Javelin Nationals at Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club

Two Dutch and one German teams join the UK fleet for the Javelin nationals © Chas Bedford

Two Dutch and one German teams join the UK fleet for the Javelin nationals © Chas Bedford

Two Dutch and one German boat joined the British fleet at Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club for the 2006 Nationals.

In a force 2 to 3 of fluctuating direction GER 426 Jolly Jumper helmed by four time European Champion Jens Schlittenhard with Jens Steinert, Medusa (GBR 564 Kathryn Smith and Brian Dixon) and Quicksilver (GBR 566 Richard Smith and Chris Etchells) dominated the two Saturday races. Quicksilver took two wins with Medusa and Jolly Jumper taking a second and third each. A resurgent Tim Greenaway returning from a shoulder injury, sailing with Liam Packham (GBR563 Snow Wolf ) never quite lost contact with the front runners.

Saturday night and IOSSC put on an awesome buffet and naturally everyone felt obliged to overindulge. On Sunday, with three races scheduled, Snow Wolf began the day well but was unable to disrupt the leading three boats. Blue Chip and Taboo Lexis Taboo Lexis (GBR 565 Will and Gavin Johnson) sailed consistently to lead the buddy competition. In race 4 Medusa disappeared into the lead giving Kathryn superb victory. The final race of the day was to prove the most intriguing of the event. Mighty White (GBR 559 Cliff Sagar and Lindsay Bennett) stormed away on the first beat to healthy lead from Jolly Jumper, Quicksilver and Taboo Lexis. Taking advantage of a large shift on the first reach Taboo Lexis claimed third place. Mighty White maintained their lead onto the beat. In the shifty conditions positions changed frequently but at the finish the order of Quicksilver, Jolly Jumper and Medusa had a familiar ring.

The prelude to an excellent evening meal, at the club was raft building or was it Mark and Rachel Dixon drenching Dick Fisher.

Monday will long be remembered for the squall which hit the fleet during race 6, with the Jumper revelling in the strong winds the event was set for a fascinating finale, In seconds the wind ramped up from a fun F5 to a full on F8 with monstrous gusts on top. Sensibly the PRO abandoned the race. Playtime! especially Quicksilver and Sarissa who just couldn’t resist flying spinnakers.

With more storms threatening racing was abandoned. Congratulations to Richard Smith and Chris Etchells for winning the 2006 UK National Championships and many thanks to IOSSC for an excellent event. Special thanks must go to our Dutch and German friends for attending our event.

Overall Results: