DN Ice Boat World Championships

'Soft water' sailor Graham Nelson says the Brits have a lot to learn in the wacky world of ice yachting

It's mast bend... but not as we know it

A win in this race would have guided him into second place overall, but it was not to be. A grateful Leon Lebeau assumed the lead and was never challenged. Further back, Karol Jablonski was well placed in fourth, already looking good for the championship with Ron Sherry trailing badly in 12th with one lap to go. Then came the lap of the championship by Sherry, who appeared out of the distance three minutes later in 8th place, a result that could be counted, and a magnificent comeback.

Normal service was resumed in the next race, with Ron Sherry powering away to a win, leaving his title rivals wondering what they had to do to stop the mighty American. Sherry had pulled it back from the brink and was the new overnight leader, meaning it was the Polish camp’s turn to sweat it out, hoping more racing would be possible later in the week. The British contingent made some progress, with Marsden scoring 16,29 and Williams 29,31 in the two C fleet races.

Day Four
Light winds and lumpy, slow ice meant that racing might not be possible, but the fleet headed out onto the ice nevertheless, and waited. The wind did eventually settle enough for the race committee to attempt a start for the C fleet. This race saw the British team’s moment of the week, with Neil Marsden leading the fleet around the leeward mark at the end of the first lap. He was well outside the time limit for each lap however, and the race was abandoned, although some said the time limit was too short to be realistic, and a moral victory was claimed.

Day Five
The weather was in total contrast to the previous day, with a storm hitting the region, making for a wild day’s sailing. One A fleet race was sailed, with Ron Sherry finishing third to remain ahead of the pack with one remaining race scheduled. The British sailors finished mid-fleet in their races, with the emphasis on survival rather than racing.

Day Six
Wild winds left the race committee with no option but to abandon the day’s racing, handing the title to Sherry.

Where next?
How to raise the performance of the British competitors is the big question. There is no lack of experience amongst the team. Chris Williams has been ice yachting for nearly 30 years, Neil Marsden is a former Enterprise and Topper World Champion and Gareth Rowland has won the sand yachting Europeans. A lack of ice on which to practise certainly does not help, but the Netherlands does not have ice, and they have Daan Schutte (a successful 470 and 49er sailor) and several others in the Gold fleet, so it is no excuse. The foreign sailors seem to have better equipment, with some of the Poles choosing from around five different runner types depending on the ice conditions, and that is one technical area that certainly needs addressing. There is no reason why a British sailor should not be able to make the gold fleet eventually, but for the time being however, Eddie the Eagle is about the standard we are looking at.