ILCA Open at London Corinthian Sailing Club
by Simon Hills 18 Jul 2023 17:29 NZST
16 July 2023
London Corinthian ILCA Open © Richard Bray
The Hammersmith Reach forecast for ILCA Open was a vigorous 15 knots, gusting 25, and that is pretty much what the fleet got, although the competitors had a case for arguing it was more like 25 knots with 15 knot lulls.
The PRO Peter Hallett set a triangle course with a good beat past Chiswick Eyot, a reach across the river to a gybe mark then a rock-and-roll run down to the leeward mark. London Corinthian SC on the river Thames is the only tidal venue on the Thames Valley circuit, and with the wind blowing over tide, there were some sharp waves, especially off the island, to contend with.
The nearest visitor was from the neighbouring Thames Club Strand-On-The Green, and the furthest, sailing a Radial, was all the way from Mexico.
Needless to say there were thrills and spills over the three races, but in the end it was the visitors who trumped local knowledge by the simple expedient of sailing faster, although the races were very close. Winner of the Standard fleet was Joe Armitage, from Strand, with LCSC sailor Simon Hills just pipping his club-mate Clive Kitson to second on countback. It was a great breeze for the Radials, with Mexican sailor Ignacio Richards taking the honours and LCSC sailor James Bourne coming in second.
Overall Results:
ILCA 7
1. Joe Armitage
2. Simon Hills
3. Clive Kitson
4. Julian Barker
5. Jonathan Sterling
6. Paolo DeLuca
ILCA 6
1. Ignaco Richards
2. James Bourne
3. John Levine
4. Lennart Pronk