourt saw a good fleet of Laser sailors turn up to the 2023 open, including visitors from 6 other clubs. In total, 7 Papercourt sailors, and 7 visitors split as 8 ILCA 7's (Full rig) and 6 ILCA 6's (Radial rig).

Notable by his absence was Andrew Hill-Smith our Papercourt SC Laser Class Captain, unable to take part as he is currently sailing his Laser 'Betty' around the UK. Follow him on www.laseraroundtheuk3.uk. During the day we followed his tracker as he crossed the Thames from Whitstable to Clacton.

Papercourt ILCA Open - Bruce Ramshaw leads the ILCA 7 fleet chased by Samson Cross leading the ILCA 6 fleet - photo © Peter Snow

A gentle breeze lured all out for the mornings racing, but after the first beat the wind disappeared leading to a lot of extreme light wind sailing. The front group of the Full rig fleet managed to get a good puff down the run to extinguish all hope of that lonely gust giving any joy to the Radial fleet sitting further downwind. The second race of the morning was abandoned.

A much enjoyed part of any Papercourt event is the lunch and the camaraderie in the clubhouse and Jill Hamment and her galley team did not disappoint with a delicious chilli, jackets and salad.

Papercourt ILCA Open - Fleet heading for the windward mark - photo © Peter Snow

Martin Smith, as race officer, made the wise decision to give an extended lunch break to see if the wind would kick in by 2pm. Thankfully it did, although it was hugely variable and fluky. For the two afternoon races Martin made combined single fleet starts, and on any one leg, all points of sailing could be experienced. Credit to Martin for making consistently sensible and timely decisions in service of giving the best days racing possible in the challenging circumstances.

In the ILCA 7 fleet, Bruce Ramshaw (Papercourt) and Neil Crosby (Bowmoor) shared first and second places in both races, with Bruce clinching the decider to win overall. Third place went to Colin Carver from Wembley, with Julian Barker missing out by one point.

Papercourt ILCA Open - Light wind morning - photo © Peter Snow

The ICLA 6 fleet was won by Samson Cross, from Shoreham. Kevin Pearson from Thames SC gained second place and Niall Maynard beat Liz Hill-Smith in the deciding third race to clinch third place, both from Papercourt. All races were edgy close sailing and not surprisingly, no swimmers today.

With thanks to our race officers, safety crews, and galley for an excellent day despite the fickle light winds.

Overall Results:

Papercourt ILCA Open - Competitors recognising their sponsor for the Thames Valley Laser series - photo © Peter Snow