ILCA Eastern GP Open at Waldringfield Sailing Club
by Toby Tracey 2 May 19:57 NZST
27 April 2025
A fleet of 35 sailors descended on Waldringfield on 27th April for our ILCA Open, the opening event on the new ILCA Eastern GP circuit.
It included 18 visitors coming from as far as Hickling and Burnham, with one even taking the coastal route from Orford.
The forecast of light winds early on proved correct and a number of ILCA 4s took the chance to change up to 6s. With racing postponed, the fleet adopted the familiar meerkat pose of peering at the end of the river hoping for glimpses of breeze. Dark spots began appearing around midday and race officer Ian Videlo promptly sent us onto the water for the first of four races.
The wind quickly filled in to F3-4 and a windward-leeward course was set. With such large numbers the startline was a hectic affair and finding lanes was tricky but opportunities could be found with the shifts and occasional wind bend at the top of the course. It was close racing throughout the fleet with those getting ahead early and separating from the pack doing well. Soon after the first race, the tide changed and it was champagne sailing from there on beating with the current followed by long runs back to the leeward mark, with big gains and calamitous losses depending on which side of the river you took.
Away at the top of the fleet it was also nip and tuck with Steve Videlo eventually winning the first three races, showing that 33 year old boats can still cut it in the right hands. Despite the dominance, it was tight racing all day with Nathan Russell, Dave Reason and Cameron Harris all having their moments. The most consistent challenge however came from Hamish Collingridge overtaking Steve on the last buoy of the day and taking a well-deserved second overall.
Congratulations to Steve who took the Laser Open Trophy for best overall and Hamish the Laser Challenge Trophy for best U21. Also many thanks to Ian and the team for helping the day go so smoothly.
The next event on the Eastern GP circuit is at Royal Norfolk and Suffolk YC on 24th May.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Class | Sail No | Helm Name | Club | Age Group | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | ILCA 7 / LASER | 146560 | Stephen Videlo | Waldringfield SC | | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 3 |
| 2nd | ILCA 7 / LASER | 221631 | Hamish Collingridge | Waldringfield SC | U21 | ‑3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 3rd | ILCA 7 / LASER | 21013 | Nathan Russell | Royal Harwich YC | U21 | ‑6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 4th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 224542 | Paul Davies | Royal Harwich YC | | 4 | 5 | ‑17 | 4 | 13 |
| 5th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 171988 | Toby Bush | Waldringfield SC | U21 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ‑11 | 16 |
| 6th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 201478 | Ben Reason | Harwich Town SC | | 9 | 2 | ‑11 | 6 | 17 |
| 7th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 189322 | Toby Tracey | Waldringfield SC | | 7 | 6 | ‑8 | 8 | 21 |
| 8th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 215205 | Harry Wallhead | Royal Harwich YC | | 8 | 9 | 5 | ‑15 | 22 |
| 9th | ILCA 7 / LASER | W1 | Ben Stone | Waldringfield SC | | ‑16 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 23 |
| 10th | ILCA 7 / LASER | Tbc | Cameron Harris | Waldringfield SC | | 2 | 10 | ‑19 | 18 | 30 |
| 11th | ILCA 7 / LASER | W2 | Euan Harris | Waldringfield SC | | ‑15 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 30 |
| 12th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 205712 | Will Finch | Royal Harwich YC | | 12 | ‑16 | 10 | 10 | 32 |
| 13th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 46560 | Christopher Videlo | Waldringfield SC | | 17 | 11 | ‑29 | 7 | 35 |
| 14th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 219825 | Dave Reason | Harwich Town SC | | 14 | 15 | 7 | ‑19 | 36 |
| 15th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 188081 | Graham Ireland | Royal Harwich YC | | 10 | 19 | ‑26 | 9 | 38 |
| 16th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 192729 | Hamish Stone | Waldringfield SC | | 11 | 13 | ‑27 | 16 | 40 |
| 17th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 167860 | Freddie Brasted‑Watts | Harwich Town SC | | ‑24 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 43 |
| 18th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 194130 | Tom Nash | Orford SC | | ‑20 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 46 |
| 19th | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 176848 | Nathan Clark | WOBYC | U21 | 21 | ‑26 | 12 | 17 | 50 |
| 20th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 224155 | Simon Beckett | WOBYC | | 13 | 20 | ‑24 | 22 | 55 |
| 21st | ILCA 7 / LASER | 161551 | Melissa Fisher | Royal Harwich YC | | ‑31 | 17 | 14 | 27 | 58 |
| 22nd | ILCA 7 / LASER | 107258 | Samuel Jennings | Waldringfield SC | | 22 | 23 | 15 | ‑30 | 60 |
| 23rd | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 189093 | Noah Mathers | Burnham SC | | ‑29 | 21 | 16 | 23 | 60 |
| 24th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 200680 | Chris Woodard | Waldringfield SC | | 23 | 22 | ‑28 | 21 | 66 |
| 25th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 208856 | Doug Hutton‑Squire | Waldringfield SC | | 19 | 24 | ‑32 | 24 | 67 |
| 26th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 174492 | Angus Stone | Waldringfield SC | | 18 | 29 | ‑34 | 28 | 75 |
| 27th | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 221322 | George Hutcheon | Burnham SC | U21 | 25 | 28 | 22 | ‑33 | 75 |
| 28th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 5058 | Joshua Reason | Harwich Town SC | U21 | ‑30 | 27 | 23 | 25 | 75 |
| 29th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 164745 | Jamie Whittle | Waldringfield SC | | 26 | ‑32 | 20 | 31 | 77 |
| 30th | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 182213 | Harry Wemyss | NBYC | U21 | 27 | 30 | ‑33 | 20 | 77 |
| 31st | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 178525 | Jago Jennings | Waldringfield SC | U21 | ‑33 | 31 | 21 | 26 | 78 |
| 32nd | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 205337 | Mike Steele | St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Assoc. | | 28 | 25 | 25 | ‑29 | 78 |
| 33rd | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 223459 | Oscar Bush | Waldringfield SC | U21 | 32 | ‑35 | 30 | 34 | 96 |
| 34th | ILCA 7 / LASER | 179547 | David James | Waldringfield SC | | 34 | 33 | 31 | ‑35 | 98 |
| 35th | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 200835 | Katie Fox | Harwich Town SC | | ‑35 | 34 | 35 | 32 | 101 |
| 36th | ILCA 6 / LASER RADIAL | 214134 | Amelie Hacker | Aldeburgh YC | U21 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 114 |
| 36th | ILCA 4 / LASER 4.7 | 202463 | Annabelle Hacker | Aldeburgh YC | U21 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 114 |
