ILCA Open at Chipstead Sailing Club

Chipstead SC ILCA Open © John Bodley-Scott

Once again, amazingly for Chipstead, the Open was blessed with wind which increased through the day and had enough West in it to give a reasonable beat down the length of the Lake.

The first race was sailed in the lightest wind, maybe a force 2-3, although with the threat of stronger winds later, a number of entrants scratched their heads as to which size rig to go for. In the end a preponderance (11) went for the 7, with only 3 going for the 6. In addition there were 5 young sailors in 4s.

The stronger winds did appear, getting up to 4 to 6 with some typical Chipstead shifty gusts which caused several capsizes, especially as sailors tired during the day.

The Race Officer, Sharon Chesworth and her hard working Heron fleet team (to which many thanks) set a course for each race using the whole of the Lake and ran 4 races, 2 back to back both morning and afternoon, keeping the longest until last which tried the stamina and fitness of those who did all races.

Chipstead SC ILCA Open - photo © John Bodley-Scott

7s

The first race set the scene for the day with David Goddard and David Giles (both Weirwood SC) leading throughout, with Goddard getting the win. Andy Sorrell (CSC) and Richard Bradshaw (WWSC) keeping them honest.

In the second race, the positions at the front were reversed with a win for Giles. Dan Hebditch (CSC), a very light but fit youth, began to find his form with a third, chased home by the consistent Sorrell.

After lunch, it was Goddard taking Race 3 with Giles second, and this time Bradshaw got up to take third.

It was all to play for between Giles and Goddard in the last race, as the winner would take the meeting. It was nip and tuck until the windward mark on lap 3 of the race, when Goddard got a vicious gust and capsized, letting Giles sail off to overall victory. However Goddard recovered well to take second place both on the water and overall. Hebditch again finished third in the race and overall.

Chipstead SC ILCA Open - photo © John Bodley-Scott

Special mention should go to the one lady entrant, Isabelle Cobb (CSC) who managed to sail a full rig all day despite the wind strength.

6s

Only three entrants decided to sail this rig and of them, Martin Graham (CSC) was the clear star, winning the first two races and only missing out on a third first in the third race by having to return to the right side of the start line having been a little too eager. John Masters (CSC) managed to hold on to win that race, and Alan Johnson (CSC) showed good form to take Race 4, but Graham was a consistent second in both these races, to win the 6s overall.

4s

Of the 5 entrants, all but one had travelled a good distance to attend, and for a lot of the time a number of them embarrassed many of the bigger rig sailors by their close attendance. It was Tristan Harding (Frensham Pond SC) who was the pick of the bunch, winning all 4 races. Behind him second places were shared between Alex Saunders (Warsash SC), and Jago Moore (Frensham), with Moore ending up with three seconds, and therefore second overall with Saunders in third.

Chipstead SC ILCA Open - photo © John Bodley-Scott

After a free tea provided by the CSC ILCA fleet, prizes were distributed by the CSC Fleet Captain, Russell Levermore across the 3 fleets, bottles for the adults and more useful (and longer lasting!) pieces of sailing kit for the younger entrants.

Overall Results: