IAPS National Sailing Regatta 2011 tests students abilities

by Katie Ashworth on 25 May 2011 Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) second National Sailing Regatta was hosted by SailLaser Weymouth on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th May 2011 at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

The event is run in conjunction with Leweston Preparatory School and had doubled in size since last year; 66 sailors took part in the under 11 years group, and 72 in the under 13 years group.

Students raced double handed in Laser Picos, enjoying two qualifying races in the morning before splitting into gold and silver fleets for the final races that were sailed in the afternoon. The weather conditions were perfect, with light winds in the morning and increased pressure in the afternoon which tested the sailors abilities.

Mark McCloskey from, Leweston Prep School, was delighted to see one of his teams achieving second place in the U11 Silver Fleet. 'It is fantastic for the pupils at our school to win the first ever sailing medal. I’m very proud of all the hard work they have put into their sailing. The school has been really supportive of our involvement in this event,' explained McCloskey.

Skandia Team GBR sailors Chris Draper and Peter Greenhalgh from the 49er class and 470 duo Hannah Mills and Saskia Clarke joined the students for the awards ceremony and handed out prizes, posed for photographs and happily signed autographs for the Under 11 years group winners. The under 13 years group were awarded their trophies by GBR’s sailing legend Ben Ainslie. Huge thanks go to the Skandia Team GBR sailors for taking time out of their busy training schedules to join the awards ceremony, providing a great memory for all involved.

Emma Dawson, Event Organiser at SailLaser Weymouth said 'It’s been a really busy couple of days, but there’s been some competitive racing! It’s been great to see so many students enjoying their sailing and so many familiar names and faces returning from last year!'

In the build up to this event, a number of the local school teams have been training at SailLaser, completing RYA courses and race training. Five of the top twelve teams regularly sail from SailLaser, which has definitely helped them prepare for the event!

IAPS Regatta Results:

U13 Gold Fleet:
1st Felix Cleverdon & James Scott (University College School)
2nd Nicholas Wishart & Jack Lucas-Clements (Cranmore Prep School)
3rd Tristan Bracegirdle & Yann Bracegirdle (Tower House School)

U13 Silver Fleet:
1st Sebastian Owen & Theo Lindsay (Wellesley House School)
2nd Fay Connor & Nicholas Priestley (Sunninghill Prep School)
3rd Tom Chivers & Clemmie Blaker (Cumnor House School)

U11 Gold Fleet:
1st Ffinlo Wright & Matthew Petts (Buchan School)
2nd Henry Beardsall & Elizabeth Beardsall (West Hill Park School)
3rd Oliver Batt & Issie Gilliver (Sunninghill Prep School)

U11 Silver Fleet:
1st Hannah Birchall & Pollyanna Wright (Hoe Bridge School)
2nd Madeleine Cooper & Olivia Robson (Leweston Prep School)
3rd Nicholas Milton & Edmund Shackleton (Perrott Hill School)

SailLaser website