Thames Valley ILCA Open at Great Moor Sailing Club

Great Moor Sailing Club ILCA Open © Katrine Brown

Great Moor Sailing Club ILCA Open © Jenny Blake

After a lengthy absence from hosting events, Great Moor Sailing Club were back, hosting the first Thames Valley ILCA Open of 2022! 10 boats braved the cold, but sunny weather, with an 8-15 knot breeze blowing from the west.

Race 1 started with a general recall; the fleet seeing Jamie pushing the line and the rest of the fleet following suit. Out came the black flag, and everyone was a little more cautious on the restart! Jamie led off the Committee Boat end of the line, before heading to the left-hand side of the course, closely followed by most of the fleet, allowing an easy tack on the lay line to get to the windward mark first. Out came the defensive sailing, trying to keep in front of the fleet, but by the end of the lap, his decision to cover Simon meant Jamie was the wrong side of some of the wind shifts allowing Simon to take the advantage. On the penultimate lap, with Jamie hot on his heels, Simon missed the gust of wind at the gybe mark and ended up going for a swim, gifting the lead back to Jamie.

Race 2 saw the wind shift left, bringing the pin end of the line into consideration, with a few contemplating a port end flyer. Again, the left was the side of choice, with Andrew H and Simon rounding the top mark in quick succession. Simon took the opportunity of fighting within the pack to make a getaway, and disappeared into the distance, with multiple faces at the front of the pack trying to chase him down. Slightly further back, Emily was making good use of the ILCA7s slowing each other down to take a third, and Iain just missed out overtaking Andrew H on the line for 4th.

After a hearty lunch of Pie, Chips and Beans, the breeze increased and the fleet split, most going left, with a few brave soles heading right. Andrew M held them out as far as they could go, however when everyone converged, it was Jamie from the left who rounded in front. With the wind now 20 degrees left, the following run became a reach, allowing Jamie to sail away. Deeper in the pack, Simon managed to bump the top mark, relegating him to 5th after completing his turns. Iain took pity, taking a swim on the gybe mark, and Simon took advantage to fight his way back to finish 3rd behind Andrew M.

Great Moor Sailing Club ILCA Open - photo © Katrine Brown

The last race of the day started with another clean start which, by the top mark, had Simon followed by Jamie, and Andrew M close behind. Simon managed to extend away, allowing a fierce battle for second to play out. With the wind building towards the end of the race, Andrew M and Jamie were closing the gap to Simon, who spotted his moment and promptly turtled (not a very good defensive move). The stronger breeze on the next beat allowed Jamie to extend a lead from Andrew H to win the race and the event overall.

Lots of good racing was had throughout the fleet, with special shout-outs to Elliot, Emily, George and Jonquil who had some very close racing in the ILCA 6 and 4 fleets separated by only a handful of boat lengths, and last, but by no means least, Ian who provided lots of entertainment to both rescue crews and spectators but showcasing the bottom of his hull on multiple occasions!

Overall Results: