RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships come to a close

by RYA on 27 Sep 2010 More wind came out to play for most today (Sunday 26 September) for the closing off of the 2010 RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships delaying racing at two of the eight championship events enough to lose a race each. RYA Scotland’s Home Countries Championship however suffered for the second day with the opposite problem, not enough wind.

Having nearly all eight championships enjoyed top racing conditions yesterday, 750 of the nation’s Olympic sailing hopefuls who have hit the water across Scotland, England and Wales this weekend, had high hopes for another great day, and for many that’s what they got.

Sailing a full complement of six races over the weekend and making provision for one discard the South West (Plymouth), South (WPNSA), South East (Queen Mary), West (Ullswater) and Wales (Pwllheli) events rounded off a fantastic championship today enjoying steady moderate to strong winds making for a thorough test of sailors skill.

Suffering the most yesterday however was the Scottish (Helensburgh) event battling with very light winds to get their three scheduled races in, but, with even less wind today just 1-2 knots at the most, sailors were held ashore throughout the morning before racing of cancelled for the day shortly after lunch.

For both the East (Burnham) and North (Yorkshire Dales) events, winds gusting up to 27 knots this morning forced a near on two hour delay before it moderated enough to allow racing. Strapped for time the North managed to fit all three windsurf races in but the Opi’s and Toppers lost their last race completing two each. It was a similar story for the East who got out racing at around 1:00pm leaving enough time for two highly competitive races in all three Cadet, Topper and Optimist fleets.

Head RYA High Performance Manager Chris Atherton was pleased to see such great conditions for the majority of the events and was impressed with how the sailors dealt with the strong winds.

'The 2010 RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country Championships have gone really really well. It’s fantastic to see such good attendance and we’ve had fantastic racing again today at most events with some venues not being quite so lucky as we have been in Weymouth,' he said.

'We’ve had really good testing conditions which have meant great racing really helping the selectors in making their final decisions for the zone squads invitations. Suffering quite a bit from light winds the past couple of years it’s great the sailors have had the opportunity to show us what they can do in more windy conditions akin to what they can expect through winter zone squad training.'

He continued: 'The standard has been really really good. The event coach David Mellor here in Weymouth said the thought the standard across the fleets is definitely up compared to previous years and the level of boat handling has been good.

'It’s been great to see lots of new faces across the events and they will have learnt a lot from the events and coaching on offer at them and I hope to see more new faces next year,' he concluded.

The Championships traditionally mark the end of the Junior racing season and are a key event for any young sailor wishing to be selected for the RYA Volvo Zone and Home Country squads, which are the first step on the pathway to Olympic Classes sailing.

RYA Volvo North Zone Championship (Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club, Yorkshire):
The hardy north zone sailors battling it out for zone honours up in the Yorkshire Dales almost all got a full series of six races in this weekend. For the dinghies today’s high winds, gusting 25-26 knots this morning, forced a delay too long to squeeze the last race in but time allowed for an extra race for the windsurfers which meant they got a full series in.

The breeze having moderated to 16-18 knots from the north east meant the first races were underway by 12:30pm and the challenging quite gusty and shifty conditions gave the sailors another day of great racing testing them to the max allowing the best sailors to demonstrate their skill and float to the top.

Racing was close particularly in the Topper and windsurfer fleets with the final results below:

Toppers: first Edward Connellan, second Luke Cowling, third Toby Woodings – There was no change to Saturday’s standings today with Edward Connellan posting two more bullets, Luke Cowling two seconds and Toby Woodings a 4,3.

Optimists: first Andrew Kilburn, second Tom Smith, third Eve Wilkinson-Bell – Andrew Kilburn held on to his overnight lead posting another two bullets and Eve Wilkinson-Bell also holding on to her placing posting a 3,4. Alex McCormick knocked Tom Smith off his previous day’s second place podium to claim his finish.

Windsurfers

4.5 open: first Jack Bramley, second Joshua Carey, third Lydia Howley – Joshua Carey sailed a great day posting two bullets enough to see him knock Lydia Howley off second place to finish just one point behind first place Jack Bramley.

5.5 open: first Harry Davis, second Jack Lennon, third Sarah Labourne – last night’s standings still stood at close of play today with all top three sailors keeping it consistent to the end.

Techno 6.8: first Rob Griffiths, second Ruben Lansley, third Emily Hall. Rob Griffiths had a great day edging ahead with a 2,2,1 leaving second and third places for Emily Hall and Ruben Lansley to fight over. Both finishing on 13 points Emily picking up the first girl prize.

Techno 7.8: first Emma Labourne , second Luke Patrick, third Oliver Bradley-Baker. Under 15 Techno Worlds silver medallist Emma Labourne showed her steal today posting 4,1,1 gaining two places over taking the boys to claim event honours.

RYA Volvo East Zone Championship (Combined Clubs of Burnham, Essex):
The east zone sailors took another battering from the wind and cold today as they were greeted with gusts of 27 knots this morning and grey skies. Despite a repeat of some pretty testing conditions seen during yesterday’s two races the sailors remained upbeat and keen to get out on the water and finish off what they had started the day before.

A two hour delay in racing gave enough time for the South Westerly to moderate to a more manageable 15 knots and a slightly later than planned two races went ahead in all fleets. Racing was close and tightly fought at the front with the less experienced sailors picking up some valuable lessons and experience out on the racecourses.

Final top three results:

Toppers: first Freddie Chiddicks, second Katie Dabson, third Joseph Mullan. All change at the top of the Toppers today Joseph Mullen was pushed down into third from his overnight lead Freddie Chiddicks dominating the fleet with three firsts pushed very Hard by Katie Dabson both having scored an OCS on the previous day.

Optimist: first David Labrouche, second Emily King, third Kathryn Hutton-Penman. Overnight leader Emily King was beaten to second place by David Labrouche on a tie break today, Kathryn Hutton-Penman pushing up into third.

Cadet: first Nick Sutton / Scarlett Anderson, second Lucy Terkelsen / Lainey Terkelsen, third Harriet Ayre & Jonathan Vaningen. Sutton and Anderson pushed ahead today posting bullets in three races leapfrogging Ayre and Vaningen into first place.

RYA Volvo West Zone Championships (Ullswater Sailing Club, Cumbria):
A north easterly light and not so cold 6-8 knot breeze was the order of the day at the RYA Volvo West Zone Championships providing very similar conditions to that of yesterday. The shifty winds again demanded sailors to keep looking ahead and anticipating the changes allowing the cream to rise to the top as honed skills came into play.

A full schedule of three races went ahead in all classes rounding off a fantastic 2010 RYA Volvo West Zone Championships in a stunning location giving squad selectors plenty of racing to critique.

Final Results:

RS Feva: first Crispin Beaumont / Nick Wilson, second Ella Stoggall / Sarah Norbury, third Joseph Winbush / Jamie Pearson. Beaumont and Wilson kept hold of their lead Stoggall and Norbury posting two bullets to jump into second place.

Mirror: first Ben and Matthew Lulham Robinson, second Emma and Rachel Grayson, third William Hide / Emma Clayton. European Champions Ben and Matthew Lulham Robinson pushed ahead of Junior European Girls Champions the Grayson sisters posting bullets in all three of today’s races.

Optimist: first Bobby Hewitt, second Hannah Bristow, third Charlie Ewing. Hewitt posted a 1,1,2 to keep hold of his overnight lead Bristow kept it consistent to retain their second.

Topper: first Dan Venables, second Jamie Purcell, third Jamie Catchpole. Jamie Purcell and Dan Venables swapped first and second overnight places, Venables three bullets beating Purcells 2,2, DNC.

RYA Volvo South East Championship (Queen Mary Sailing Club, London):

Another great day of wind graced Queen Mary today. 15-18 knots from the north allowed three back-to-back seamless races in all three classes in dry but cloudy conditions.

Racing was extremely close especially in the Optimists where the top five or six sailors crossed the finish line in a group every race.

Final results:

Optimists: first Karyna Manuel, second Jenny Smallwood, third Ross Banham – Karyan put in a fantastic performance this weekend posting a 1,1,2,1,2,1 which won her the top South East Zone prize awarded by RYA Regional Chairman Tony Rowe. Racing was extremely close all weekend at the front with the top five or six sailors finishing at the line in a group.

Toppers: first Hamish Streeter, 2st Alisha Manuel, third Harriet Ward. Alisha Manuel lost her lead of the fleet today Hamish Streeter managing to stay consistent with ones and twos. Harriet Ward did a great job of rectifying a frustrating 12th yesterday also managing much more consistency to climb up into third.

Windsurfers:

4.5’s: first Zara Petts – held on to her lead of yesterday comfortably posting an unbeaten record

5.5’s: first John Humphries – dominated the weekend posting bullets in all his races

Techno 6.8’s: first Henry Bloodworth. The 2010 RYA Eric Twiname Champion showed his skill posting bullets in all his races.

Techno 7.8’s: first Matthew Barton. Held on to his lead quite comfortably posting bullets in all his races apart from the last where he discarded a disqualification.

RYA Volvo South West Zone Championship (Plymouth Mountbatten Centre, Devon):
Sailors down in Devon at the Plymouth Youth Sailing run event enjoyed a 6-7 knot light breeze this morning which quite quickly built to around 10 knots by the time all fleets were released for the first races of the day. The Opi and Feva course got underway first getting in a full schedule of three races. Racing on the Cadet and Topper course started a little later, the race committee contending with more shifty conditions on the westerly course before completing their full day’s schedule.

The wind was up and down and quite patchy all day demanding sailors to have their heads out of their boats to spot the shift and gusts and adjust their plan accordingly.

The RYA Volvo Zone Championships woolly hats came in handy in the bright but chilly conditions as the full complement of three races today rounded off a successful weekend in Devon.

Final results stand as follows:

Optimists: first Benno Marstaller, second Oliver Guess, third Alex Putt. Overnight standings remained today Marstaller posting a 1,2,5 to hold on to his title winning position. Guess and Platt were tied on 11 points each in second and third place.

Toppers: first Robbie Robinson, second Finn Murphy, third George Watson. Robinson continued to dominate the leader board today posting back-to-back bullets, Murphy holding on to his overnight second placing.

Cadets: first Max Crowe / Henry Collings, second Rhos Hawes / Lewis Lane, third Alex Philpott / Megan Ferguson. Haws and Lane did their best to try and knock Crowe and Collings off top spot but a 2,3,1 saw them finish three points behind.

RS Fevas: first Morgan Peach / Herbie Harford, second Jacob Barnett / Emma Barnett, third Ben Binmore / Luke MacDermott. Peach and Harford successfully defended their 2009 zone title in emphatic style posting another day of consistent results finishing six points ahead of second placed Barnett siblings. The Barnetts put in a solid performance today but their two bullets in the last two races weren’t quite enough to displace the leaders.

RYA Volvo South Zone Championship (Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, Dorset):
Another day of fantastic racing conditions greeted the 200 sailors doing battle at the RYA Volvo South Zone Championships today. Beautiful September sunshine was in residence again and so was the northerly autumnal chill but the 16-18 knots of pretty steady breeze fuelled the sailors enthusiasm who simply wrapped up warm and made the most of the stunning racing.

Another three back-to-back races were run on the Mirror and Opi course as well as the Laser 4.7 and Topper course. Like yesterday the windsurfers enjoyed a break for lunch coming in after two races completing their final race by around 3:00pm.

Team Volvo for Life sailor and Skandia Team GBR 470 squad member Saskia Clark dropped in just in time for prize giving handing out the prizes and congratulating the sailors.

Top three results are:

Optimists: first Scott Wallis, second Jenny Cropley, third Max Clapp. Wallis discarded a sixth today in his second race to win a comfortable nine points ahead of Cropley who only just managed to hold on to his second placing having to discard a 23rd in the second race.

Toppers: first Ross McFarlane, second Sam Barker, third Matthew Stephens. McFarlane had a great day posting a 1,4,1 allowing him to discard a 12th and jump ahead of Barker finishing a painfully close one point behind.

Mirrors: first Rosie Watkins / Madeleine Watkins, second Hugo Moss / Benedict Heber, third Anna Watkins / Harriet Watkins. Overnight standings stood today replicating their points score of yesterday to keep it consistent enough to take the win Rosie and Madeleine Watkins enjoyed another great day.

Laser 4.7s: first Matthew Hall, second Dan Bullock, third Robert Dyer. Hall had a great day yesterday and just managed to hold on to his overnight lead pushed all the way by Bullock posting three bullets to finish one point behind in second.

Windsurfers:

4.5’s: first Joshua Croft, second Zoe Dixon, third Jack Bassett

5.8’s: first Ross Warren, second Georgina Savage, third Ella Milne

Techno 6.8’s: first Daniel Wilson, second Fynn Page, third Emma Wilson

Techno 7.8's: first Sebastian Cooper, second Joe Barnes, third Alexander Savage

RYA Volvo Welsh Zone and Home Country Championship, (Pwllheli Sailing Club, Gwynedd):
The 67 Optimist and Topper welsh junior sailors had a slightly more sedate day today with the northerly winds of yesterday moderating to a lighter but quite shifty 6-10 knots as they came off the hills of Snowdonia.

The shifts forced a short interlude between races as the windward mark was moved to take account with racing getting off on time with two final races completed by late lunchtime.

Final results as follows:

Optimists: first Rowan Edwards, second Daniel Whiteley, third Will Creaven – the top three sailors did some place swapping today Rowan Edwards having a great day posting a 2,1 to jump from third to first place with Daniel and Will stepping down a place each to occupy second and third places.

Toppers: first David Clark, second Alex Jardine, third Danielle Rowe – The Toppers were dominated all weekend by 15-year-old David Clark winning all but one of his races with Alex Jardine and Danielle Rowe holding on to their day one places with consistent races.

RYA Scotland Volvo Zone and Home Counties Championship (Helensburgh Sailing Club, Argyll and Bute):
After a very challenging first day yesterday Helensburgh Sailing Club had an even bigger challenge to contend with today in the form of absolutely no wind! Basking in the wall-to-wall sunshine the race committee hoped a breeze my fill in allowing for some postponed races later in the day. But with just two knots from the South West piping up in time for lunch not enough had arrived and racing for the day was canned.

Nick Scott, Event Director, was pleased to have got some good racing in yesterday allowing the talent to rise to the top and despite the frustrations of today hailed the event a success.

Optimists: first Jamie Calder, second Alasdair Ireland, third Jack Alexander Gillespie – Jamie Calder improved on his third place finish at least years event posting two bullets after discards.

Toppers: first Joanna Barrie, second Jack Aitken, third David Abraham. Joanna Barrie dominated the event beating all the boys also posting two bullets after discards.

RS Fevas: first Gillies Munro / Daniel Harris, second Laura Ellis / Catherine Ellis, third Christopher Kilgour / Struan Donadlson – new to the event this year the Feva’s had an extremely close battle with first and second placed boats tied on points with sisters Laura and Catherine Ellis conceding first place to Gillies Munro and Daniel Harris having discarded a third place over the pairs second.

Windsurfers:

5.8’s: first Luca Dominguez

Techno 6.8’s: 1st Jan Goldbeck

Techno 7.8’s: Natalie McWilliams won all four of her races to take an emphatic event win.

More information at http://www.ryaracingevents.org.uk