CLUBS & CLASSES
Game of two halves for thriving Blithfield Barrel
The Blithfield Barrel series saw attendance at a five-year high, with overall honours going to local Merlin Rocket team Andy Davis and Pippa Kilsby.
Although the first two rounds had rather light winds, and the last two rather too much wind, the series provided a true winter festival of sailing each month.
Generous sponsors included Birmingham Dinghy Services, Dinghytec and Creation Covers, plus Freedom Brewery and Harken, and 91 boats took part overall, with 45 managing to put a series together despite the windy and abandoned races.
Merlin Rockets took the top spots, with Matt Biggs/Beka Jones second overall. Caroline Croft crewed by Tom Lonsdale was first lady helm in third overall, with Paul Hollis/Paula Mason fourth. Osprey team Chris Gould/Nick Broomhall claimed fifth while the first singlehander was Blaze sailor Eden Hyland (Chase) in seventh overall; First Junior was Thomas Kelsall (Optimist, Staunton Harold) and First Youth , Lydia Barber (Laser Radial, Blithfield).
The race team was led by PRO Steve Watson using unmodified RYA yardsticks and average lap racing, providing extremely close results throughout the fleet including past and present national champions.
2000 team celebrate winning Selden SailJuice
Simon Horsfield and Katie Burridge put together a stellar set of scores in their 2000 to win the 10th edition of the Selden SailJuice Winter Series.
The pair join a group of top-class sailors who have won in nine different types of
