2000 Class Welsh Championship at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club

2000 Class Welsh Championships at Cardiff Bay © Martin Roots

14 Cardiff-based boats and 7 visitors turned out for the last 2000 Class event of the season.

With Penarth Head to the south of the bay, southerly winds can be challenging, with big shifts and convergence zones on either side of the course, and confused conditions in the centre. With a stormy forecast for Sunday, race officer Matt Sayer opted to run 4 races on the Saturday and set a windward-leeward course with a spreader mark and leeward gate.

Race 1 started in very light winds, and the fleet were split going up the first beat, some opting to go to the left hand corner and others opting to go for the right. Laurie Dengate and Jo Gambrill took an early lead. Local sailor Andy Freemantle, known for his ability to spot pressure on the water, sailing with Emma Hudson, held his place near the front of the fleet. After 3 laps, the fleet seemed to be quite well spread out, but on the last downwind leg, with two boats going left and two boats going right, the first four boats came together at the leeward gate, and in a close race to the finish, Laurie and Jo were first, with Andy and Emma second, Natalie Johnston and Chris Keatley third.

Race 2 was run in 12-15 kts. From the start, Helen and Andrew and Natalie and Chris took the left hand side of the course, looking for the convergence zone with the wind coming around Penarth Head. As the race progressed, the wind shifted more to the south, making it more difficult to pick which side to take. Natalie and Chris made the most of the intermittent gusts, whizzing down the course on their own private puff of wind, leaving the rest of the fleet switching modes from soaking to getting on the plane and back again. Natalie and Chris took the race with a convincing lead, followed by Helen and Andrew, Laurie and Jo, and Jon Nuttall, sailing with youngest daughter Isabelle, who seemed to be having the time of her life.

The wind continued to build, and race 3 was run in very gusty conditions, an average speed of 24 kts, with 30kt gusts. There was less wind on the left hand side of the course, but it was more consistent. Those who chose to go up the middle had more wind, but lost out because the sudden changes of speed and direction made it difficult to settle into a rhythm. The gusts took their toll on the spreader mark, which had to be re-laid several times. Natalie and Chris took another win, with Jon and Isabelle in second place, and Helen and Andrew in third. The prize for the most spectacular finish in this race goes to Keith Patterson, whose spinnaker sheets became detached, and he finished the race with the spinnaker flying horizontally from the mast head.

The wind settled down for the last race of the day - a mere 14kts with 20 kt gusts. In a repeat of Race 3, Natalie and Chris had a convincing win, Jon and Isabelle discovered the restorative powers of chocolate to come in second, with Helen and Andrew third.

At the end of the first day, the results at the top couldn't have been closer. Natalie and Chris had a convincing lead, but there were three boats tied on 8 points for 2nd to 4th place.

The fleet retired to the clubhouse for a meal and a quiz, which raised £36 for RNLI.

2000 Class Welsh Championships at Cardiff Bay - photo © Martin Roots, Emily Roots and Alice Moore

Sunday presented us with four seasons in one day - everything from sparkling sunshine to squalls, ominous black clouds and hailstones.

Race 5 started in 18kts of breeze from the SW, but in a squall, the wind gusted to 35 kts, and the reach to the spreader mark turned into a run. Dave Cann and Carmel Royston rounded the mark in 3rd place, only to have a problem hoisting the spinnaker followed by a spectacular capsize. Helen and Andrew, closely followed by Iain and Sarah, bore away and hoisted at the spreader mark, only to hastily change their mind when they realised they were going to have to thread their way through the 7 or so capsized boats in their path. This time it was one of the leeward marks that was blown downwind, and reset several times. Many of the boats decided to white sail to the finish, but James White and Alice Moore struggled to drop their kite, narrowly missing the committee boat as they crossed the line

The wind dropped to around 8kts for race 6, with the worst of the squalls gone. This time, places were gained or lost by finding pressure, and making the right choice between speed and direction - the challenge which makes the 2000 an easy boat to sail, but a challenging boat to sail really well. Natalie and Chris took another win, with Pete and Emily in second and Iain and Sarah in third.

At the start of the last race of the day, there was a massive shift to the left in the last 30 seconds or so, which caused a few problems for the boats at the committee boat end of the line. Laurie and Jo led the way to the first mark, closely followed by Helen and Andrew. A combination of looking for pressure and getting the downwind angles right allowed Helen and Andrew to overtake, and build up a lead which they held to the end, their first win in a 2000 event for several years.

2000 Class Welsh Championships at Cardiff Bay - the winners - photo © Emily Roots

The magnificent Dragon Trophy was presented to Natalie and Chris, winning convincingly with 5 bullets and one 2nd place. Local sailors, Helen and Andrew were second on 17 points, and Laurie and Jo third with 25 points.

James and Alice were presented with the Endeavour prize, for the team that completed all of the races but with the highest score.

The champagne moment, sponsored by Geldards LLP, was presented to Dave and Carmel for their spectacular capsize, which took them from 3rd to 18th in Race 5.

2000 Class Welsh Championships at Cardiff Bay - the sailors and prize winners - photo © Emily Roots

The success of the event was as a result of a lot of hard work behind the scenes, particularly from Martin Roots and Clare Allen; and of fleet captain, Charles Felgate who cajoled local 2000 sailors to take part in their first event, or to lend their boats to other sailors from CBYC. The club's brand new, race spec, 2000s were also put to good use, and we hope that club members who enjoyed sailing in the 2000 class will borrow them to take to other events on the 2000 circuit next year.

Overall Results: