420 class at the 2022 RYA Youth National Championship - Overall

After a tricky week at Pwllheli Alice Davis and Oliver Rayner won the 420 class at the 2022 RYA Youth National Championships.

Going into the final day it was very close. The second discard would come into play after the first race and this was going to make it even tighter. All week the weather forecast for Friday had looked pretty poor, but it had improved and looked like it might provide the little bit of wind that everyone had been craving. And the day dawned with more wind than the previous couple of days but in reality once out in the race area it was more of the same lighter conditions that 420 sailors don't really crave.

The first race of the Day was won by George Creasy & David Bromilow and this put them back into the overall regatta lead. Ella Lance & Will Martin took a second place, bring them back into some contention, whilst the ever consistent Henry Heathcote & Hector Bennet took a fourth and Alice & Oliver finished fifth.

The second race of the day, number 12 in the series, saw a number of general recalls under black flag, with Henry & Hector notably falling foul and taking their first big discard of the event. Millie Irish & Clara Jones took the win, Joe Warwicker & Hugo Valentine taking second ahead of the consistent Alice & Oliver in third. This took Alice & Oliver into the overall series lead for the first time. George & David could only make seventh and Ollie Meadowcroft & Oscar Cawthorne failed to make the top ten which dropped them out of any contention for the title.

So with two races left it there were realistically just three boats left in it to win it. Alice & Oliver, Henry & Hector and George & David. The next race was won by Harry George & Oscar Cawthorne with all the main contenders deep in the fleet early on. Somehow Alice & Oliver crept through to take third place in the race with their rivals finishing seventh and 21st. For the first time in the week there was a clear leader.

But Henry & Hector were not giving up and they won the last race, but a fifth in this race for Alice & Oliver was enough to secure the championship. Alice & Oliver had a remarkable scoreline coming back from a UFD on the first day of the regatta. In the fourteen races sailed, they finished ten of them in the top five, surprisingly winning no races and only getting one second. No-one could match this level of consistency. Henry & Hector won two races but finished in the top five just seven times in comparison; George and David won three races but just six finishes in the top five.

Henry & Hector were the leading all male boat, the leading female boat overall was Megan Farrer & Ellie Rush, and the leading U17 boat was Patrick Bromilow and Olivia Creasey.

This event also concluded the 420 Selection Series. Alice & Oliver by virtue of the final race result secured the leading spot in this competition too, ahead of the unfortunate Ollie Meadowcroft & Oscar Cawthorne who had led the series throughout and Joe Warwicker & Hugo Valentine in third place.

420 class racing at the RYA Youth Nationals - photo © Jon Cawthorne

Sailors now await selection notification from the RYA for the World Sailing Youth Sailing Championships in the Hague in July and the from the UK 420 Class for the 420 Junior European Championships in Portugal in July and the 420 World Championships in Hungary in August.

The 420 Class remains the World's Top Youth boat and the most diverse double handed youth boat in the UK with more than half of the top 20 boats having female sailors on board.

For more information about the 420 Class go to gbr420.uk

Overall Results: (see also results for other classes)