Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and World Championships at Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club

The 2023 Dart 18 Nationals were held in conjunction with the World Championships in Bridlington East Yorkshire during August. With the Nationals getting a 100-plus entry for the first time in over 20 years there were 5 former champions there.

Worlds entries were from 3 continents with 2 former South African Champions and others from New Zealand as well as representatives from all the usual European countries.

Approaching the start during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

Due to the 140 plus entries, a different starting system was put into place using the committee boat in the Centre with 2 separate line segments. It meant that no splitting of the fleet was required with everyone in the same race. This was last used in 1991 with the massive Dart 18 fleets then. (301 for the first Dart Worlds in Abersoch)

There were 2 practice races, one with a conventional line, the other with the double segment line. It all seemed to work OK which gave the PRO both options for the week. Former Champions Vincent Bouvier and Fanny Merelle suffered a broken mast but fortunately for them a new one was available from class supplier Windsport.

'Starboard' during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

The opening ceremony was very impressive with the many sponsors and Mayor present and following a sad announcement of the recent passing of Former National and European Champion Bob Fletcher and minutes applause, a Live band and Free BBQ got the event off to an excellent start.

Race day arrived on the Sunday and so did the wind! The fleet was postponed on shore but the forecast 30 plus knots arrived and the racing was canned for the day.

Yorkshire skies during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Michiel Fehr

Monday arrived and 3 races were held to make up for the lost day. French Sailors Herve LeMaux and daughter Milania took race 1 after a battle with Dee SC sailors Mike Moruzzi and Max Spedding but followed up the win with a Black Flag in race 2. The second and third races were dominated by Grant and EllaMay Piggott who had superior down wind speed on the fleet in his 44-Year-old Yellow Dart which still has many original parts including the mainsail! Rob Garcka and Fi led at this point having had a consistent first day.

Tuesday Only one race was held as the wind went light then shifted 180 degrees before falling off to about 3 knots! The Piggott's continued where they left off the night before with the race win from former World Champions Dan Norman and local crew Alyesha Monkman. The Le Maux's got through to Third.

Dan Norman and Alysha Monkman fight for the pin during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

Wednesday was programmed to be the lay day and Champagne Cruise but the with the event behind schedule a race day was planned until the morning when another 30 knot plus day arrived- So the lay day happened but the Champagne Cruise also became a victim of the weather that evening.

Thursday. 2/3 races planned and the breeze was full on. The first race of the day got away after a couple of recalls, one being very late as the race team checked their cameras to see if all boats had been identified. The windward mark was very difficult to see, being close to the harbour with numerous other yellow fixed buoys in the area and quite a few boats overlaid it. Local boat Matt and Jacob Exon had no such problems leading from Start to Finish with Norman again second.

Big waves during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

The second race of the day and the left hand side was paying again with David Lloyd and Jojo Trafford vying for the lead with Bouvier and Merelle but just as they were tacking for the windward mark the UJ on the tiller extn failed and the Exons stormed through but could not catch Bouvier who had now very much got used to his new mast.

There was substantial damage during the day as the wind was gusting up to 30 knots and with barely half the fleet finishing the second race no more racing was held that day.

Vincent Bouvier and Fanny Merelle win the Worlds title during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

Friday and 2 races planned to get the total to 8 meaning 2 discards Close overall with several boats still able to win both events. Bouvier came to the fore in first after Tom Kelley and Rosemary Crinion from Parkstone had led for most of the Race but in the second it was Norman and Monkman who narrowly held off the New World Champions who won the event by just 2 points. The Piggott's sailed through to 7th after a poor start to give them the National title from Garcka and the Worlds runner up stop.

When Grant Piggott last sailed a Dart 18 Nationals 10 years ago (6th Place) his Granddaughter crew was just a few months old!

Grant and Ella May Piggott during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

The sponsorship of the event was very much in evidence (Food was included most evenings for the whole fleet and several live bands) with Marine sponsors headed by Noble Marine Insurance, Hyde Sails, Windsport International and UKIDA, with Rix, Hudson Contract, WJ Group, East Riding Council, Pineapple Joes.com, MKM Building Supplies, Tucker, Deva, Segal's Jeweller's, and Joe Franks Joinery making up the rest.

World Champions at the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

Grant and Ella May Piggott win the UK Nationals during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

National Champions on the left and World Champions on the right during the Noble Marine Insurance Dart 18 Nationals and Worlds at Bridlington - photo © Peider Fried

Next year the Worlds will be held in Tarquinia Italy and the following year Zaandvort on the Dutch coast.

World Championship Overall Results: (National Championship Results can be found here)