ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy

Of the 77 ILCAs entered for this prestigious event there were 37 ILCA 7s beginning their quest to qualify for the much anticipated Masters Europeans in Hayling in June 2025 which are expected to be a 'sell out'.

Unfortunately one of the obvious favourites for the event, Orlando Gledhill was forced to miss this epic ILCA racing weekend due to a back injury which with a particularly strong wind forecast then made Nick Harrison from Stokes Bay and Alan Davis part of a large Parkstone YC contingent entered favourites.

Alan and Nick's battle didn't disappoint although during the first two races when the excellent Race committee decided to hold racing inside Weymouth harbour those two great competitors didn't have things completely their own way with Tim Law and in particular Neil Peters displaying great speed on occasions breaking up their duopoly at the front.

Unfortunately Neil probably lost the chance of a race win with a couple of capsizes in a wind that reached 24 knots at times during the day.

ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

At the end of day one, Nick had the overall lead followed by Alan just ahead of Tim on count back.

Saturday evenings European cup match between England and Switzerland provide a bit more drama but ended well. After the match Tideway Wealth, ILCA UKs new sponsor, supplied three magnificent engraved presentation leatherman multitools as prizes for the draw. The lucky winners were Carl Avery, David Hartgill and Nick Livingstone.

Sunday dawned with slightly less wind forecast so the RC correctly but boldly decided to take the fleet out into Weymouth bay hoping and succeeding to hold three exhausting races back to back.

As on the previous day the RC laid perfect starting lines and trapezoid courses no mean feet having been forced to switch to a smaller replacement Committee Boat.

ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

The sea state was rough with the wind approaching 18 knots.

The racing at the front of the fleet was pretty much a two boat match race which featured in simplistic terms a heavier Alan Davis being faster upwind coming out on top and winning the event having won all three races on the day ahead of Nick Harrison in second who just could not use his generally superior downwind speed and technique to get a win.

But it all came down to the last race when Nick attacked Alan at the start and very nearly forced him over the line early on what was then a black flag start following a general recall.

They both showed fantastic boat handling in very challenging conditions all weekend as did many others.

ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

Particularly Michael Atkinson also from Parkstone who took third place in the final two races and taking fifth overall behind Tim Law in third overall and a damp Neil Peters in fourth place.

Guy Noble from Queen Mary continued his recent hard earned improvement finishing a well deserved sixth place.

A special shout out goes to Martin Frary from HISC who got into the top ten on two occasions and Rupert Bedell - But for an unfortunate mix up with entries he would had a much better overall result as the one race he completed he came fifth.

ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com

It was as it should be a tough physical challenge and congratulations should go to all those involved in both first organising the event (and it was very disappointing that Chris Eylatt who had taken the lead on that organisation had to withdraw after day one due to illness) and everyone who raced very cleanly showing great camaraderie on and off the water.

And as a person like most taking part in this special Masters event who have been sailing these amazing little challenging boats for many years it was just a wonderful event. Thanks also to all the volunteers, PJ and the race teams and WPNSA.

Of course we need our sponsors as they help make the event happen supplying financial support, prizes and assistance and advice to the membership. We are extremely proud to have Ovington Boats, Rooster, Noble Marine, Sailingfast, Southeast sailboats, Wildwind, Fernhurst books and now Tideway Wealth sponsor the class - Thank You.

Overall Results:

ILCA 7 Masters Qualifier at Weymouth - photo © Lotte Johnson / www.lottejohnson.com