View Photos here

EVENT REPORT - by Richard Knight
Quick Links
Pre-Regatta | Practice Race |  Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |  Day 5 | Day 6 | Final Beat

Three RHKYC youth sailors (Jamin Early, Alex Bochenski and Lars Schkade) are headed to the European Laser 4.7 Youth Championship & Trophy 2010 taking place in Hourtin, near Bordeaux in south west France from 24 to 31 July. They make up the Hong Kong team along with HHYC sailors James Johnston and Rupert Phillips. RHKYC’s Richard Kni...ght is team coach. There are a total of 242 boys and 120 girls entered for this event.

The sailors will arrive at the venue on the 17th July to start a pre-regatta training week at the venue. Being able to combine a major regatta with a training week was one of the main 'pull' factors for the team. The sailors are looking forward to the opportunity to sail in a big fleet amongst some of the best young sailors in the world. The regatta will consist of 12 races over 6 days. More details at http://events.laserinternational.org/en/events/overview/100z44

First Training Day - 19 July 2010
 

First day out on the water yesterday for the team but this was only possible due to the kind help from Trevor of Sail Coach. The charter boats have not arrived yet (long story) but we were able to charter lasers from Sail Coach until they do.
The sailors are kept busy with an hour fitness training before breakfast. We have a full week of training before the regatta starts next Monday. The entry list is now up to 361! More updates as the week progresses.

re-Regatta Training week 19 to 24 July

As well as the regatta itself another important reason for coming to Hourtin was to benefit from a training week on the Lake. For a time it looked like we may not have managed this as there were problems with the regatta charter boats but thanks to the help of Trevor Millar of Sail Coach we were able to have Lasers to train on as planned.

Most days we saw the sea breeze fill in to around 12 knots with some afternoons peaking at 20 knots. There were plenty of other teams also taking advantage of the training week and so there plenty of opportunities to race against other Laser 4.7 sailors.

As well as the on the water sailing the team was also working on their fitness with at least an hour of jogging, stretching and core workouts each morning, topped off with a bit of football! Towards the end of the week this was tapered off to ensure the sailors went into the regatta week with enough energy to see them through six days of racing.

The team was able to learn a lot during the week from improving roll tacks and starting techniques to learning that the Lake wasn’t actually that deep!

ractice Race and Opening Ceremony - 25 July

It is common for sailors not to take the practice race too seriously but at this regatta it seemed to reach an all time high. Despite the efforts of the Race Committee to run a fair race the bulk of the sailors pushed each other over the line almost two minutes early and then continued on upwind. This resulted in a very untidy race and for those who did start on time no clean lanes to sail upwind. Despite this it was still worthwhile to get a taste of the week ahead. With about 8 to 10knots of breeze from the west the race course took up the whole width of the lake and there were plenty of wind shifts to deal with. After a two beats and a run the majority of sailors peeled off and headed back to the beach as most would prefer to have only a short session on the day before the first race officially begins.

The Opening Ceremony took place in Hourtin Port, located on the other side of the Lake. After the usual speeches and individual team introductions there was some food and a chance for the sailors to meet each other. The Hong Kong received a fair amount of attention due to the fact we had traveled the furthest to join the regatta!

egatta Day One, Race 1 & 2 - 26 July

The start time for all races this week has been pushed back to 1.30pm to take full advantage of the forecast sea breeze. The morning is still busy with a coaches briefing at 11am and organizing food and fuel for the day before that. Racing got underway on both race areas on time and in about 10 knots of wind. The breeze was steadier than non-seabreeze days and picked up to about 15knots during the afternoon, however there was still a difference between the breeze at the start and the windward mark which proved to be an important factor.

A total of 350 sailors are taking part in these Championships. The 232 boys have been split into four fleets so there are 58 boats per fleet. The first four days of the competition the sailors will change fleets each day and then their ranking on day four will qualify them into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald. Given the level of competition and the lack of big fleet experience we are targeting the Bronze fleet for most of our sailors.

On day one Lars and Alex were in the green fleet, James in Blue, Rupert in Red all on the south course while Jamin was in the Yellow fleet on the North course. This clearly made things difficult for the coach to be able to watch four different races on two different race areas! As it turned out there were a few general recalls and I managed to get around the race course to see a lot more than I expected.

Some mixed results from the Hong Kong team all of whom are getting used to sailing in a fleet of 60 Laser 4.7s and learning that there aren’t that many lanes of clean wind! Things were even tougher when two fleets overlapped and there was 120 Lasers on the same downwind leg at the same time!Most scored in the 30s and 40s with James and Alex breaking into the 20s.

However the performance of the day went to Rupert in Race 2 who showed what potential the Hong Kong sailors have as he rounded the first windward mark in first place! He did well to hold 2nd place on the first run and was still in the top 5 after the second beat and reach but unfortunately on the final run and reach he slipped to 13th but still a good result. This has shown the team that any one of them could be up there with a good start, clean wind and getting the first shift correct. If only it was as easy as it sounds!?

Rupert prepared a fine bolognaise for dinner and were then able to discuss the day’s races together. The de-brief focused on the reach and runs as this is where the team are either losing places or not making the gains they should. Two races down, six more to go for the qualifying series.

egatta Day Two, Race 3 & 4

This morning there was a blanket of cloud in the sky but the forecast was still for a sea breeze. With the first start not scheduled until 1.30pm again there was just enough time for the cloud to burn off and racing got underway in a light sea breeze of about 8 knots.

Lars and James were in the Red fleet, Rupert and Alex in Green and Jamin was once again in Yellow over on the other course. Unfortunately for Jamin once again it meant starting after the two girls fleets who were so eager to start they had multiple general recalls which led to an hour delay before getting started.

Today the team was struggling with starts and in particular their acceleration off the line. This often forced them to tack off earlier than they would have liked and as a result put them immediately in the second half of the fleet. From then on it was difficult to sail the tacks they wanted and it was all too easy to lose more places.

Performance of the day went to James who finished in the top 20, even after having to sail the last three legs of the course with a broken clew strap (that keeps the clew on the boom).

After eating Jamin’s tasty beef tacos we discussed the day’s races and focused on starts as it was clear that this was the root to most of the problems. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to some front row starts, with good acceleration to make the most of the first wind shift.

egatta Day Three, Race 5 & 6

After a disappointing day yesterday we are pleased to report on a more successful day. The mission today was a good start or at least into clean wind early.

Sailing on the south course Rupert and Alex were allocated into the Red Fleet and Lars in Green, while Jamin and James were in Yellow on the north course. The general trend is flatter water and shifter winds on the north course as it is closer to the shore and the start line seem to be shorter there as well!

With a good start, clean wind and sailing the right side on the beat Alex and Rupert were inside the top 10 at the end of the first lap. Although they lost places on the second lap Rupert finished 18th and Alex in 23rd. Rupert went onto improve this result in the second race with a 15th, Alex was up there but struggled to hold his place on the second lap and slipped back into the 30s. However, the performance of the day went to James who scored a 7th in race 6.

After racing James attended his request for redress hearing as he had been penalised for not signing in the previous day. The problem was that another sailor had signed in James’ space on the sheet so it looked like everyone had signed so the sheets were removed (we think earlier than the time limit) so James didn’t have the chance to sign in. The Race Committee are adamant that they brought them in at the time limit so the jury sided with them and James is stuck with his 12 point penalty.

The last two races of the qualifying series take place tomorrow. This evening the Club hosted a BBQ and disco for the sailors and hundreds of volunteers helping to run the event. To give you an idea of the scale of the event, there are over 80 registered coach boats!

Regatta Day Four, Race 7 & 8

Today was another cloudy start with little expectation of a sea breeze kicking in. There was no postponement so the fleets launched at the usual time into about 3 knots of breeze in the opposite direction to the usual sea breeze. However, by about 1.30pm the first signs of breeze appeared and it quickly built to about 12 knots.

For the first time Jamin was out of the yellow fleet and into blue meaning he would sail on the north course on the first start. Also on the north course was Lars and James in the Red fleet and Alex in Green. Rupert was in yellow on the south course.

Today would turn out to be a below par day. The starts weren’t good enough for them to be in clean wind from the beginning and in these fleets that is enough to push you to the back. While watching the last fleet finish even the coach boat broke down. I’m not superstitious but it was pointed out that it is our 13th day here in France and our 4th day racing!

With these results added to the score sheet we have slipped from our original goal of qualification. James and Rupert have qualified for Bronze fleet while Alex, Lars and Jamin will be in Emerald for the final two days racing. The goal now is for all the sailors to sail above their current ranking and use the next four races as valuable big fleet practice, which is why we are here!

We finished off the day by throwing a few steaks on the barbeque and thought we would try for some Wifi. The steaks were great, but we were not successful with the Wifi (hence why these reports come to you so late)! Coming from Hong Kong you would never expect it to be so difficult to find Wifi!

We did get back to the Club only to check the results again and find Rupert had been DSQ’d for not completing a full 720 after receiving an on the water rule 42 (sculling at the start) from the umpires. That was an expensive mistake but hopefully one Rupert won’t repeat.

egatta Day Five, Race 9 & 10

This was the first of two days racing in the qualified fleets. This would mean the sailors were sailing against people of similar abilities and as a result the racing would be closer than ever. For the Hong Kong sailors there target was always to finish the races in the top half.

There was at least an hour delay while the sea breeze filled in, and it was a light one when it did. It was a further hour delay while we waited for the first two fleets to get a clean start on both courses. The wind steadily picked up over the next few hours to a maximum of 12 knots but it was still about 7pm by the time everyone got back to shore.

There were some good performances from the team today. Lars was leading the Emerald fleet for the first half of the race and then finished 3rd. It was good to see him using the maneuvers and tactics we have been talking about in the past two weeks. Rupert also had a great race today, finishing 2nd in the Bronze fleet. The boys have showed that they can be at the front but we certainly have to practice how to be consistent in everything we do, especially on the starts.

This evening James and Richard prepared chicken fajitas for dinner and that marks the last home cooked meal of the trip. Tomorrow is expected to be a big day of sailing, returning the charter boats, closing ceremony as well as packing and tidying up the house before we depart on Sunday morning.

egatta Day Six, Race 11

Despite the best intentions of the Race Committee to start early for the last day and have two races there was just no wind before the sea breeze kicked in at 2pm. With that extra ‘hanging around’ on the beach waiting for the AP to come down it is hard for the sailors to stay focused on going out for one more important race when it was very close to all being over.

The Race Committee got the races off just before the 3pm cut-off and used the black flag just incase anyone was thinking otherwise! The breeze was a near perfect 10 to 12 knots and it was the right that paid. In the Emerald fleet a French sailor did a one tack beat and was 30 seconds ahead of the fleet at the top mark.

The team finished a bit flat, picking up some average scores for their final race. Perhaps the performance of the day should go to the coach who managed to get the coach boat back to shore with less than a pint of fuel left in the tank!

Upon returning to shore the next race started, packing up! It is always surprising to see how quickly the teams de-rig and pack up their road trailers, most of which carry a RIB and at least six lasers! The advantage of charter boats is that you just have to return them to the on-site laser dealer, although the boys did a very thorough job of cleaning them to ensure they got most if not all of their deposits returned!

There was a very efficient prize giving by about 7pm and before you knew it most of the teams had gone. The Hong Kong team received an award for the team that traveled the furthest for the competition and we exchanged burgees with the host Club. For all Radial and Standard Rig Laser sailors reading this, Hourtin will be the venue for next year’s Europeans, and the Club commodore is very keen for Hong Kong to bring a team for those Championships too!

inal Beat...

What did the team get from attending these European Championships? The answer is simple, it is all about getting the big fleet experience. There is no doubt Hong Kong’s 4.7 fleet is growing. It has gone from zero boats a few years ago, to 16 boats in last season’s nationals but at the European’s the boys were racing in four fleets of 58 boats each. The only other one design fleet that is getting close to this in Hong Kong is the Optimist, and only in the last two years. In Hong Kong we now see 60 boats in a mixed dinghy fleet start but that does not provide realistic, or even fair, sailing for them.

At the Europeans the sailors were pushed from the pre-start, all the way around the course until the finish. There were no bad sailors at this event and although the boys are disappointed not to have finished further up the rankings they had their moments during the regatta and only more experience will see them improve their consistency. I have no doubt if they started the regatta again on Monday they would already be able to score a better result.

Looking back at the two weeks we had 14 days of sailing with wind every day. By the last few races there were big improvements in particular with their starts, mark roundings and general fleet awareness. The team did have to live without a few comforts… the internet, TV and they also had to take turns cooking and cleaning up! It was also a great opportunity to meet other highly motivated sailors from other countries, some of whom they had already met at the Worlds in April but many new names and faces. Through the power of social networks such as Facebook there is no doubt they will be able to keep in touch and hopefully push each other to keep doing more regattas in the future. There is already talk of inviting the British and Irish to attend some Hong Kong regattas in October! For now, there is just time for a quick break before the start of the Hong Kong season in September.

See you on the water!