British 420 Winter Championships - The journey to Valencia begins

by Jackie Taylor on 7 Mar 2013 British 420 Winter Championships 2013. After a hard and cold winter’s training, 40 teams arrived in Weymouth to compete in the sailing competition from 2-3 March at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. The Championships was also the first of three International Selection events to decide the teams for the 420 World and Ladies' World Championships in Valencia, Spain from 22-30 July and the 420 Junior European Championships being held on home waters in Pwllheli from 14-22 August.

Saturday greeted the fleet with some light winds, which was a relief for some of the newer teams to the Fleet, but made life difficult for the race team. In the end only one race was completed, which was won by Neil 'Evergreen' Marsden with his crew Matt Wallis. They were run a very close race by Irish team, Peter McCann and Arran Walsh, but came through on the second run. Morgan Dibb and Gemma Bird were third, giving them a great start to their Series. With dying winds and very cold sailors, it was decided to send the boats ashore. Unfortunately, no wind appeared and racing was abandoned for the day.

The sailors awoke to a very different outlook on Sunday with 15-20 knots blowing in the harbour. The Fleet launched for a real test of their sailing skills in heavy winds. The first race of the day got underway after one general recall and was won by the Irish combination, Patrick Crosbie and Gratton Roberts. Callum Airlie and Joe Butterworth were second, with Tim Riley and Luke Burywood in third.

With the wind building, the second race got underway. This time, after some impressive sailing by the Fleet in the growing waves, Tim Riley and Luke Burywood came through to win, followed by Harry and David Whittaker (IRL), with Neil and Matt in third. By now the safety fleet were earning their keep, and the sensible parents were sitting safely in the Academy, watching the tracking and live filming being transmitted back to the website!

The third race got underway with winds gusting up to 25 knots. With a number of early retirements, Neil and Matt showed the Fleet a clean pair of heels and came through for the win, followed in second by Callum and Joe, with Tim and Luke in third.

Luckily for a weary Neil, the wind had picked up too much to run another race, and the Fleet returned ashore. Overall, the event was won by Neil Marsden and Matt Wallis, with Tim Riley and Luke Burywood second and Callum Airlie and Joe Butterworth third. Harry and David Whittaker were fourth and first overseas boat. Annabel Cattermole and Bryony Bennett-Lloyd were first girls, in fifth place.

A big thank you to everyone who helped over the weekend, the SailRacer team who ran the tracking and live webcast of the racing and to CurraDinghy Sailing for the prizes.

The Selection Series will now move on to Largs Sailing Club in Scotland from 31 March to 5 April. Also forming part of the RYA National Youth Championships, youth teams in the Fleet will also be competing for selection to represent GBR at the 2013 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Limassol, Cyprus from 11 – 20 July. The third Worlds and Junior Europeans Selector will be the 420 Spring Championships to be held in Pwllheli, Wales from 20 - 21 April.

Top 15 Results
1.)Neil Marsden and Matt Wallis (5 points)
2.)Tim Riley and Luke Burywood (7 points)
3.)Callum Airlie and Joe Butterworth (9 points)
4.)Harry and David Whitaker (IRL) (13 points)
5.)Annabel Cattermole and Bryony Bennett-Lloyd (15 points)
6.)Scott Wallis and Josh Voller (20 points)
7.)Sarah Alton and Molly Frost (21 points)
8.)Patrick Crosbie and Grattan Roberts (IRL) (23 points)
9.)Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove (IRL) (24 points)
10.)Ben Hazeldine and Rhos Hawes (24 points)
11.)Matthew and Benjamin Lulham-Robinson (27 points)
12.)Morgan Dibb and Gemma Bird (28 points)
13.)Alistair Gray and Alan McIntosh (36 points)
14.)Danielle Thomas and Amy Sparks (37 points)
15.)Lucy Yeates and Megan O’Brien (38 British 420 Winter Championships website [Sorry, this link had a problem]