CLUBS & CLASSES
Dobson & Wagstaff are on fire
Torbay dealt up its most challenging conditions for the final day of the Fireball nationals with a north-westerly wind blowing out over the town and occasionally from Paignton, and varying from 5 to 20 knots, to make an interesting racetrack for the potential champions.
Martyn Lewis and Richard Byne (Draycote) claimed the first race of the day, then for the eighth and last race it was a cat and mouse game as Ian Dobson/Richard Wagstaff chased Matt Burge/Dan Schieber around the starting area. Christian Birrell and Vyv Townend showed they still had it to put in a second place but it was Dobson/Wagstaff who went on to win the race and as a result the championship.
Birrell/Townend had done just enough to claim second overall by a point from Burge/Shieber. The four-day championship at the Royal Torbay YC attracted a healthy fleet of 44 teams, including many past world, European and national champions, for a competitive series, supported by sponsors Gul, Hyde, North, Global Insurance.
Rory Hunter victorious at Waszp nationals
For the second edition of the Zhik Waszp UK nationals at Rutland SC, the weather gods were particularly kind and provided four days of sunshine and foiling conditions. Scoring 10 bullets and discarding two third places, Rory Hunter sailed an incredible series to add the national title to the International Waszp Games title he won in Australia in January. With four sailors from overseas, Elliot Savelon (NED) finished in second, ahead of James Gray, Sam Whaley and Maxwell Todd in that order, with Dan Welbourn-Hesp (Carsington) sixth overall and youth champion. The fleet included families, weekend warriors, social sailors and elite athletes, as well as a notable few British Sailing Team names, and the event was one of the first in the UK to be sailed on the new and now standard larger foil; the boat now foils earlier in the wind range and is more stable through manoeuvres.
All day afloat in the Three Rivers Race
It was all about the tides for the 59th Yachtmaster Insurance Three Rivers Race. A mixed fleet of 102 cruisers, keelboats and dinghies made their way down the River Bure to take part in the 24-hour, 50-mile endurance race. There was excitement at the bridges, where mast drops timed to perfection contrasted with the usual near misses. Capsizes and MOBs added to the drama for the cheering crowds. The wind dropped overnight, with those left battling the tide paying dearly. The race saw 42 retirements, with some taking several hours longer than their competitors, depending
