Event Report - Allen GP4 at Hayling Island Sailing Club
Six months after Allen GP3 at WPNSA, the Allen GP series returned with Allen GP4 at Hayling Island.
It was great to see a fleet of over 55 boats back on the water. The weather gods provided a variety of conditions, with a little bit of something for everyone
On Day One we had fairly light wind out in Hayling Bay. The racecourse was dominated by Emily Mueller and Flo Brellisford (2743), who showed no signs of ring rust and took a very impressive three wins from three races on Saturday, leaving them first overnight. With the wind dropping after the third race, AP over A was hoisted and the fleet struggled back to the harbour against a fast flowing spring tide.
Day Two started with a strong breeze over the racecourse, a pleasant change for some after Saturday’s lighter conditions. Ben Mueller and Freddie Lonsdale (2900) capitalised on the weather, putting away two early firsts. The wind dropped slightly for Race 6, which Ollie Evans and Ben Hutton-Pennman (2811) lead by a massive margin to take the win. Freddie Westwell and Jesse Kibble (2903) took line honours in Race 7. Then, as the tide switched, the final race of the event was won by Ben and Freddie again, pushing them up the overall standings.
Allen 29er Grand Prix at Hayling Island © Peter Hickson
Despite the huge range of conditions, Emily Mueller and Flo Brellisford came out on top by a convincing margin to win the event overall and first girls’ team. Some very consistent sailing by Sam Jones and Leo Wilkinson (2966) left them in 2nd place and 1st boys. Tied on 42 net points were Freddie Westwell and Jesse Kibble and Aled Llewellyn-Jones and Ben Bradley (3066), with Freddie and Jesse taking 3rd place on countback. Ollie Evans and Ben Hutton-Penman were 5th, and Ben Mueller and Freddie Lonsdale 6th overall. Monique Vennis-Ozanne and Jess Jobson (2661) were 2nd placed girls, closely followed by Karrie Clark and Lia Fletcher (2924) in 3rd.
The top junior pairing went to Nick Evans and Sam Webb (2788) and 2nd juniors were Rob Mawdsley and Ollie Mears (2478), despite being closely tailed by our 3rd juniors, Santi Sesto-Cosby and George May (2816). Finally, 1st mixed boat was Anabelle Vines and Henry Heathcote (2329), 2nd mixed went to Issy Leech and Solomon Wilby (2292) and 3rd mixed was Oliver Smoult and Imogen Asquith (2627).
A huge thank you to Hayling Island Sailing Club for hosting us and for providing a race committee who gave us excellent, fair racing in tricky conditions. Thanks also to the Class Association, and to all the volunteers and support staff who made the event happen, to all the sailors and parents for travelling to Hayling and making the racing challenging and enjoyable. Finally, a big thank you to our sponsors Allen, for their ongoing support and for providing some great prizes. See you next weekend in Weymouth!
Many thanks to Peter Hickson for the superb photographs which can be found here.
by Freddie Westwell & Jesse Kibble
