Twenty eight competitors arrived at Cardiff Yacht Club on
the Saturday morning to find very little wind. However, by the time they had lunch,
attended the briefing, and got onto the water the wind had risen
significantly. The start was postponed for a few minutes while the Royal
Artillery Parachute display team parachuted into
Race two was sailed back to back with race one. Again the pin end was favoured, and this time Simon Thompson was first to the first mark followed by Dave and Eddie who rounded together. Dave sailed into the lead, and Ben Palmer broke clear from the pack of chasing boats to catch Eddie. Further down the fleet, whilst beating back up the course Clive Chapman tacked onto port having failed to see John Coppenhall running towards him on starboard. The two collided and unfortunately the damage to Clive’s boat meant that he could take no further part in the championships. The three leaders continued to pull away from the rest of the fleet, and as the wind dropped Chris Robinson sailed up to take fourth. This completed Saturday’s racing, with Dave leading, Chris second and Eddie third.
With over 20 visiting yachts at Cardiff Yacht Club on the Saturday Night the bar was busy and vibrant for a lovely barbeque and evening of live music.
Despite predictions that the wind would drop, Sunday morning was as windy as Saturday afternoon, with the Chairman reporting that his boat almost capsized when he put the mast up. The start of the third race saw the three race leaders at the committee boat end of the line. Eddie threatened to push Chris and Dave the wrong side of the committee boat, so Dave tried to escape by bearing off behind Eddie, but almost capsized and fell out of the boat in the attempt. Chris decided not to try the same manoeuvre, and instead slowed down and dropped behind Eddie, pushing a couple of other boats to windward of the committee boat as he did so. But was the committee boat end of the line the best? Paul Hinde came storming across from the pin end of the line, but just failed to cross ahead of Eddie and Chris. However, Eddie and Chris overstood the windward mark allowing Michael Ettershank and Tristan Cooper to catch up. The four bunched as they sailed down the reach. As they arrived at the gybe mark they were hit by a huge gust which sent them careering all over the place. Eddie coped the best, and executed a good gybe to take the lead, followed by Chris. On the second reach Simon planed into third place. Chris caught Eddie on the fourth beat to take first place, while Paul caught Simon to take third. Brian Welham was forced to retire from the race when his mast snapped while the rescue boat was recovering his boat following a capsize near the wing mark. This meant Brian was unable to take any further part in day two; however he was able to borrow Clive Chapman’s mast to compete on the third and final day.
Race four immediately followed race three, and Simon and Dave took the lead from the committee boat end of the line followed by Tristan and his twin brother John. The wind dropped on the first run, and the twins were almost caught by the chasing boats. The wind returned for the next beat and Dave passed Simon. Chris sailed into third, and on the fourth beat overtook Simon. The fourth run proved to be windy, and Simon capsized leaving Dave and Chris clear ahead. As they sailed to the leeward mark both needed to gybe. They delayed their gybes hoping the wind would ease a little, but it didn’t, so they were forced to gybe at the leeward mark. Dave gybed first, and capsized, while Chris successfully completed his gybe. He sailed off to win, while Dave had to fend off Eddie to keep second place.
Races five and six were held after lunch. The line was squarely set for race five, so there was no favoured end. Paul and Eddie arrived at the windward line together. Eddie took the lead, and Dave overtook Paul to take second. Paul, Simon and Michael fought for third place. Michael eventually got into the third place position, only to capsize on the last reach giving third place to Simon, with Paul fourth. During the last lap the wind began to ease.
Race six started with the Royal Artillery Parachute Team once again putting on a display as part of the Cardiff Harbour Festival and this time they were joined by the RNLI demonstrating high speed rescues. This included a rescue helicopter, which fortunately didn’t affect the wind. It didn’t need to rescue any Comets either! As the fleet sailed up the first beat a large sailing catamaran crossed the course. It didn’t see the rapidly approaching Comet fleet until it was too late, and so couldn’t keep clear. Instead it stopped, unfortunately close to the windward mark, forcing the fleet to sail around it. This gave a small advantage to those on the port side of the course, and John Windibank was first to the mark followed by Tristan and Eddie. Eddie moved into the lead on the second lap, but on the third beat Chris took advantage of a large wind shift to sail past several boats into second place. On the following beat he caught Eddie to take the lead. As he started the run back to the leeward mark the wind rose again. Chris just managed to gybe without capsizing, unlike the boats behind, and he extended his lead. Jeff Smith’s capsize must rate the most spectacular. He nose-dived sailing into the wing mark, and the boat ended up out of the water with the bow pointing down, and the stern up in the air. John Cooper clipped the windward mark with the end of his boom, and the clip on the outhaul firmly attached itself to the buoy. As he struggled to free himself from the mark, he dragged the buoy, which resulted in the final beat turning into a close fetch with a gybe at the top mark. This gybe proved difficult for everyone. Chris managed to stay upright, although he did end up in irons for a time, and he carried on to win. Tristan got into second place, but was caught by Dave on the final beat to the finish. By this time the Optimists had disappeared up river in search of a more sheltered location to sail.
After six races there were three contenders for the Championship. Chris was in first place, but Dave was only one point behind, while two good results from Eddie on the last day would allow him to take first place if the two leaders didn’t improve on their results.
Sunday evening saw Cardiff Yacht club play host to an
excellent evening of Irish Music and Sea shanties courtesy of the crew of ‘The
Ruth’ a tall ship visiting
Monday morning was bright with a blue sky, but with very little wind on the water. The race was postponed for a few minutes while the race officer tried to set the course. Four minutes before the start a breeze came in, but this disappeared as soon as the starting gun went. Eddie and John Windibank headed for the left side of the course, while Dave and Brian Welham sailed out to the right hand side of the course and John Cooper and John Coppenhall went up the middle. The wind came in from the left, so John Windibank and Eddie got to the windward mark first, followed by John Coppenhall. Eddie pulled away from the two Johns, and they in turn pulled away from the rest of the fleet. John Coppenhall got ahead of John Windibank when he lassoed the starting mark on the run. A lap later John Windibank caught him again to take second. Both Chris and Dave were never in contention, and discarded their result from race seven, so the Championship was still undecided.
As the wind had shifted by almost ninety degrees there was a short delay while the race officer reset the course. A windshift at the start of the final race allowed those at the pin end of the line to reach the first mark without tacking. About eight boats arrived at the mark close together, but it was Tristan who rounded first, followed by Simon and John Windibank. Simon overtook Tristan, but was simultaneously caught by John, and so remained in second place. John and Simon began to pull away. The passing yachts and water buses created a chop that made the sailing difficult in the light wind, and caused Michael Thompson to capsize, the least spectacular capsize of the event. The three Championship contenders were all well down the fleet. Dave and Chris never recovered, and both discarded the final race. However, Eddie began to work his way through the fleet, eventually catching Ben in fourth and Tristan in third. As the leaders started the final lap, the wind shifted another ninety degrees and the final beat and run became two reaches, and those further down the fleet sailing on a triangle had to beat to the leeward mark. The top three positions didn’t change, and so John won the final race of the Championship, with Simon second and Eddie third.
Eddie’s first and third in the final two races were enough to give him the same number of points as Chris. On count back, Chris has four firsts compared to Eddie’s two, so Chris was National Champion, with Eddie runner up and Dave in third, only two points behind.
The prize giving took place in the bar where Chris was announced National Champion. Having finished in seventh place Tristan Cooper was named as Youth Champion and finishing in 17th place Rhiain Bevan is the Ladies Champion.
The committee prize, which despite its name is awarded by
the Race Committee, was awarded to Kevin Morris of Merthyr Tydfil Sailing club
as he sailed and completed all eight races in challenging conditions with a
constant smile on his face in his first national championships. Four sailing
clubs, Crawley Mariners,
Our thanks go to Cardiff Yacht Club for hosting a great championship event both on and off the water.
National Champion Chris Robinson
Youth Champion Tristan Cooper
Ladies Champion Rhiain Bevan
Veterans Prize Mark Govier
Ancient Mariner Michael Thompson
Committee Prize Kevin Morris
Team Prize
Rhiain Bevan & Chris Robinson