Noble Marine 29er Winter Championships at Draycote Water Sailing Club

Noble Marine 29er Winter Championships at Draycote Water © Trudie Loveridge

Noble Marine 29er Winter Championships at Draycote Water © Trudie Loveridge

This year's Noble Marine Winter Championships saw 40 29ers at Draycote Water Sailing Club for a weekend of light and shifty, but also sunny conditions. This is an increase upon last year's entry, showing that the 29er class is growing year on year.

After a tedious postponement on Saturday morning, some wind finally filled in during the mid-afternoon for two light wind races. Tom Methven and Rob Lloyd (Plymouth Youth) posted a 1st in the very first race, due to a great port-end start – a move they were more than comfortable to pull off throughout the event, despite the fact that the pin-end was heavily contested. Overall however, it was Phil Walker and John Mather (Draycote Water) who showed the younger sailors up in the shifty conditions, probably owing to a hard training program over winter! Having posted a 4th and 1st, they were clear in the lead ahead of Rob and Emma Loveridge (Draycote Water) who posted two fifths. Also on good form were the ladies teams of Vikki Payne and Stephi Orton (Emsworth/Chichester), and Ruth Allen and Alice Masterman (Hayling Island) who were on 12 points each by the end of Saturday, making for an interesting competition for the ladies prize.

The conditions for the first two races on Sunday were much the same, and yet again, Phil and John showed their worth, posting another 1st, with Rob and Tom not far behind in the first race. The next race of the day saw Matt Venables and Will Alloway (Rutland) post a 1st, again closely followed by Rob and Tom in 2nd.

The conditions for race 3 were slightly weird – the wind dropped off during one of the upwind legs, before filling in nicely down the left of the course, allowing those who spotted it to make huge gains on the boats around them. Abigail Croft and Jennifer Cant (Queen Mary / Leigh & Lowton) used the conditions to their advantage, posting a 1st, with Rowan Edwards and Daniel Blight (Pwllheli) in 2nd, and Mimi el Kazindar and Ben Batten (Lymington) 3rd.

Whilst waiting for the fourth race, the wind suddenly built to a steady 10 knots, with plenty of gusts to provide some extra pace downwind for those who spotted them! Interestingly, although the black flags came consistently throughout the day, it wasn't until the very end that a lead boat was affected. Going into the last race, Rob and Tom, and Phil and John were clear ahead of the other boats in the results, making for a great finale! However, neither of them finished... Rob and Tom after sailing a lap and seeing they were clear ahead of Phil and John were pulled out, as they had been black flagged. In this race, Matt and Will took advantage of the conditions to post a 1st, followed by Owen Bowerman and Morgan Peach (Hayling Island/Royal Torbay), and Vikki and Stephi in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The last race then, was crucially important – the winners were decided, with Phil and John taking first, even though Rob and Tom needed only to be 12th to beat them overall. However, Rob and Tom ended up 2nd, the same position as in the Inlands in similar conditions last year showing their ability in light airs. Showing consistency is key, Rob and Emma ended up 3rd, despite posting no top three results.

After a great Sunday, Matt and Will pulled up to 4th overall, closely followed by the first ladies overall – Vikki and Stephi, who after a great Sunday ended up 10 points ahead of the competition. First juniors went to Rowan and Daniel in 12th place overall.

Despite the melancholic speech by Phil Walker in which he confessed to be leaving the class soon, it was a memorable and enjoyable event, even with the challenging conditions, so thanks go to Draycote, Noble Marine, and indeed everyone who helped for making it such fun!

Overall Results: