420 Open & Selection Trial at Hayling

by Jan Lasko on 1 May 2007
The first of two weekends for selecting the GBR teams to represent Great Britain at the upcoming Open European and Junior European Championships was held at Hayling Island Sailing Club on the 28/29 April 2007.

37 boats entered the series competing for seven ladies crews for the 420 Open Ladies European Championship in Turkey and seven mixed and all male crews for the 420 Open Europeans. In addition, seven U19 places are available to the top two mixed/male and top two female crews with a further three youth boats selected from the overall results. This year's 420 Junior Europeans will be held in Medemblick, The Netherlands.

The selection process consists of six scheduled race at Hayling Island with a further nine races scheduled at Poole Yacht Club on the 5 - 7 May. One discard is applied for every six races sailed.

The first weekend proved very taxing, with the wind strength varying and large shifts being experienced throughout the weekend.

Day 1 - Saturday (April 29th):

Forty-one 420s (including three Irish boats) arrive at Hayling Island Sailing Club for a two day open, which is also the first of two selection weekends for the 420 Open European Championships in Turkey and the 420 Junior Europeans in Holland.

The weather conditions looked very promising (as compared to the RYA Youth Championships two weeks ago). A NE breeze measuring 13 knots provided the ideal start to the day.

But the day would not turn out to be so straight forward. The wind during the day was generally going right, but large shifts (20 degrees and more) made for very tricky sailing conditions, with the corresponding high scores in what was a roller-coaster with a top 5 turning into a mid-twenties result and vice-versa.

Race 1 saw Peter Irwin and David Kohler pick up where they left off at the recent RYA Youth championships, taking the first win of the day. Top British boats at the recent 420 World Championships in New Zealand, showed that they too had lost none of their form with Ben Saxton and James Foskett finishing in 2nd ahead of Jonny Moss and Ben Muskett.

Claire Walsh and Jasmine Husband recently returned to 420 sailing and after their recent success in Spain (1st ladies crew) finished in 4th overall followed by veteran 420 sailors Peter Gray and Gareth Evans.

Race 2 saw the wind speed drop to around 7 knots. Ben and James made the most of the conditions to finish first followed by Peter and Gareth. Imogen Stanley and Kate Macgregor found their recent form (Ladies 420 champions at the recent RYA Youth Championship) took 3rd, with Peter and David in 4th. Visit Irish sailors, Alyson Rumball and Susanne Burke finished in 5th.

After a delay to relay the course, due to a significant wind shift, many 420 sailors rued their enthusiasm at the start. In total, seven sailors, including some of those recently finishing in the top five picked up a black flag disqualification.

Jonny and Ben showed that they can compete in both strong and light wind conditions finishing in 1st. 2nd place went to Tom Taylor and veteran 420 campaigner Philip Lasko, who took advantage of a large left shift. Local sailors Jack and George Yeoman finished ahead of Rebecca Kalderon and Rosie Sibthorp also from Itchenor SC.

Day 2 - Sunday 29 April :

Sunshine and around 9 knots met the sailors at the start of their second day of the Hayling Island Open. The fleet launched promptly at 09:55 hoping to complete 3 further races. Many of the boats were looking forward to the next race in order to be able to discard their worst result so far.

Given the difficult conditions yesterday, many of the boats were carry at least one score they would prefer to forget about.

Unfortunately, the breeze in the bay proved more challenging. After a recall on the first race of the day, the breeze went 30 degrees right and dropped to 2 knots. Fortunately, the breeze picked back up to 6 knots and the fleet were in a Black Flag start. (No mistakes this time!).

The fleet got away cleanly, but going for pressure OR the expected wind shift proved a difficult choice for many. At the windward mark, the rounding order included some new names, with some of the top 10 bringing up the rear.

Sarah Hickman and Jess Blick led the fleet around the first mark with Jonny Moss/ Ben Muskett, Edward Grey/Gavin Tullett, Peter Irwin/David Kohler and Tim Saxton/Claire Lasko all in close contention.

With many boats drawing on the experience, numerous place changes were taking on the following runs and beats.

At the finish line, Tim and Claire, who got into the stronger breeze earlier finished in first, ahead of Peter and David in 2nd. Ed and Gavin managed to overtake Sarah and Jess and finish in 3rd. Sarah and Jess managed to defend their 4th position with Jonny Moss and Ben Muskett taking 5th.

Attempts were made to run a fifth race, but with one race sequence APed with 30 seconds to go and the wind shifting to SSW and dropping well below the level required to fair racing, the PRO sent the fleet home at 14:10 to a well deserved cool shower.

Having completed four races, the first discard was applied and Peter Irwin and David Kohler repeated their success from a fortnight ago to win the Hayling Island Open on 7 points. 2nd and 3rd place were decided on tie break with Ben and James getting the better of Jonny and Ben.

HISC Open Meeting Results:

1. Peter Irwin / David Kohler 7 pts (1st Under 18)
2. Ben Saxton / James Foskett 9 pts
3. Jonny Moss / Ben Muskett 9 pts
4. Peter Gray / Gareth Evans 18 pts (1st over 18)
5. Claire Walsh / Jasmine Husband 19 pts (1 Ladies boat)

1st Overseas boat - Ed Butler / Sean Collins (Ireland)
1st Under 17 - Rebecca Kalderon / Rosie Sibthorp (10th overall)

Many thanks to Hayling Island Sailing Club for hosting this successful event and supplying so many willing volunteers. The 420 class would also like to thank the many parents who provided RIBs and got sunburnt whilst providing safety cover.

Selection Series results

After four races in the selection series the following boats are at the top of the leader board.

Leading results after 4 races

1. Ben Saxton / James Foskett 16 pts (Open Fleet)
2. Jonny Moss / Ben Muskett 18 pts (Open Fleet)
3. Claire Walsh / Jasmine Husband 33 pts (Ladies Fleet)
4. Peter Gray / Gareth Evans 38 points (Open Fleet)
5. Tim Saxton / Claire Lasko 42 points (Open Fleet)
6. James Rusden / Will Rusden 42 points (Open Fleet)

For images from the event go to: http://www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=2254