Nacra 15s at the 2024 RYA Youth Nationals
by Ben Harris 7 Apr 07:24 PDT
30 March - 5 April 2024
Eloise Smith & Ollie Laker take the Nacra 15 British U19 title during the 2024 RYA Youth Nationals © Paul Wyeth / RYA
Representing the pinnacle event in the British Youth Pathway, eighteen teams competed in the Nacra 15 youth multihull class at the RYA Youth National Championships. As the opening event of the 2024 Nacra 15 European Super Series, the British fleet were joined by sailors from Australia, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands for 5 days of racing on Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour.
The fleet headed out into Weymouth Bay on Monday morning, greeted by sunshine and a 10-15 knot breeze to open the event. The day's results saw a familiar trend, with Belgium's Mateo Leclercq & Mathieu Pinsart battling with Sam Cox & Sophie Raven for race wins. Sam & Sophie stole the opening race, before Mateo & Mathieu displayed their hard work over the winter to take the next three race wins. The U19 Belgian team Anna Mortele & Simon Jacobs kicked off their event with an impressively consistent string of third place results to sit third overall. Consistency was certainly the word of the day, as Eloise Smith & Ollie Laker and Germany's Frederic Schuele & Catharina Jacobs kept their results inside the Top 10 to sit fourth and fifth place overall respectively.
Day 2 began with similar conditions as the sailors headed out to the race area. A UFD in the first start of the day for front-running Mateo & Mathieu allowed a shake-up at the front of the fleet, this time seeing the Dutch pairing of Willemijn Valkenburg & Olivier Fijnheer take the race win, closely followed by Anna & Simon (BEL) and Frederic & Catharina (GER). The top two teams traded wins in the second and third races of the day, with Frederic & Catharina and Tom Jones & Maddie Jinks taking the remaining podium race results respectively. The final race of the day saw the anticipated low pressure system begin to take effect, as the wind started to build and rain fell. Sam & Sophie took the race win, with the Belgian team of Sander Borghijs & Emile Madry finishing an impressive second ahead of compatriots Mateo & Mathieu. At the end of the second day of racing, Mateo & Mathieu lead the event from Sam & Sophie, tied on points just as they ended the 2023 event! Points remained tight throughout the fleet, as the sailors geared up for a windier three days of racing ahead.
As forecasted, the sailors arrived to a breezy boat park on Wednesday morning. The postponement flag was flown for the dinghy fleets whilst the IQ Foils put on an impressive display in Portland Harbour, with gusts touching 30 knots! As the wind began to ease, the ILCA fleets were launched, followed by the 29er fleet. The Nacra 15 fleet prepared on the slipway, only for their anticipated Delta flag to be replaced with the AP over A signaling no more racing today. As the tired sailors returned to shore the Nacra sailors were quick to respond, in the water assisting the 29ers and ILCAs up the slipway with gusts now well in excess of 30 knots - a great display of inter-fleet support and a testament to the nature of this great group of sailors!
Day 4 saw the same low pressure system dominate, with wind readings of 22-30 knots from the race area. The decision was made to run two course areas in Portland Harbour - the Nacra 15 and 420 fleets launching first having stayed ashore on Wednesday. Despite the conditions, 17 teams started the first race of the day and whilst several teams made the understandable decision to head ashore, the fleet managed four spectacular races with plenty of big wipeouts throughout the fleet! Mateo & Mathieu opened the day with two bullets, with Sam & Sophie chasing hard in second, before switching places for the second two races - both teams exhibiting masterful boat handling and great speed to maintain their tight points gap heading into the final day.
The first race of the day saw a battle between Finn Caddy & Ella Harris and Sander Borghijs & Emilie Madry for third place, with the Belgian team finishing on top by the narrowest of margins. Despite a tough first race, the German pairing of Frederic & Catharina came back to manage a consistent 3, 4, 3 in the day's remaining races, battling hard with Sander & Emile who scored 4, 3, 4.
Friday's forecast began to see the effects of the incoming Storm Kathleen, however when sailors arrived at WPNSA on Day 5, it became apparent that the conditions would be raceable for the day's two scheduled races. The 29er fleet raced first on course area "B" on the northern side of Portland Harbour, having missed out on racing on Thursday, before the Nacra 15's were launched into sunshine and 15-25 knots SW breeze!
Sam & Sophie knew their hopes of an event win required a flawless day, and kicked off the day with an emphatic race win to head into the final race of the day tied on points with Mateo & Mathieu. The final race of the event saw Sam & Sophie take an early lead, with Mateo & Mathie climbing back through the fleet, although the British pair sailed calmly and confidently to secure the race win and the event win overall. The Dutch team of Willemijn & Olivier sailed an incredible final day to take 3rd and 2nd in the day's two races, the only other team to hold off the charging Belgian boys in the final race.
Sam & Sophie's win marks an impressive feat, counting only first and second place scores across the 14 race series. Their strong performance in Weymouth echoes their successful 2023 season, where they won the 2023 European Super Series, and gives confidence to the pair as they head to Cagliari (Italy) in just a few weeks for the 2024 Nacra 15 European Championships!
The event formed part of the selection process for the Youth Sailing World Championship, with the top British U19 team selected to represent Great Britain at the 2024 event in Lake Garda in July. In these rankings, it was Eloise Smith & Ollie Laker whose impressive start to the event saw them take the top spot from Tom Jones & Maddie Jinks, with Finn Caddy & Ella Harris in third.
As a European Super Series event, several nations also used the event as part of their Youth Worlds selection process. In the U19 category overall, it was Anna Mortele and Simon Jacobs (BEL) who held onto the top spot (and third overall) just two points clear of Frederic & Catharina (GER), in turn just three point clear of Willemijn & Olivier (NED).
The event also acted as the second round of the UK Nacra 15 National Series, and event prizes were awarded to the Top 3 British teams, thanks to series sponsors Sailing Chandlery. The 'Sailing Chandlery Social Media prize' was awarded to Nacra 15 parent, Russell Peace, whose boat park interviews were a great showcase of the feeling of community within the class. The series continues into the summer, with the 2024 Nacra 15 Inland Championships at Rutland SC in May fast approaching.
If you are looking to get involved in this fast, fun and friendly fleet, make sure to visit www.nacra15.co.uk for more information, and join the UK Nacra 15 Sailors Facebook group to stay up to date with boats for sale, 'helm/crew wanted' adverts and lots more. With several great value boats for sale in the UK, and both new and experienced sailors on the lookout for new partnerships, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved!