RYA Volvo South Zone Championships - Cadet Class overall

by David Elliott (with thanks to Matt Carter, RYA) on 27 Sep 2011 RYA Volvo South Zone Championships were held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy last weekend, 24th and 25th September 2011.

Over 250 sailors were at WPNSA including 23 Cadet teams from Castle Cove, Frensham Pond, Parkstone, Royal Lymington, Royal Torbay and South Cerney. Other classes present included Laser 4.7s, Mirrors, Optimists, RS Fevas, Toppers and a range of windsurfers. Six races were scheduled with the Cadets sailing the outer loop of a trapezoid course.

Saturday saw a day of light winds with gusts of up to 10 knots. Alistair and Catriona Wallace from South Cerney in 7231 Sullom Voe made the best of the day scoring 4, 1, 2 to lead overnight. In second place were Ben Shorrock and Beatrice Sexton from Frensham Pond in 8441 It Takes Two having recorded 3, 5, 1 and in third Aliya and Aqil Jannaty sailing 9319, who followed a first in race 1 with a seventh and a third.

Sunday was considerably windier, with gusts measured on the breakwater in excess of 30 knots. Parkstone’s Kirsten Glen and Rosie Gorringe in 9370 Y Knot led for the whole of race four from club mates Harry Wilkes and George Kennedy in 9600 Bite The Bullet. Third were Will McMahon and Tima Malikov from South Cerney in 8402 V3 who had progressed from fifth place at the windward mark. Of the top three overnight, Alistair and Catriona finished 14th, Ben and Beatrice fourth and Aliya and Aqil, ninth. Race five saw another victory for Kirsten and Rosie. Esme and Eliza Jones from Royal Torbay in 5966 Tumbling Dice finished second have briefly led, with Will and Tima third. Going into the sixth and final race, Esme and Eliza were first with 10 points, Ben and Beatrice second with 13 points, followed by Kirsten and Rosie and Will and Tima both on 15 points. Aliya and Aqil had 16 and Alistair and Catriona, 19. First around the windward was Louisa Coxson and Katie Hynes in 9049 Point Blank, followed by Esme and Eliza and Kirsten and Rosie. By the first leeward, Louisa and Katie had dropped back into third place and during the next loop, Kirsten and Rosie took the lead and finished with a full house on the day! Esme and Eliza were second, with Louisa and Katie third.

Demonstrating superb consistency across both days, Esme and Eliza won the title of RYA Volvo Cadet South Zone Champions. Counting four second places and a fourth, they finished four points clear of Kirsten and Rosie on 16 points. Aliya and Aqil made it a clean sweep for female helms, finishing third with 21 points. Will and Tima were fourth and top male helm with 23 points.

The full results can be accessed here.

http://www.cadetclass.org.uk" target="_blank">UK National Cadet Class Association website