IOCA Optimist Team Racing Championship 2023 at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy

by Jamie McEwen 17 Aug 23:42 BST 5-6 August 2023

Optimist National Team Racing at Weymouth © Paul Sanwell / OPP

On Sunday 6th August, 56 Optimists hit Portland Harbour to contest the inaugural (or at least first in living memory) UK Optimist Team Racing Championship. The sailors had formed teams of four, with many getting into the team spirit with matching bibs and practice sessions in advance.

The event was originally planned to run over Saturday afternoon and Sunday, but wind of 30 knots on Saturday meant only one day was possible. Fortunately the breeze on Sunday was much better, ranging between 10 and 18 knots. To make the most of the limited time, racing began early and the races came thick and fast, with rolling starts every 3 minutes over several hours.

Thanks to great work by PRO Imogen Gibb, Chris Atkins and his team of umpires, and the team of mark layers and coaches on the water, the 14 teams sailed a full all-sail-all round robin - 91 races in total.

Optimist National Team Racing at Weymouth - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

The teams showed great skill and enthusiasm and racing was competitive but friendly. There were a number of very close races, both at the top of the table and lower down, and learning opportunities abounded. At the end of the round robin, one team was unbeaten at the top of the table: "Team LEHJ" - Lila and Eliana Edwards, Harry Draper and Joe Wimpory. They were hotly pursued by Team DangerBear - Freya and Isla Hutchinson, Jonny Rogers and Leo Gosling - who scored 12 wins out of 13.

Next in the table on 11 wins was "ARMD and Dangerous" comprising Joe Armstrong-Rowland, William McEwen, Thomas Dempsey and Dirk Rogers, followed by two teams on 9 wins: an international team (representing GBR, Bahamas and Hong Kong) of Jai Mutreja, Eliza Denning, Ryan Surguy and Charlie Holland; and "Team COLD" - Andrew Perratt, Finn Ramus, Hector Davies and Hugo Fletcher. The international team edged the tie on head-to-head.

So the top two teams went through into a best-of-three final, with many of the other teams staying out to watch. Team LEHJ won a very close first race, and then sailed beautifully to establish a dominant position in the second race which they never relinquished. They were crowned worthy champions and become the first holders of the fantastic Ramus trophy, kindly commissioned and denoted by the Ramus family for this event.

Well done to all the sailors and a huge thank you to all the helpers for all their hard work.

Optimist National Team Racing at Weymouth - photo © Paul Sanwell / OPP

Overall Results:

Position	Team name	Ribbons	Sailor	Sail No	Number of wins
1	LEHJ	Yellow	Eliana Edwards	GBR 6583	13
1	LEHJ	Yellow	Harry Draper	GBR 6628	13
1	LEHJ	Yellow	Joe Wimpory	GBR 6608	13
1	LEHJ	Yellow	Lila Edwards	GBR 6620	13
2	Team DangerBear	Hunter Green	Freya Hutchinson	GBR 6519	12
2	Team DangerBear	Hunter Green	Isla Hutchinson	GBR 6289	12
2	Team DangerBear	Hunter Green	Jonny Rogers	GBR 6611	12
2	Team DangerBear	Hunter Green	Leo Gosling	GBR 6495	12
3	ARMD and Dangerous	Red	Dirk Rogers	GBR 6612	11
3	ARMD and Dangerous	Red	Joe Armstrong Rowland	GBR 6578	11
3	ARMD and Dangerous	Red	Thomas Dempsey	GBR 6547	11
3	ARMD and Dangerous	Red	William McEwen	GBR 6574	11
4	TBA	Yellow x2	Jai Mutreja	HKG 255	9
4	TBA	Yellow x2	Charlie Holland	GBR 6451	9
4	TBA	Yellow x2	Eliza Denning	BAH 144	9
4	TBA	Yellow x2	Ryan Surguy	GBR 6464	9
5	COLD	Black	Andrew Perratt	GBR 6624	9
5	COLD	Black	Finn Ramus	GBR 6553	9
5	COLD	Black	Hector Davies	GBR 6549	9
5	COLD	Black	Hugo Fletcher	GBR 6292	9
6	Smile & Wave	Lime Green	Alex Saunders	GBR 6631	7
6	Smile & Wave	Lime Green	Felix Garlick	GBR 6349	7
6	Smile & Wave	Lime Green	Merryn Wealthy	GBR 6368	7
6	Smile & Wave	Lime Green	Patrick di Salle	GBR 6316	7
7	Force 12	Red x2	Callum Marshall	GBR 6516	7
7	Force 12	Red x2	Jacob Jull	GBR 6242	7
7	Force 12	Red x2	Noah Mathers	GBR 6606	7
7	Force 12	Red x2	Stella Davey	GBR 615	7
8	HISC Hurricanes	White	Nia Byrne	GBR 6610	6
8	HISC Hurricanes	White	Isla Hill	GBR 6430	6
8	HISC Hurricanes	White	Rachel Elms	GBR 4940	6
8	HISC Hurricanes	White	Wilbur Palmer Ward	GBR 6546	6
9	MACH 4	Pink	Ben McEwen	GBR 6582	5
9	MACH 4	Pink	Lizzie Hudson	GBR 5844	5
9	MACH 4	Pink	Ollie Atkin	GBR 6623	5
9	MACH 4	Pink	Ruby Coster	GBR 6522	5
10	Nauti by Nature	Orange	Daisy Fuller	GBR 6524	5
10	Nauti by Nature	Orange	Henry Cruse	GBR 6529	5
10	Nauti by Nature	Orange	Laszlo Drummond	GBR 6622	5
10	Nauti by Nature	Orange	Sebby Bailey	GBR 6586	5
11	Oceans Four	Purple	Ewan Hamilton	GBR 6231	4
11	Oceans Four	Purple	Gughi Ceccatelli	GBR 6605	4
11	Oceans Four	Purple	Harry Ramshaw	GBR 6270	4
11	Oceans Four	Purple	Harry Whelan	GBR 6449	4
12	Team HISC	Blue	Beth Llewellyn	GBR 6424	1.5
12	Team HISC	Blue	Kate Charlesworth	GBR 6514	1.5
12	Team HISC	Blue	Sam Machell	GBR 6446	1.5
12	Team HISC	Blue	William Fuller	GBR 6523	1.5
13	The Firebolts	Blue x2	Sam Armstrong Rowland	GBR 6598	1
13	The Firebolts	Blue x2	Poppy Armstrong	GBR 5251	1
13	The Firebolts	Blue x2	Isla Armstrong	GBR 5051	1
13	The Firebolts	Blue x2	Amelie Renard	IRL 1314	1
14	Team Boreas	White x2	Alex Welfare	GBR 5500	0.5
14	Team Boreas	White x2	Finlay White	GBR 6344	0.5
14	Team Boreas	White x2	Henry Blades	GBR 6500	0.5
14	Team Boreas	White x2	Lochlyn Grant	GBR 6013	0.5