Optimist Inlands Main Fleet Report
Optimist Inlands Main Fleet Report
Papercourt sailors made up 15 of the 219 entrants in the Main Fleet at the Optimist Inland Champs at Grafham Water on 15/16 May.
The sailors arrived early on Saturday morning to be met by a brisk north westerly breeze that built throughout the day as they competed in 3 races. A large part of the fleet found the conditions challenging with good practice for “sailing and bailing” from the waves and many experiencing a capsize (or two!). It all made for a great spectacle from the clubhouse as our sailors surfed downwind faster than some of us haveseen an Oppy move before. The PSC team, supported by coach James Murdoch on a RIB (thank you Paul H and James W), persevered with those who finished all 3 races on Saturday deserving great credit for stamina, dealing with 25+ knot gusts and wearing the right clothing as almost half the fleet retiring during Race 2. Special mention to Dominic Hall who after a capsize in Race 1 was witnessed bailing out in a mad frenzy to prove that he has fully recovered from a broken wrist.
After a well earned rest on Saturday accompanied by either friends, BGT or Eurovision, our sailors were met by similar conditions on Sunday morning although thankfully the wind eased throughout Races 4-6 from a force 5 to 3. The PSC team continues to show improvement and the benefit of either the RYA Zone Squad or Papercourt Winter Training – mostly down to great tips and support from coach James Murdoch.
Once again the PSC sailors were led by Murray Hampshire who recovered from a capsize in Race 1 to record 4 top 10 results to finish 23rd overall. Esther Fenton-Jones had an impressively consistent series with a best result of 16th in Race 1 to finish 42nd overall. Murray and Esther have been our top 2 sailors for a considerable period and will soon be moving on to other classes. Best of luck to both of them and please come back and gives us your top tips at PSC training!
Hattie Lucas-Clements (79th) and Alice Smith (86th) both achieved personal bests with results inside the top 100 following a great series of races. David Brand (100th), Oscar Wright (105th), Dominic Hall (107th), Jessy Hammett (113th) and Emily Walters (137th) were not far behind and are all now consistently in the mix of the Main fleet where the margin for error is exceptionally small. Jake Hardman (147th) was first non-squaddie and together with Conor Whelan (152nd), Jack Lucas Clements (174th) and Flavia Tritto (185th) demonstrated that they are capable of mixing it with the big boys and girls in the main fleet with a target to work on consistency. Emily Smith in her last Oppy event revelled in Saturday’s conditions and still managed to finish 164th despite “resting” on Sunday to concentrate on exam revision.
Click here for full results. PSC results below:-
23rd – Murray Hampshire
42nd – Esther Fenton-Jones
79th – Hattie-Lucas Clements
86th – Alice Smith
100th – David Brand
105th – Oscar Wright
107th – Dominic Hall
113th – Jessie Hammett
137th – Emily Walters
147th - Jake Hardman
152nd – Conor Whelan
164th – Emily Smith
174th – Jack Lucas-Clements
185th – Flavia Tritto
209th – Emma Handley and Iain Bird
Report by Jason Hardman
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