Perfect conditions

Great Britain lay down the foundations for success on the first day of the Youth Worlds

The first day of racing (Friday 14 July) at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship got off to a brilliant start with warm sunshine and fresh breeze blowing across all three race courses on Weymouth and Portland waters.

Sixty-three nations, including Great Britain, took to the water to contest the Youth World Championship title and the much desired Volvo Trophy, awarded to the team with the best overall points.

The Volvo RYA GBR Youth Worlds Team took to the water with confidence and put in strong performances from which they will build upon over the course of the Championship.

Seventeen-year-old Tom Phipps of Falmouth and Weymouth’s Richard Glover, 16 had a good start to the event and after the first three races are leading the fleet of 13 Hobie 16 catamarans. While this event marks Phipps’ third time competing for the Youth World Title, Glover is racing at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship for the first time.

“Today was good for us,” Glover explained as they de-rigged their boat. “We had a 1,2,4 which is a great stepping stone for us to work from tomorrow.”

Phipps was equally pleased. “We were quick downwind today. In the second race we lost some places when we missed a wind shift and dropped down to ninth place, but we managed to bring it back on the next leg partly due to being fast.

“Tomorrow we might try and be a bit more conservative but we’re happy with how we’ve started the event.”

The windsurfing fleet, this year competing on the new RS:X board, hosted a diverse range of talent. British sailors Richard Hamilton and Beth Williamson put in three solid races, placing both firmly in the top ten.

Hamilton,16 from Barrow-upon-Humber ends the day in fifth place and only four points out of the top three. After months spent training for the event Hamilton is pleased with his performance so far.

“I felt well prepared out there today,” Hamilton explained. “We had a tough first race with light wind which meant we had to basically pump our way around the course. My fitness played a big part in my success today and all the time I’ve put in at the gym has paid off.”

Williamson of Liverpool also had a strong opening day and by scoring a 4,11,6 has put in one of the best first-day performances by a British girl windsurfer in the past three years. RYA Youth Racing Manager, Simon Wergan sees the 18-year-old’s potential to move forward from her current sixth place.

“It was great to see all Beth’s hard work put into the event build up, get converted into good race finishes and Volvo Trophy points,” Wergan commented.

Team GBR’s single handers Anna Dobson and Sean Evans had a mixed day but will be able to build on their performances in the race days to come. Dobson, from Helensburgh, Scotland, the youngest member of the team, put up a good fight in the Laser Radial as did Sean Evans of Cardiff in Laser standard. Both sailors finished the day in 15th overall.

“I was happy with my boat speed today,” Evans,18 explained, “and still have the rest of the week to look forward to. Now I’m trying to focus on being ready for tomorrow.”

The 420 boys and girls had a long day on the water, competing on the course furthest from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Richard Mason,18 from Lymington and Dan Schieber,17 from Englefield made their mark in the top ten with a 9,5,14 string of finishes. The gold-driven duo will be looking to improve on their current seventh place in the week to come.

In the girl’s 420, Lymington’s Sophie Weguelin and Leigh-on-Sea’s Katrina Hughes lie in 13th place overall. The 17 and 16-year-olds are without a top ten finish on day one, the pair will be pressing forward in tomorrow’s races