Noble Marine Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 6 at Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy

by Oliver Payne 6 Oct 2022 15:39 UTC

New records set! All extremes of weather! This qualifier had it all...

With speculation as to whether racing would go ahead on Saturday (due to the previously predicted 40knt gusts!), the relatively small ILCA 6 fleet, of just 58 boats, arrived Saturday morning with high hopes that were swiftly met with the promise of three intense races, after the storm passed through the previous evening.

With the ILCA 6s back to the third start, an 11:55 planned warning signal for the ILCA 7s allowed for a more relaxed morning in preparation for the workout to come, and oh so it was!

Noble Marine Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 6 at Weymouth - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

A westerly wind direction set up for a pretty balanced race course in the harbour with the top pack emerging from both the left and right hand side. Throughout the races it was clear that boat speed was paramount and a demanding work rate was necessary in order to power over the waves up the beat; as well as regular shifts specifically in the top third up to the windward mark.

However the runs were no rest breaks with inconsistent chop and close peaks proving surfing to be more challenging combined extreme gusts sweeping in from behind keeping sailors on their toes. As the speeds were so high, trying to sail around the chop and towards the gusts seemed to be the best way to promote plaining and make a smooth transition down to the bottom mark.

But perhaps the most exciting point of Saturday's racing was the record breaking 'no black flag starts' from the 6's which is a significant improvement from the last qualifier at HISC!

Noble Marine Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 6 at Weymouth - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Day 2 was quite the opposite from Saturday with winds predicted to be 10-12knts and dropping throughout the day. The boat park greeted us with torrential rain early in the morning resulting in many covers staying on until the last minute, however everyone was determined to get at least one race in and just before launch, the rain stopped and the sun lit up the course.

With quick starts from the 7's and 4's, the 6's were soon under way with just enough wind to remain hiking - this soon changed...

As predicted the wind was NNE bringing lots more shifts and lead changes throughout the race. Left was favoured up the first beat with a 20o left shift coming in at the top mark as the wind rapidly dropped. A close rounding from the whole fleet resulted in the first run either making or breaking your race, as so much was to be gained - or lost - from the large clumps of boats all battling for the overlap at the leeward gate.

As expected, clean wind was key to breaking free from the pack and was found only on the edges of either side. The second beat also proved the left to be favoured as large gains were made from the frequent shifts and more importantly the pressure rolling in from the top left.

Noble Marine Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 6 at Weymouth - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

However by the end of the reach, all essence of wind had faded and it was a tense but slow run to the final gate whilst watching for any patch of potential pressure to drive in from behind.

Whilst the sun was now beaming, it wasn't long before the 7's began another start as the wind filled back in and looked promising to stay, however after half a beat, it fizzled out again and the race was quickly abandoned. As a long postponement was under way, competitors were entertained by the sighting of dolphins out to join the fun, although all fun came to an end eventually with AP over A signalling no more racing and a slow drift back in.

Jon Emmett, 1st - Noble Marine Vaikobi UKLA Qualifier 6 at Weymouth - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Results were extremely close with just 3 points separating sixth through to twelfth, however early wins from Jon Emmett in race 1 and 2 established a strong lead, with Ben Elvin closing in fast with seconds on races 2 and 3; as well as Molly Sacker with a third and two fourths leaving the top three very close and finishing Jon, Ben, Molly respectively.

An extra congratulations to Stokes Bay SC for securing five members in the top fifteen: Ben Elvin, Alistar Brown, Chloe Evlin, Ollie Payne and Archie Wright.

Finally a massive thank you on behalf of all the ILCA sailors from the weekend to all the helpers and volunteers who make these events possible. And as usual we must support our sponsors as they support us. A special mention for the principle sponsors of this weekend Noble Marine and Vaikobi.

ILCA 6 Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	216115	Jon Emmett	Weir Wood SC	1	1	‑3	3	5
2	220042	Ben Elvin	Stokes Bay SC	5	2	2	‑40	9
3	216120	Molly Sacker		3	4	4	‑18	11
4	216646	Alastair Brown	Stokes Bay / Great Moor	‑8	6	1	5	12
5	219260	Antonio Pascali	Island Barn Reservoir SC	4	9	(DSQ)	4	17
6	220040	Chloe Elvin	Stokes Bay SC	7	5	7	‑14	19
7	216724	Oliver Allen‑Wilcox	Chew Valley / Parkstone	6	7	6	‑19	19
8	220776	Freddie Howarth	Parkstone YC	10	‑11	9	2	21
9	219391	Anya Haji‑Michael	Redesmere Sailing Club	2	10	10	‑11	22
10	BER 220732	Adriana Penruddocke	RBYC/SPBC	11	3	8	‑22	22
11	214560	Terry Hacker	Rutland SC	9	8	5	‑13	22
12	214007	Jack Graham‑Troll	Royal Lymington	13	‑17	12	1	26
13	209056	Oliver Payne	Stokes Bay SC	‑20	14	11	9	34
14	211165	Josh Lyttle	Queen Mary SC	‑18	15	13	8	36
15	220821	Archie Wright	Stokes Bay SC	12	‑21	14	12	38
16	215835	Tim Evans	Grafham Water SC	14	12	16	‑41	42
17	217179	Daniel Fletcher	Queen Mary SC	16	13	15	‑21	44
18	209425	Carys Attwell	Rutland SC	15	16	‑25	17	48
19	217881	Charlotte Videlo	Frensham / Stokes Bay	17	‑23	17	16	50
20	213644	Robin Phipps	Parkstone Yacht Club	19	‑27	24	10	53
21	218860	Jon Gay	Lochaber Yacht Club	‑30	24	28	6	58
22	219660	Rhys Powell		25	20	18	‑37	63
23	214203	Alfie Noel	Stokes Bay SC	‑28	22	21	20	63
24	206856	Iris Singleton	Draycote Water SC	24	18	22	‑28	64
25	206839	Henry Redmond	Covenham SC	‑38	19	19	30	68
26	217515	James Knight	Draycote Water SC	27	25	20	‑32	72
27	214580	Hamish Collingridge	Waldringfield SC	‑37	37	32	7	76
28	183264	Savva Tretyakov	Penarth Yacht Club	‑33	26	33	23	82
29	212564	Ellen Barbour	CAYC/EABC	21	32	(DNS)	31	84
30	207087	Archie Burton	Beaver	22	31	31	‑34	84
31	CHN 217034	Yizhuo LIU		34	‑56	36	15	85
32	212008	Samantha Edwards	QMSC / Stokes Bay	31	30	27	‑38	88
33	171988	Toby Bush	Waldringfield SC	‑52	39	30	24	93
34	215695	Freddie Maclaverty	Llandudno SC/ Rydal school	‑45	29	35	29	93
35	216023	Freddie Sunderland	Draycote Water	23	45	(RET)	26	94
36	215383	Thomas Bates	Ripon SC	39	33	23	‑53	95
37	HKG 209950	Wai Chak Tsui	Hong Kong Sports Institute	36	34	26	‑51	96
38	218432	Honor Procter	Cardiff Bay YC	32	35	29	‑39	96
39	219833	Bryce Surguy	Corinthian Otters	29	36	34	‑45	99
40	217872	Tom Moss	Scaling Dam SC /Ripon SC	35	38	‑44	27	100
41	ITA 219218	Giorgia Bonalana	Frensham Pond Sailing Club	26	28	DNE	‑52	114
42	203312	Lauren Irons	Papercourt / Island Barn	‑42.5	41	38	35	114
43	219022	Georgia Hughes	Llandegfedd SC	‑50	49	43	25	117
44	216870	Finn Goodman	Teesdale	44	40	39	‑58	123
45	214960	Lucy Davis	RSrnYC & RTYC	40	42	(RET)	43	125
46	216513	Megan Thomson	Island Barn Reservoir	48	44	37	‑50	129
47	210368	Matthew Botten	Weir Wood SC	(RET)	54	48	33	135
48	AUS 217000	Gretel Haines	Gurnard Sailing Club	55	‑57	45	36	136
49	183526	Jude Stanley	Hayling Island Sailing Club	42.5	43	50.5	‑54	136
50	210022	Julien Rohart		51	‑52	42	44	137
51	204013	Lauren Attwell	Rutland SC	49	‑50	41	48	138
52	218036	Imogen Palmer	RSC/RCYC	47	‑53	46	47	140
53	185654	Hazel McDonnell	Hollowell SC	56	47	40	‑59	143
54	179812	Arran Goodman	Hill Head SC	46	51	47	‑57	144
55	172700	Mary‑Anne Beacock	Coniston SC	41	(RET)	DNC	46	147
56	217873	Alex Cogan Sivarajan	CCCDS	53	48	49	‑55	150
57	189366	Tess Crooks	Prestwick Sailing club	54	46	50.5	‑56	150.5
58	215222	Charlotte Fensom	Penine SC	‑57	55	52	49	156
59	DEN 214935	Bjorn Handley	Island Barn Reservoir	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	42	162