National Swallow In-Harbour Championship at Itchenor Sailing Club - Norman Moore Trophy
by Mike Wigmore 29 May 2023 17:48 BST
Swallow In-Harbour Championship at Itchenor for the Norman Moore Trophy © Kirsty Bang
This year the National Swallow Class is celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the 1948 Olympic Regatta when K7 Swift, sailed by Stewart Morris and David Bond, won gold. With a fleet of thirty Swallows expected at the Anniversary Championships to be hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron on the 15/16th July something quite special is expected. This event will be the largest gathering of these modern classics in recent memory.
Over the late May bank holiday weekend twenty four National Swallows enjoyed sparkling one design racing at Itchenor Sailing Club as the perfect build up to Anniversary Championships. The Norman Moore trophy is the unofficial in-harbour class championship. The depth of talent on show was reflected in the results, where neither the current National Champion nor last year's winner made it to the podium.
The racing on both days was held in a shifting north easterly breeze keeping all the competitors on their toes. Carolyn Brigg's Marengo secured the first race by a huge margin and went on to another convincing win in race three making her the overnight leader but Osprey, helmed by James Hartley, after a difficult first race, was hot on their tails with a win in race two.
On Sunday the north easterly breeze was stronger, but just as shifty. Hugo Fisher and Nigel Masding's Svala maintained their consistency never dropping out of the top three and Mike Wigmore's Gwaihir kept the pressure on with another second in race four but, in the end, it was Osprey that moved up to another gear to take the last two races, and with that the coveted Norman Moore trophy.
Completing the podium was Buccaneer S66 built by Mike Bond in 1978 and skillfully sailed by him this weekend showing that neither a brand new boat nor a brand new helm is required to do well in this classic dayboat class.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat Name | Sail No | Owner/Syndicate | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | Osprey | 95 | James Hartley
| ‑7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | Svala | 89 | Hugo Fisher
| 3 | 2 | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 3rd | Marengo | 82 | Carolyn Brigg
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | ‑9 | 11 |
| 4th | Gwaihir | 93 | Mike Wigmore
| 2 | 6 | ‑8 | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| 5th | Buccaneer | 66 | Mike Bond
| 4 | ‑13 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 |
| 6th | Solitude | 67 | Andrew Reid
Roger Roberts | 6 | 7 | ‑9 | 4 | 6 | 23 |
| 7th | Spectre | 91 | Adrian Fisk
| 5 | (DSQ) | 3 | 11 | 8 | 27 |
| 8th | Swift | 7 | John Perry | 10 | 5 | 5 | 13 | (DNC) | 33 |
| 9th | Ghost | 96 | Philip Swatman
| ‑11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 33 |
| 10th | Bluff | 64 | Nick Warner
| 14 | ‑17 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 43 |
| 11th | Migrant | 86 | Charles Fisher
| 8 | 12 | 12 | 14 | (DNC) | 46 |
| 12th | Curlew 100% | 70 | James Baron
| 13 | (DSQ) | 11 | 17 | 13 | 54 |
| 13th | Echo | 87 | Simon Miller
Charles Hindson | 15 | 9 | 16 | 16 | (DNC) | 56 |
| 14th | Ptarmigan | 68 | Alistair Impey
| 16 | 15 | 13 | ‑19 | 12 | 56 |
| 15th | Kansu | 83 | Jamie Birkett
| (DSQ) | 10 | 10 | 15 | DNC | 60 |
| 16th | Meridian | 77 | Andy Fitzgerald
Simon Slater | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 10 | 5 | 65 |
| 17th | Blue Tit | 80 | Paul Giles
| 12 | 4 | (RET) | DNC | DNC | 66 |
| 18th | Goosander | 81 | Tim Taylor
| (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 8 | 10 | 68 |
| 19th | Peregrine | 84 | Robert & Clare Sharpe | 9 | 11 | (RET) | DNC | DNC | 70 |
| 20th | Whimbrel | 60 | Peter Snell
| (RET) | 14 | 15 | DNC | DNC | 79 |
| 21st | Kingfisher | 73 | Graham Barnes | (DNC) | 16 | 17 | DNC | DNC | 83 |
| 22nd | Darter | 88 | Tony Glover
Kit Glover | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 9 | DNC | 84 |
| 23rd | Stealth | 79 | Mark Walker
| (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 20 | 14 | 84 |
| 24th | Merlin | 94 | Julian Kinross
Jeremy Thompson | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 18 | DNC | 93 |