Noble Marine Comet Trio Nationals at Exe Sailing Club - Day 1

The three day Comet Trio National Championships, kindly sponsored by Noble Marine, started at Exe Sailing Club on 1st September. With 22 boats entered the fleet was slightly bigger than last year and saw the first appearance in competition of the new Mk2 rig featuring a Selden mast and boom and North Sails including a laminate main.

Five Trios launched with the new spars and main and the big question of the day was would these new rigs prove to give a sufficient speed advantage to the owners to enable them to finish in front of the reigning National Champions, Andrew and Caroline McAusland from Exe SC or the current Inland Champions Adrian and Tracie Padro from Shustoke SC, both of whom were sailing with the original rig.

With the forecast of strong southerly winds on Sunday the organisers chose to sail an extra race on Friday in the light F2/3 northerlies which prevailed. The Race Officer, Les Arscott set triangle, sausage, triangle courses which proved to be challenging sailing in the shifty and variable winds.

The first race saw a good mix of original and new rigs at the front with Stuart and Rory Bush from Holowell SC leading the way after a stunning first beat. As the race progressed there was much changing of places but Adrian and Tracie took the bullet with Andrew and Caroline second and Steve Ashford with Martin Yeomans from Whitefriars SC sailing with a new rig in 3rd.

A similar pattern was played out in the second race but this time Andrew and Caroline prevailed over Guy Farrant and Graham Sykes from Exe SC sailing with a new rig, Adrian and Tracie were 3rd.

In the 3rd race Steve and Martin lead from start to finish chased closely by Andrew and Caroline and Adrian and Tracie.

So overnight it was the two original rigs sailed by the current National and Inland Champions that were in first and second, and the Mk2 rig of Steve and Martin in 3rd.

Results after Day 1: