ILCA 4 Rooster / Noble Marine Qualifier 5 at the WPNSA

"WATER"...That was close, I only had seconds to spare, squeezing an opponent to go round the outside. It felt like I had just called 'Check mate', I love a good game of chess.

Patience, a great quality in chess but also a much-needed quality at the ILCA 4 qualifier. The Saturday saw westerly winds of 10 to 15 knots. It was an oscillating shift day, but the oscillations were quite long. Having patience was essential.

ILCAuk Rooster/ Noble Marine Qualifier 5 at the WPNSA - photo © Steven Angell

Like chess, waiting for your opponent to complete their move, the oscillating shifts sometimes felt like forever, but when it moved (the wind shifts) I tacked. If you found yourself making your move and heading out to the right and wanting to get back into the middle, you had to commit to that position until the wind shifted back to make maximum gains in the upwind. Staying connected to the middle was crucial so that any random shifts could be capitalised on, keeping you in the top percent of the fleet.

When I could, I'd line up a few set moves, tactically covering and tacking on top of people, then ducking inside at the marks. I stuck to my plan, patience with tactics paid off. I was consistent, no bullets but I had 3 thirds and a fourth. Others around me were going for gold, Kat Gunn, Ollie Atkin, and Thomas Saunders who all had a bullet (1st), but couldn't put consistent results in. I took the overall win by just being consistent at the top. Kat Gunn with her 1st, 5th and 10th managed to hold off Jess Powell and was the overall female winner.

ILCAuk Rooster/ Noble Marine Qualifier 5 at the WPNSA - photo © Steven Angell

Unfortunately, on Sunday, the wind called checkmate on us, with 50knts of wind. But predicting the opponents move, the race committee very sensibly decided to cancel the racing on Sunday earlier and did an amazing job of scheduling 4 races for all 3 fleets in the harbour on the Saturday. Excellent race management.

Shout out to all the other volunteers, without you the sailing game of chess couldn't take place. For me personally, I love a good snack on the water, so a special shout out from me to the food rib. For those new ILCA 4's, I've seen a few of you laden with dry bags and juggling water bottles in your boats. Next weekend, load them up, but this time take them to the racecourse but give them to the food rib, it has a white flag with 'FOOD' on it. Don't forget to put your name on it, otherwise I might be tucking into some extra snacks!

ILCAuk Rooster/ Noble Marine Qualifier 5 at the WPNSA - photo © Steven Angell

ILCA 4 male
1st Alex Jones
2nd Ollie Atkin
3rd Thomas Saunders

ILCA 4 female
1st Kat Gunn
2nd Jessica Powell
3rd Amelia Nuttall

A big thank you goes out to all ILCAuk's sponsors and a special mention to Rooster and Noble Marine who sponsored the weekend's racing.

Overall Results: