Supernova National Championship at Llandudno Sailing Club

Supernova Nationals at Llandudno © Caz Hand

Supernova Nationals at Llandudno © Caz Hand

When the majority of the 120 boats turned up on the Llandudno promenade, It was a sight to behold as the generally quiet and beautiful seaside town was taken over by one of the best racing dinghy fleets in the UK. 7 races and a lot of alcohol later, we packed up our boats and our sailing kit and left Llandudno after three days of pure fun. Although the first day of the event was called off due to the conditions, the next 2 days gave us a range of conditions. Saturday saw 28 boats venture out to tackle high winds and big waves with 15 sailors left standing for the fourth race of the day. 24 hours later, the vast majority of the 120 boats sailed back to shore for the final time during the 2016 Supernova nationals after 3 great races in medium/ light conditions and bright sunshine.

Overall winner, 2016 Supernova National champion - Iain Horlock
2nd Overall - Mark Hartley
3rd Overall - Cliff Milliner

When the 2015 nationals finished in Paignton, attention and all efforts immediately turned to Llandudno 2016. Above all else, who would win the 20th anniversary nationals has been debated constantly for a full year. At the end of race 7 though, Iain Horlock from Exe SC was the winner of this historic event. After a great set of results, the tallest guy in the fleet (at 6ft something ridiculous), took home the trophy that so many wanted after showing consistent speed and tactical knowledge on both the windy Saturday and the medium/ light Sunday. Congrats Iain!

1st Mark 1 - Alex Horlock, Exe SC (4th Overall)
2nd Mark 1 - Jonathan Everett, Llangorse SC (25th Overall)
3rd Mark 1 - Finally Evans, Cotswold SC (49th Overall)

Before the nationals, I think it's fair to say we all knew that Alex would not only be the first mark 1, but certainly be at the front of the fleet on more than one occasion. Not only did Alex win the first Mark 1 prize, he took an incredible 4th place overall in the original Mark Giles boat.

1st Veteran - Steve Mitchell, Porthpean SC (33rd Overall)
2nd Veteran - Steve Johnson, Cotswold SC (35th Overall)
3rd Veteran - Richard Hartley, Hartley Boats Ltd (43rd Overall)

Steve Mitchell took the trophy for top veteran this year finishing ahead of the likes of 'the captain' and Mr Hartley boats who took 2nd and 3rd. As well as being 1st veteran, Steve also took a great 33rd overall with a best race finish of 21st in the tough Llandudno conditions.

1st Master - Mike Critchley, Bolton SC (11th Overall)
2nd Master - Stuart Reid, Combs SC (12th Overall)
3rd Master - Andrew Flitcroft, Bolton SC (17th Overall)

Mike Critchley took home the Masters trophy this year after a great set of results over the 7 races to prove that the old(ish) boys can still cause a few upsets at the front of the fleet. As one of the runners and riders before the event, Mike was always one to look out for and he certainly showed that with a set of good, consistent results over the 7 races.

1st Youth - Alex H Collins, Bolton SC
2nd Youth - Peter Mackin, Bolton SC
3rd Youth - Michael Platt, Bolton SC

Leading a Bolton 1,2,3 in the Youth group, Alex H Collins had a good event finishing 6th overall. Featured on the lists of runners and riders before the event, Alex was towards the front of the fleet generally throughout the event (apart from when he had a shocker in race 2 after seemingly not being able to sail 20 seconds without capsizing) It's also the last year that Alex can win the youth trophy again, turning 21 before next years nationals, meaning that a new name will be on the trophy next year.

1st Lady - Lesley Jeanes, Cotswold SC (69th Overall)
2nd Lady - Serena Stewardson, Emberton Park SC (98th Overall)

Lesley Jeanes took the Ladies trophy after posting some good results on the final day of the nationals. The Cotswold sailor had a best race result of 56th in race 5 and finished the event 69th overall.

1st Silver Fleet - Steve Hawley, Bartley SC (9th Overall)
2nd Silver Fleet - Matt Williams, Cotswold SC (10th Overall)
3rd Silver Fleet - Stuart Catterall, Llandudno SC (14th Overall)

The Silver fleet was won by Steve Hawley who I'm sure will be pleased that he beat his little brother Chris, Our Chairman! Steve was very consistent throughout the races, having mostly top 10 finishes with a best race result of 3rd in race five! by winning the silver fleet at a championship, Steve is now a gold fleet member.

1st Bronze Fleet - Matthew Goodall, North Lincolnshire and Humberside (90th Overall)
2nd Bronze Fleet - Hedley Dowler, RYA (91st Overall)
3rd Bronze Fleet - Andy Goodman, Attenborough (92nd Overall)

For the first time in the classes history, a bronze fleet was introduced at the nationals. The bronze fleet winner this year was the person in 90th place which this year was Matthew Goodall. As the fleet gets bigger, a bronze fleet was introduced and Matthew is the first winner of this while also having a best race result of 68th in race 6.

As a Bolton SC lad it pains me to say that Cotswold took the team trophy... again. The group of pesky sailors had great placings throughout the fleet, with 4 Cotswold boats in the top 10. Cliff Milliner took 3rd, Gavin young 7th, Robin Kirby 8th and Matt Williams 10th. Cotswold always bring fantastic sailors and unfortunately for Bolton and other clubs they don't look like slowing down anytime soon. A very deserving winner of the team trophy, Cotswolds 18 sailors who took part in llandudno thoroughly deserve to win... again.

Without our fantastic sponsors, this event could not have been such a success. To Zhik, Hartley Boats, and Allen Brothers thank you for supporting our class and helping us to make the 2016 Nationals such a brilliant event for all. It's great to have support from such big names in the sailing world and it has been excellent that you have chosen to support our fantastic class in such an extremely generous way.

Thank you to our race officer Paul Morton and everyone from Llandudno Sailing Club. Without the galley staff, bar staff, cleaners, safety boat crews, race team, Trolley helpers, Registration helpers, and the beach master and her team, this event couldn't of run so smoothly. Llandudno is a truly beautiful place and the addition of the Sailing Club and its members completes the town by adding such a friendly and welcoming atmosphere to the promenade. Thank you for hosting us and we will hopefully be back again to enjoy ourselves again in spectacular Llandudno!

My fellow committee members have been working incredibly to ensure that the Llandudno nationals was a success and I can confidently say that they have achieved that, and some. The Llandudno nationals was better than I imagined it would be and this is partly down to the hard work done by the committee over many many months.

Finally, although I have said it 1000's of times before (bit of an exaggeration possibly) thank you to our wonderful members. We are not only one of the best single handed classes, but one of the best classes around. 120 boats is a fantastic accomplishment by any fleet, not least by a fleet that had 32 boats at the 2012 nationals the last time we were in Llandudno. From 32 to 120, we have grown and developed a lot as a class over the last 4 years, not only in terms of what our boats are made out of or what sail fabric we use, but in terms of how we are constantly bringing people into our fleet and introducing and encouraging these sailors to take part in more events and to go to the nationals and ultimately build up their confidence.

As if the nationals weren't exciting enough, we still have 7 more events to come in 2016, including the Noble marine Travellers at Glossop, Bala, Bartley, Burton, and Haversham. We also have the Inlands at Northampton and the Xmas pud at Haversham to look forward to.

Again, thank you to everyone involved in the Llandudno nationals.

Bolton Sailing Club at the 2016 Supernova Nationals (from Keith Roberts)

Over the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of July, 18 Bolton sailors competed against 102 other sailors from across the country in the 2016 Supernova Nationals, the class's biggest event yet. Set in the spectacular venue of Llandudno, 120 boats sailed 7 races in a range of conditions.

The first day of the event saw racing cancelled as the fleet was faced with winds too strong to safely race. Day 2 saw 4 races in conditions equally as bad as day one. This time however, the Race officer in charge of the event allowed racing and 28 brave (or stupid) Supernova Sailors sailed 4 races. Ultimately this number lowered to 15 sailors as the 4th and final race of the day started.

The Supernova is a fast, singlehanded dinghy designed for close and tactical racing. Now 20 years old, the boat has developed over the years and is technically right up to date in the dinghy racing world. For the Class's 20th anniversary nationals, the class had a record entry of 120 boats sign up to compete in this historic event. The class has seen popularity rise spectacularly in recent years with numbers at Nationals and other events rising by 50% over the last 2 years to confirm that the Supernova is now one of the most popular classes in the UK.

Out of 120 boats, Bolton's Alex H Collins was top Bolton boat and winner of the national youth title after a consistent set of results against intensely tough competition. In fact, Bolton Sailors took home the top 3 youth spots in this year event with Alex Collins 1st, Peter Mackin 2nd and Michael Platt 3rd. Mike Critchley also did Bolton Sailing Club proud by being crowned Masters (Over 50) champion placing him 11th overall.

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Supernova nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here