ILCA UK Rooster East & Midlands Region Youth Series at Rutland Sailing Club

ILCA UK Rooster East & Midlands Region Youth Series at Rutland © Hayley Turner

This was the inaugural event for the combined East and Midlands regions of the new ILCA Regional Youth Series, sponsored by Rooster who kindly donated all of the fantastic generous prizes.

Conditions were excellent with 16 knots coming down the lake from the dam, the best wind direction you could ask for on Rutland Water, and gusts across the course made for opportunities to gain on the downwind leg. However, the most important feature of the day were the large oscillating shifts that came once or twice each upwind leg where the biggest gains, and losses could be made.

The day's racing began with a clean start and a close fleet on the first leg. After the downwind leg spread the fleet out, Toby Turner and I led through the subsequent legs where we were figuring out the shifts. Toby played the shifts well and made full use of his ILCA 4 rig in the stronger gusts to stay right behind me all the way until the final downwind, when I was finally able to break away, with Jacob Blakeway close behind and eventually passing Toby on the final reach.

An unfortunate right shift came through in the final minutes of the start sequence of the second race and, unsurprisingly, resulted in a general recall as everyone clamoured for the committee end of the line.

The second attempt to get away was successful, but an individual recall for Jacob meant he had to fight his way through the fleet. Despite being in a right shift, the fleet tacked onto port early while I held on starboard for longer before tacking off to stay to the left of the fleet. As the wind swung left I made significant gains. On the following beats I tried different strategies to get a better feel for the conditions on the course while securing my lead.

The third race had a clear start under the U flag, which helped make everyone a little more cautious. The breeze had dropped slightly from the first races, but making best use of shifts was still vital. The race stayed tight at the front of the fleet with a constant trading of places, culminating in a tense final downwind leg with Jacob, Toby, and I side by side until the leeward mark. I was able to get to the inside around the mark and held on to the lead ahead of Jacob on the reach to the finish.

The pressure picked up again in the final race for an exciting back and forth between Jacob and me. I had a poor start and couldn't get away from the fleet, whereas Jacob had excellent boat speed and chose a good course up the beat to lead around the windward mark. I managed to close the gap on the run and take the lead at the start of the second upwind leg. Unexpectedly, a gust with a sudden shift almost resulted in my boat capsizing on top of me, so Jacob was able to take the lead again.

However, he had his own issues on the last beat when his traveller blocks became tangled during a tack, allowing me to catch up, but his good tactical decisions meant he held the lead around the windward mark. On the final run he managed to keep his bow ahead and flew along the final reach to take the race.

Kieran Vanhoutte wins at ILCA UK Rooster East & Midlands Region Youth Series at Rutland - photo © Hayley Turner

ILCA 6 Results:

ILCA 4 Results:

Toby Turner wins at ILCA UK Rooster East & Midlands Region Youth Series at Rutland - photo © Hayley Turner