X-35 National Championships at Royal Southern Yacht Club
by Tim Harrington 16 Jul 2007 22:12 BST
12-14 July 2007
The X-Yachts Gold Cup takes place in the Solent © Eddie Mays
Over 3 days from the 12th July, the Royal Southern Yacht Club hosted the X-Yachts Solent Cup, which included the inaugural X-35 UK nationals. Eight boats took to the start line on the Thursday, in a westerly breeze of around 20kts. Sailing windward/leewards with a spreader leg and leeward gate, the first race was won by Tim and Sophie Harrington's Vortex.
Race two followed shortly after with a win for David Pinner's Kiss, who made it back, just in time, after competing in the X-35 Worlds in Kiel.
Day two saw the breeze slightly further left, still in the 15-20kt wind
range at about 200 degrees, racing was again set up on the Hill Head plateau.
Race three was won by Vortex with Peter Harding's X-Dream scoring their 3rd
second place. Race four went to Kiss.
Just after the start of race 5 the wind shifted ninety degrees left as the south easterly sea breeze filled in, and PRO Tony Lovell called off the race and very quickly reset the course for
race six, which went to Nigel Passmore's X-Waves as he sucessfully worked the
left hand side of the beat and the same side on the run.
The final day saw four boats still being able to win the nationals.
X-Waves sailed an excellent race six, in short solent chop and won her second
race. She then did the same in race seven. Going into the final race Kiss,
X-Dream and X-Waves could all still win the nationals. With six boats on
the spreader leg, and four or more boats rounding the leeward gate overlapped,
the one design X-35 produces some extreamly close racing.
In the final race Kiss rounded the first windward mark in the lead followed by Ian Smyth's Jazz II, X-Dream, then Vortex with X-Waves and Swallow moments behind. X-Dream's
dream of winning the regatta took a tumble when the top guard wire came undone
and two guys took a little dip. Kiss led up the last beat with X-Waves
crossing in third, leaving Kiss to be the first UK National Champion.
Overall Results:
1st Kiss, David Pinner, 14pts
2nd X-Waves, Nigel Passmore, 17pts
3rd X-Dream, Peter Harding, 17pts