ILCA Thames Valley Grand Prix Series Open at Papercourt Sailing Club

Papercourt ILCA Open © Matthew Bligh

On Sunday, April 13, 2025, Papercourt Sailing Club hosted the ILCA Open Meeting at Papercourt Lake, drawing a competitive fleet of ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 sailors from across the Thames Valley region. The event was part of the Thames Valley Grand Prix series.

There were six visitors out of a total fleet of 19 sailors. Unusually for an TV event, there were more ILCA 6 sailors, than 7s.

Competitive Racing in Varied Conditions

The day presented sailors with a mix of gusty, then lighter and variable winds after some rain. In the ILCA 7 fleet, local sailor Andrew Hill-Smith, and Thames Valley series coordinator, found himself at the front of the fleet throughout the first race, only to be pipped to the line by a demon dash from Bruce Ramshaw. Bruce was last year's winner. However, that was the last of the winning streak for Bruce, since much to everyone's surprise, it was Andrew who cleaned up with three remaining bullets.

The last race was particularly irksome for the leaders, since Rob Beere had got away with a good start, and was well out in front with Bruce. However, Andrew took a line closer to the bank, and found a better area of pressure, thus squeezing past the fleet and into the lead. Bruce had clearly spent his luck on the Grand National the week before, coming home with a decent financial haul.

The ILCA 6 fleet saw a dominant display from Lauren Irons, also a local sailor. All her Weymouth training was showing itself in stylish sailing, finishing with four firsts, even if she began the race with a poor start.

Behind her were Chris from Reading and Rebecca from Papercourt, jostling for second and third places. Liz Hill-Smith, of Hill-Smith fame, came in a very respectable fourth, and would not stop talking about it, all the way home.

A special mention to Tom Flintham from Frensham, who is comfortably in the Veteran category, has been demonstrating that one can keep sailing an ILCA at any age. Well done Tom.

Lunch

Jill and Cathy and team, helped produce a fantastic lunch, which was all part of the entry fee. A large supply of baked potatoes, and an assortment of extras, kept everyone happy and well fuelled.

Acknowledgments

Race officers Martin and Chris did a great job in setting the course - we had an upwind gate - and keep sailors on time, and within the rules. The safety crews provided support throughout the day. The helped with sorting out a dislodged tiller, a broken tiller extension, and removing a large railway sleeper, that managed to take a slow swim across the race course. We could not have managed without them.

Well done to all the competitors, and support staff, and to the wind for putting on a reasonable showing.

And congratulations to Rebecca for receiving her special third place prize of a free copy of "The Shrink in the Drink," by none other than the Papercourt class captain, Andrew Hill-Smith. We are told it is a good read.

The next open meeting in the series will be at Fishers Green on 3rd May 2025.

Overall Results: