Hannah shines at Grafham
Three young sailors from the Manx Youth Sailing Squad tested themselves against some of the best in the UK recently in their first major competition in the laser dinghy.
Hannah Howitt (16), Isabel Sharpe (15) and James Kelly (14) sailed in the radial class at the UK Laser Inland Championship at Grafham Water, which attracted 120 entries in their class.
The event presented a huge challenge to the young manx sailors, who only recently progressed into the olympic class laser dinghy and were up against some of the most experienced sailors of all ages in the UK. The annual championship is also used by coaches of the GBR squad to scout for young talent, so competition is always fierce.
After racing was abandoned due to a complete lack of wind on Saturday, a light breeze allowed racing to commence on Sunday morning. With such a large number of boats, the radial class was split into four fleets which competed in a round robin style contest, with each fleet racing against every other at least once.
Also representing the island was laser sailor Mike Pridham, who used the event as a warm-up as he prepares to contest the 2012 Laser World Championship taking place in Brisbane in March.
The fierce competition for a space on the start line was a relatively new experience for the young sailors, who put up a good fight in the very light and shifty winds. The star performance came from Hannah Howitt, who secured a superb 14th place in the first race in her fleet of 60, and finished 67th in the overall standings, only two places behind veteran Mike Pridham. For a first event at this level, a mid-fleet finish is a fantastic achievement.
Isabel Sharpe showed consistency to finish 107th, with James Kelly 116th overall, with all the young sailors gaining valuable experience of racing in big fleets.
Impressed with the standard of the juniors, Pridham said, ‘They didn’t lose their nerve on a crowded start line, I thought they did really well. Sailing on inland water is so different from sailing on the sea. You only had to make one tiny mistake and you’d lose 15 places.’
