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2006 Junior Sailing News Archive To see previous articles please click on a title. Optimist Volvo Musto End of Season Championships Welsh Optimist Championship – Cardiff Bay 26th to 28th August 2006 Frampton on Severn Sailing Club Oppy Open 22nd July 2006 West Wales CYRC Weekend 17/18 June 2006 Junior Sailing Weekend 6/7 May 2006 Eric Twiname Championships 2006 RYA National Youth Championships Optimist Volvo Musto End of Season Championships 7th & 8th October 2006
For those enduring souls that made the long journey from Wales to Rutland Water they were rewarded with some excellent and varied sailing conditions.
Saturday’s racing favored those sailors preferring stronger winds, with wind speeds somewhere between 15 & 18 knots. In glorious sunshine the sailors set of from the rather boggy and stony shore in front of the very impressive Rutland Sailing Club towards the northern end of the lake for 3 races back to back.
Over 200 sailors from a mixed fleet of Juniors & Seniors were then split into 4 flights, all 4 flights sailed on a Carantec course with 2 flights doing an outer loop and 2 flights doing an inner loop making for a very busy finish line.
On the Welsh front a strong contingent was present with circa 18 sailors from the South zone and the West’s own Danielle Rowe. (sincere apologies to you North Walian guys & girls but I neither know who you are or even what sailing clubs exist in the North !!! ) Let’s hope we get a few more Westies up for the Inlands Championships in May 2007 !!
On the South West side of the lake meanwhile a further 60 + sailors took to the water in the regatta fleet gaining some very valuable experience before making the transition to the main fleets.
Danielle (NYC) came away a much happier bunny that at the nationals (summer training camp obviously paying off) with her recording some very reasonable results in her first year of competition and first end of season championship. She now has her first official UK ranking (a very credible 197 out of 264). Best not forget her close friends from the South zone who all did exceptionally well also. The event was won by – yes you guessed it Phil Sparks ! Report by Paul Rowe. Congratulations to Ngaire Strawbridge (NYC) and Stevie Beckett (Solva). They have just heard that they have been selected for the RYA Topper National Junior Squad 2007/8 (part of Team GBR). That's a huge achievement for them, parents, clubs and coaches. Years of sacrifice are being rewarded with their Blue Jackets. Welsh Optimist Championship – Cardiff Bay 26th to 28th August 2006
Held in the confines of the sheltered waterside development of Cardiff Bay Yacht Club the inaugural “Welsh Optimist Championships” got off to a flying start on the Saturday morning with 45 entries from right across the UK. The competition consisted of 8 races, 3 on Saturday & Sunday and 2 on the bank holiday Monday, with some of the closest and most competitive racing seen anywhere. NYC’s and West Wales only entry Danielle (or was it…… with 2 Grafham Water members also being members of Dale YC!!) having a very consistent weekend hot off the back of a weeks training at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club. To Danielle’s own surprise & delight in race 6 she got away from the line in clear air and at the windward mark found herself in 10th position!! Holding her nerve she finished a very credible 14th. Overall Danielle finished 31st in the competition, 23rd Junior and 8th Girl. The competition winners were: 1st Junior - David Pain of Cardiff Bay YC 1st Senior - Nathan Bailey of Cardiff Bay YC The overall winner of the entire event was David Pain of Cardiff Bay YC. For anyone considering entering this event in the future I fully recommend it, Cardiff Bay did a fantastic job not only on the water but in the evening for both children and parents alike (my arms still ache from J80 racing in the Bay!). Social activities included Sumo wrestling, Topper Team racing, BBQ’s and a family quiz and a jet rib ride around the bay. There was even a water taxi to Mermaid Quay for those just wanting to shop. The prizes sponsored by Spartan Plant were some of the best I have seen, and I believe over the 3 days every child got some kind of prize / award – some for just being English! So all you West Wales Oppy parents what are you waiting for get your Kids signed up now and let’s see more from the West attend next year. Report by Paul Rowe. Frampton on Severn Sailing Club Oppy Open 22nd July 2006 Under a blistering English sun, 19 Oppy sailors converged on the ‘typically English’ village of Frampton on Severn. Divided into 2 fleets - Regatta 12 sailors & main fleet 6 the sailors set out to the pond (or puddle as Danielle called it!!) to do 2 races before lunch and 2 after. The two fleets were started separately with the six main fleet sailors (which included Danielle) first to go.
With next to no wind they drifted for 10 mins before a few puffs of wind eventually arrived. A very competent young lad on home ground (James Parker – Mowbray) soon broke free of the pack demonstrating great proficiency in his roll tacking and great balancing skills in kiting on the down wind legs. The back 5 however were very close with literally boat lengths between them, with Danielle finishing a very credible 5th & 4th place respectively. After lunch the wind dropped even more (despite darkening sky’s and thunder in the distance) and the race committee of the day decided that to speed things up both fleets would start together – chaos then ensued. The main fleet broke away (slowly!!), Danielle not having the best of starts got stuck behind regatta fleet sailors and had to enjoy now very little and very dirty wind. Slowly but surely the wind started to pick up to a mild breeze which saw Danielle able to get around the regatta scrabble and start to catch the main fleet back markers up, by the finish she had managed to scrape a 5th with two other boats literally just taking her on the line. Race 4 however was a very different story! The wind picked up dramatically and was blowing extremely hard (guess around 18 knots – thxs MR Thunderstorm!). Half of the regatta fleet scrambled for the shore, leaving circa 12 sailors to compete in the last race. Danielle had one of the best starts of her very short sailing career and led from the outset, by the end of lap 4 she had lapped most of the regatta fleet and the nearest contender from the main fleet and was at least half a circuit behind (oh what a difference the wind makes!!). Danielle finished a very happy bunny in first place, commenting that the last race was more like being at Neyland !! Overall Results for the main fleet were as follows: 1st James Parker – Mowbray (Frampton) 2nd Louis Davies (Fowey) 3rd Sally Harvey (Frampton) 4th Danielle Rowe (NYC) 5th Joe Burford (Fowey) 6th Henry Martindale (Frampton) WEST WALES CYRC WEEKEND 17/18 JUNE 2006 This weekend saw the last of the CYRC rounds at Neyland. Rather than have two seperate events it was decided to hold a full weekend series with four races on Saturday and three on Sunday. Saturdays race consisted of two races at Pennar flats, then back for a late lunch followed by two further races along neyland front. The morning started off with no wind and plenty of sun. By 11.00am the wind had just about arrived and the fleets got away and after a shortened course managed to finish. The wind changed for the second race and a slight delay ensued whilst the race committee and the mark layers tried to set the course. As the wind steadied the race got underway and everyone had an enjoyable race. The afternoon's racing got under way in glorious sun and wind, a rare combination nowadays. Sundays racing was held back at Pennar with good winds but unsettled weather. Special mention must go to the two Optimist sailors, Danielle and William, who swapped boats for race 6 and learnt a valuable lesson in the importance of good sails. The three races were completed succesfully with everyone getting back in time for lunch. Richard Twining presented the weekends prizes and also the overall series prizes in the Clubhouse. Overall winners were: Optimists - Danielle Rowe NYC, Toppers - Micky Beckett PYC and General Handicap - Abigail Crispin (Laser Radial) NYC. Thanks must go to all the helpers who made this weekend such a success. For full results of the weekends racing click the link below. JUNIOR SAILING WEEKEND 6/7 MAY 2006
The weekend of 6/7 May 2006 saw our first junior sailing training weekend of this season at Neyland Yacht Club. Saturdays weather was a bit chilly but with a good breeze making for an enjoyable days sailing. The rain in the afternoon wasn’t too pleasant but no-one complained (well not loudly anyway!). Sundays weather was completely different with a light breeze and sunshine in the morning and even more sunshine in the afternoon, but no wind.
Due to the lack of wind the children asked (told?) the instructors that they wanted capsize practise. So the afternoon session was a mad flurry of boats capsizing and being righted. In stage three everyone must have capsized at least 20 times and then swam onto friends boats and capsized them!
The parents did a grand job organising the shore operations and providing vast quantities of burgers, hot dogs, cakes and drinks on both days. All profits will be ploughed back into junior sailing activities. Report by - Mick Murray THE ERIC TWINAME CHAMPIONSHIPS AT RUTLAND 6/7 MAY 2006
Ngaire Strawbridge, Quinn McGrath and former Neyland Yacht Club members Micky and Stevie Beckett made up four out of the six Welsh squad contingent of the Topper class at the RYA Eric Twiname Championships. They are all graduates of our NYC RYA approved training program. The light airs favoured the lighter helms, with Quinn McGrath overturning the form book by laying 8th overnight after the first day. Ngaire and Stevie managed to ignore the UK fleet of 70+ and still find each other to sustain their local rivalry. On the second day the Race Officer ignored Quinn’s request to call it off, with him then finishing 17th overall after the discard kicked in, and hitting the second mark when nicely placed in 7th. In the very last race, Stevie finally managed to round Ngaire’s cover, getting a 7th, finishing 32nd overall with Ngaire 39th and Micky 52nd.
Considering all the fleet were either National Squaddies or RYA Zone equivalents, team Wales (NYC) did us proud. However, we were greatly shamed to lose 4-2 to Scotland in the evenings Human Table Football. Clearly we need to practise this more at NYC guys? It’s no good blaming Piers Beckett, my controversial replacement as team manager!
Report by - Simon McGrath RYA National Youth Championships
Three sailors from Neyland attended the RYA National Youth Championships, Abby Crispin and Laura Morgan in the Laser Radials and Rhys Holmes in the Laser Standard. The weeks racing was held at Weymouth over the week of 8th – 14th April. The racing was challenging and the weather covered all conditions, and varied a lot. Day One-Monday It was a tricky first day, with the Laser Radials and RS:X(windsurfers) sailing inside the harbour, and the Laser Standards, 420s, 29ers and Hobies outside the harbour. This meant that they had a one and half mile beat out to the course area, and another one back because of the wind shifting. The wind started off with a blustery 15-20 knots, but dropped to nothing, which caused the racing to be delayed a few hours while we waited for the sea breeze, which eventually did come. The outer courses had two races, while the radials and windsurfers had three to stay on schedule. Day Two-Tuesday Wind conditions today were extreme! Only the Laser Radials were sent out, in a wind that was a steady 28 knots, gusting 38 frequently. As soon as they reached their course area the organisers realised that with the fleet scattered across Weymouth harbour and many people breaking equipments, it should be postponed. The final abandonment decision was reached almost five hours later. Day Three-Wednesday Today started with sunshine, and brought some great but tiring racing. The wind was more manageable with 15 knots average. Day Four-Thursday Another extreme day! It was just as windy as Tuesday, probably more. The Laser Standards and Radial Gold fleet were sent out first, and completed one race before being sent in when the wind reached a constant 33 knots. All the other fleets were sent out but not raced. Not long after the decision was reached that all the fleets were abandoned except the Laser Radial gold fleet, which went on to complete another two races in very extreme conditions, though many sailors didn’t sail. Day Five-Friday The forecast was for the wind to be anywhere from 5-15 knots, dropping to almost nothing by midday. In reality, it was 15 knots, gusting 20 and didn’t drop at all until the last leg of the last race, with the races done as quickly as possible so as everyone could pack away, all fleets were off the water by three o’clock. Final Positions Laser Standard Rhys Holmes 23rd (out of 40 entries) Laser Radial Abigail Crispin 35th (out of 113 entries) Laura Morgan 37th (out of 113 entries) (Report by Abby Crispin)
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