International 420 World Championships - GBR team win title

by Peta Stuart-Hunt on 7 Jan 2011 International 420 World Championships 2011 event was held over Christmas and the New Year in Buenos Aires, Argentina with 97 entries from 18 countries represented on the race course. The Ladies Championship title went to the young British duo of Annabel Vose and Megan Brickwood, both from Hampshire, UK.

Conditions for the first 10 races were mostly producing 20 – 28 knots with strong wind over tide conditions. The large seas and shallow water put a heavy toll on equipment and in total 30 masts were broken and plenty of rudders and sails! Annabel and Megan’s mast broke on the first day in the second race 15 metres from the finish line – so strong was the wind they managed to glide across and keep a sixth place, that remained their only breakage.

Throughout the competition the girls maintained second place on the leaders podium consistently finishing in the top 4 of each race. The last day the wind dropped to only 8 knots and the girls finished with a seventh which was enough to overtake the French team and win them the World Title and also the Youth prize for under 18. The girls finished 6 points ahead of the Germans in second place and only discarded a 15.

Annabel is a full member of the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Aged just 16, she attends the Hampshire Collegiate School in Romsey, Hampshire. Annabel has risen to glory through the ranks of the Royal Southern’s Splash and Junior Cadet divisions and she was the first girl to win both Optimist selections and Inland Championships in 2009 and was top girl at the Optimist Nationals 2008. She also attended the Optimist Europeans in 2008 (12th) and the Worlds in 2009.

Megan Brickwood lives in Hamble and, aged 15, attends Hamble Sports College. She was also previously an Optimist sailor and only teamed up with Annabel in the 420s last October.

They are the youngest members of the 420 GBR team and both are members of the RYA National Youth Squad.

Ladies Fleet – final leaderboard:

1 Annabel Vose & Megan Brickwood (GBR) 36 pts
2 Nadine Böhm & Monika Lindner (GER) 42 pts
3 Maelenn Lemaitre & Aloise Retornaz (FRA) 48 points

420 website