ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

On the weekend of 19th and 20th June the ILCA6s and ILCA7s made their way from as far afield as Scotland for the 50th Anniversary Regatta and Masters Qualifier. Held at Stokes Bay Sailing Club, we were all looking forward to some great racing with a very decent turnout of over 101 boats.

Saturday racing

On the Saturday morning we were met with a light and shifting breeze which made for tricky racing. The ILCA 6 fleet completed two races, the race officer considered the breeze was too inconsistent to run a third. The tide was against the wind, resulting in boats being pushed quickly over the start line. This lead to lots of general recalls before getting race 1 away.

The ILCA 6 fleet were on inner loop with the ILCA 7s on the outer loop. After a few attempts on the black flag, race 1 eventually got under way. It was a tricky first beat with lots of variation in pressure across the course, the pressure was tending to come in from the left hand side of the course with a slight left shift. I [Tom Mitchell] lead round the windward mark with Ben Elvin, Ollie Wilcox and Alastair Brown close behind. This ended up being one of the longest legs due to the strong incoming tide.

ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

We all stayed very close on the downwind and ended up within a few boat lengths of each of at the leeward gate. I managed to hold onto the lead before Alastair Brown broke free on the last downwind. I missed a couple of gusts leading to Ben and Ollie overtaking me; Alastair was not to be caught, taking the race win.

Race two stared much the same, with a few recalls and AP going up. I struggled to get off the start line meaning I had to play catch-up for the whole race. I worked my way up the left hand side of the course as I felt there was still more pressure there, rounding the windward mark somewhere inside the top fifteen.

I sailed a good downwind staying in the pressure most of the time which saw me gain a few places back. At the last upwind mark Joe Scurrah was in the lead with Edwin Cross in second, I rounded in the top five somewhere before gaining a few places back to finish third. That was the conclusion of day one, I led overnight by one point to Ollie Wilcox.

ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

Saturday evening

Ashore the fleet enjoyed a great evening meal put on by the club and a fundraiser for the Andrew Simpson Foundation. UKLA have adopted the ASF as their official charity. This is the perfect fit as Andrew Simpson, known to all as Bart, and most of an extraordinary generation of UK sailors have learnt to sail in the Laser/ILCA. Nick Harrison, SBSC legend, is deeply involved in the Foundation's work and gave a moving account of a character that made a deep impression on all those he met.

A prize draw handed out over a dozen prizes supplied by UKLA's great sponsors SAILINGFAST and SOUTHEAST SAILBOATS - thanks Duncan and Max. The ASF generously donated two coaching days which were won by Zoe McCaig and me.

Another Fleet Legend, Stick Daring (Neil Peters) hosted a very bonkers quiz. Getting 2 'Brains' to guess the answers to questions such as how many mountain bikes are there in the Philippines ? You really needed to be there! £750 was raised for the ASF; please check out www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ukla-team as it's not too late to contribute.

Nick Harrison talks about the Andrew Simpson Foundation during the ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © SBSC

Sunday racing

On day two we were met with grey skies and drizzle; the Isle of Wight had disappeared. There was a lack of wind which led to a short postponement. Not too long however, and both fleets headed out, the ILCA 6 fleet starting first today and on outer loop.

Race 3 got under way in about 5 knots of wind. It was a very tricky first beat with lots of shifts. The leaders at mark one came from the left on a nice left shift. Ollie Wilcox led downwind. The breeze started to drop off, meaning the second beat was all about staying in the pressure and not sailing into the holes. There tended to be more pressure on the right hand side.

James Curtis led round the top mark, closely followed by a group of perusing boats. The downwind was real snakes and ladders, with lots of changes in places. In the end Jack Graham-Trol finished first, myself second, and James Curtis third.

Race 4 took ages to get under way with the fleet being over the line very early, leading to lots of postponements going up. Eventually the fleet got away clean. The breeze was up to about 12knts. Hannah Snellgrove lead from the start and went on to take the race win, with Ben Elvin securing second place. A good start was key as it was a very short race, meaning that there was not much chance to fight back.

The race officer was determined to get a fifth race in, however we were getting very close to the 3pm cut-off time for the last race. We only had one chance to get a clean start, otherwise it would have been after the time limit. In the end the race officer got the race away with 3 minutes to spare.

The breeze started to drop back off from what it was in race 4 and there were lots of opportunity to gain places back on the downwind. Alastair Brown led from the last upwind to take the race win, followed by Ollie Wilcox and Hannah Snellgrove.

All very close in the end on completion of racing. I secured overall victory of the event by one point over Ben Elvin with Alistair Brown in third place.

Bob Draper during the ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography

UKLA would like to thank all those at Stokes Bay SC for making its members so warmly welcome and for making it possible to race at this great venue.

Sailingfast - Duncan brings his battle buss down from Scotland for most the big events, which is so ridiculously well equipped, you could replace everything on your boat. Although based in Scotland they will get anything to you super fast. He also supplied many of the prizes for the draw on Saturday evening. sailingfast.co.uk

SouthEast Sailboats - Max brings bespoke quality at affordable prices to the class. His passion for detail has made his products a must have for anyone who wants quality. He also supplied many great prizes for the event. southeastsailboats.co.uk

Ovington Boats - Chris Turner lives dinghies and has been a significance presence in the boat building world for decades. OB are now the official UK builders of ILCAs. A very smart new Ovington ILCA Dinghy was on display at the Masters event. www.ovingtonboats.com

Tom Mitchell wins the ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © SBSC

Overall Results:

Ollie Payne during the ILCA6 50th Anniversary Regatta at Stokes Bay - photo © Georgie Altham / www.facebook.com/galthamphotography