Hayling
Island Saling Club
30 April � 2
May 2005
Fifty
two boats sailed in the final selector for the 420 2005 World and Junior
European Championships at Hayling Island on the early May Bank Holiday
weekend. Although the wind never rose above 9 knots Race Officer Roger
Palmer and his team of international race officials managed to get 7 good races
sailed. Hannah Mills and Peggy Webster continued their good form to win 3 races
and take the meeting from Ben Ainsworth and Maia Walsh, who won the last two races,
and then Maria Stanley and Catherine Alton. The selection series is now
complete with 17 races sailed. Tom Mallindine and James Clark have won the
series from Mills and Webster, which must be a very encouraging result as both
of these teams have already been selected to sail at the ISAF Youth World
Championships
Racing
on Saturday started late due to waiting for the wind to fill in and the fog to
lift. In the end the course was set with a light south easterly breeze giving a
nasty little chop to make sailing very difficult. After the usual false start
Mills and Webster took the left side of the beat to lead at the first mark.
They then sailed away to win comfortably from Matt Burge and Chris Evans and
Stanley and Alton. Race two was similar with Mills and Webster again taking a
good lead, but this time from Chris Witty and Jess Savin with Ben Ainsworth and
Maia Walsh getting used to the conditions in third place. Even though it
was past 4 pm the wind was holding up so the Race Officer was able to start a
third race. Once again Mills and Webster sailed a good first beat to lead at
the first mark. This time they sailed away to a huge win. Mallindine and Clark
hung on to second place ahead of Burge and Evans.
Sunday
looked more promising with the wind in the south and better visibility. But
still the wind was patchy with the possibility of losing a lot of ground
through being in a hole. Ed Powys and Will Morgan took race 4 from James Goss
and Elliot Parsons. Race 5 was the windiest of the day. Stanley and Alton led
Mills and Webster at the first mark by a length. By the finish they have moved
comfortably ahead. Ainsworth and Walsh showed good speed to move up to third
again. By race 6 the sea was particularly sloppy. Ainsworth and Walsh finished
ahead of Burge and Evans and Alison Martin and Ian Dobson. These three teams
having just benefited from sailing a regatta in Mediterranean chop, which is
just as difficult.
Mondays
forecast was for a bit less wind. By 1030 it was possible to send the fleet
to sea. Again the wind was light southerly again Webster and Mills, led at
the first mark benefiting from a left hand shift on the first beat, As the
race progressed the wind dropped from 8 knots to very little. On the last
reach Ainsworth and Walsh were able to creep through from fourth to first
leaving Mills and Webster in second and Stanley And Alton in 3rd
place. After a long wait the breeze filled in again and an 8th
race was started. But as the fleet neared the windward mark it dropped to
nothing. A lot of sailors became very frustrated, but in the end the Race
Officer decided it was quite unfair and abandoned rather than finish the regatta
with a bad race.