Gill Savills Optimist UK National Championship 2024 at the Plas Heli Welsh National Sailing Academy
by Andy Ramus 4 Sep 22:26 NZST
3-8 August 2024
The 2024 Gill Savills Optimist National Championships in Pwllheli was all set to be a windy one with big waves also a feature on the forecast. It was great to see nearly 260 Optimists arrive and set up in the boat park at Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy, including many overseas competitors making the trip.
Senior Main Fleet
Day 1 was, as forecasted, going to be a big one. As well as some very experienced UK windy weather sailors there were a number of top sailors from Europe attending the event.
On arrival at the race track the wind was gusting over 20 knots with a very steep swell with 6-8 ft faces. Joan Domingon Spain's number one, and Maurits Melens the top sailor in Holland, took early charge of the race and took the 1, 2 with the UK's Leo Gosling taking the 3rd.
Races 2 and 3 saw similar battles at the front with the top 3 taking turns to lead but with the final wins going to Domingo in race 2 and Gosling in the third and final race of the day.
Unfortunately, racing was cancelled on Day 2 due to 30 knot gusts and a dangerous sea state. All was not lost though as many families made the most of the many tourist attractions in North Wales and headed to the local adventure centre for Aqua Park fun and Go Karting, and also the Zip Wire Experience and Bounce Below.
Tuesday saw the wind drop a little and racing commenced once more. It was the usual suspects at the front with the exception of race 5 which saw Spain's Sean Sadler take the bullet and Cornelia Baldock Frost of Sweden taking a 2nd in race 6. By race 7 the breeze had increased to the most seen so far and it was survival of the fittest, with Leo Gosling taking line honours. It was truly a race where everyone who made it was a winner.
Despite being sent out on Wednesday the race committee could see that conditions were verging on dangerous and there was an indefinite AP posted and all sent back to shore. After carefully monitoring conditions, the Senior Fleet headed back out into the wind and waves in the afternoon for one race. Sean Sadler scooped the race win, with Joan Domingo in second and Maurits Melens in third, and GBR's Leo Gosling just behind in 4th.
There was no further racing on the final day due to another building forecast. This meant prize-giving was held earlier than scheduled, and saw Leo Gosling finishing in third overall and taking the Senior British National Championship title. The Open Championship title went to Joan Domingo from Spain.
Junior Main Fleet
The Juniors saw the top spots being dominated by a few individuals on day one. Charlie Holland dominated the day 1 with 3 bullets. Parkstone's Fraser Hakes chased him hard and banked three 2nd places, with the third places going to Lymington's Bear Baker in races 1 and 3, and Ruby Coster in the second race.
The Juniors also took on 4 races on the Tuesday. It was Fraser Hakes that won the day with a 1, 1, 2, RTD. Charlie Holland picked up a BFD but banked 2nds other than that. Bear Baker again had a great day picking up 2 firsts. Experiencing the same as the Seniors, the last race of the day was full on and everyone who made it should be proud!
There was to be no further racing for the Juniors, meaning Charlie Holland took the Junior National title, with Fraser Hakes second and Bear Baker in third.
Despite a challenging week, PRO Chris Hoppins and his team did well to get 7 out of 10 scheduled races completed for the Juniors, and 8 out of 10 scheduled for the Seniors.
Regatta Racing
39 boats entered this year's Regatta Racing Feet and despite the racing area being further in shore, the sailors were faced with similar challenging sailing conditions that were thrown at the Main Fleet.
Sunday was first day of scheduled racing, however, the wind against tide meant some large waves and a very green looking Race Committee bobbing around, trying to find somewhere flatter to get racing under way. Despite formal racing being cancelled, some sailing closer to the shore on a reaching course, provided the opportunity for those that wanted to, to get out and blow any cobwebs away and practise their high-speed reaching.
Unfortunately Monday's conditions led to all racing being cancelled with some competitors making a quick dash to sample other local activities in the beautiful North Wales countryside to burn off their sailing energy. Others hunkered down in their accommodation clearly researching how to sail an Optimist in 20kts+ and large waves!
Tuesday brought on the racing - On a compressed course, 4 races on an O3 were completed in really challenging conditions. The fleet showed great resilience and tenacity, keeping sailing through the day in what many of the sailors had never experienced before. Olivia Grant took the first race from Zoe Green, with Theo Fox managing to hold on in the stronger winds for third. Race 2 was won by Felix Palmer-Ward with Zoe Green showing consistency by bringing in another 2nd place. Clearly relishing the wind and waves, Zoe then won the remaining two races to secure the Championship in style. The rest of the top three positions were shared by Luke Moore and Charlotte Davies.
Final results had Felix Palmer-Ward in second and Luke Moore in third. Everyone who completed the racing was very proud of themselves and came ashore having learned some valuable techniques and itching to get out to race again.
Unfortunately wind, waves and tide then didn't play ball in order to safely get the Regatta Racing Fleet afloat again, despite the best efforts of the Race Officer and team, with no fleets racing on the final Thursday at all.
A great prize-giving in the main event hall with huge thanks to all the sponsors meant the sailors all came away with massive smiles on their faces having had a fantastic week at Pwhelli.
Coached Regatta Fleet
The Coached Regatta Fleet, for younger sailors or those competing in their first nationals, was buzzing with a record entry of 45 boats. Head coach Andy Kerr, working with a fantastic team of young coaches and parents, took on the challenging conditions, maximising time on the water, and delivering plenty of fun learning ashore. Faced with plenty of breeze on the first day, the more experienced sailors launched in groups to blast around a triangle course, while the younger sailors enjoyed a reaching course just off the beach.
The wind saw day two declared a lay day, so by day three the sailors were super keen to make the most of the morning's slightly lighter conditions. Sailors were encouraged to find their own level of challenge, with training around a triangle or racing around trapezoid course in the morning, followed by more training in the afternoon's building breeze. A fun prize-giving saw spot prizes for special performances across the fleet.
The following day saw a lot of hopeful waiting, but the big winds returned to scupper any chances of more racing. However, the coaches dreamt up plenty of creative fun and games ashore, perhaps the highlight being scooter racing in the hall. There were lots of personal victories over the course of the event, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the progress made by everyone who took part.
Overall winner of the racing was Archie Dowling from Royal Lymington YC with three straight firsts, with Blaise Kemp finishing second and Hamish Munro from Aberdeen and Stonehaven YC third.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Plas Heli, the Welsh National Sailing Academy for hosting the event, to all the sponsors, in particular lead sponsors Gill Marine and Savills Estate agents. Also huge thanks to PRO Chris Hoppins and his team. Lastly the event couldn't have happened without a huge amount of work behind the scenes and on the water by all the parent volunteers. Huge thanks to all involved.
Next year the Optimists return to the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy for the Nationals, running from Saturday 26th July - Friday 1st August.