Gruelling test for Felton and Taylor
IT WAS A gruelling test for Loughborough sailor Chloe Felton and Saskia Taylor at the GBR420 Inland Championships over the weekend.
Held at Rutland Sailing Club, this was the first major outing for the pairing who only got together in January.
The 420 is the youth version of the Olympic class 470 and a major step up from the Optimist junior class which Chloe, who’s a member of Staunton Harold Sailing Club, was still sailing a year ago.
The forecast for the whole weekend was breezy, and it was fairly accurate. Heading out in a good force 4-5,, it took a race to settle in, then, with a slight drop in breeze, they pulled in a 16th in race two followed by a 24th. The breeze then picked up again for the final race of the day where they got another very respectable top 20 result, leaving them sitting in 25th overall.
Sunday was a very different story. With gusts in excess of 30 knots, Chloe and Saskia found themselves in a good position until a mistake caused them to capsize. Unfortunately the pairing had to retire from the race due to outside assistance and an injury to Saskia.