Etchells Southern Area Championship 2024 at Royal Thames Yacht Club
by Ted Blowers 12 Jul 11:45 BST
6-7 July 2024
Etchells Southern Area Championship © Mark Wayte Smith
Saturday left us fully rigged and fully kitted but with no sailing unfortunately, a last minute decision
cancelled racing for the day due to the high winds and turning tide. In the end a good decision by
Royal Thames Yacht Club PRO, Phil Hagen and his team, to avoid a tricky sea state in the strong
breeze.
The fleet waited out the strong breeze and tricky tides at the social on the Saturday evening
hosted by the Island Sailing Club, putting on a great three course meal for the fleet!
The forecast on Sunday was much more reliable, which allowed for the fleet to get out on the water
in some true Solent style conditions! Wind from the West averaged approximately 22 knots and
gusting into the late 20s, the race committee managed to squeeze three races in.
Race 1 saw three of
the more experienced teams of No Dramas, freshly back from their Etchells Worlds campaign in
Fremantle, with Tango, and Exabyte take the early advantage in the standings to take second and
third respectfully.
The tide then turned through race 2 to create some wet and wild conditions on
the Solent, forcing all sailors to work overtime in getting through the large swell. Race 2 saw
another bullet from No Dramas, and another second place from Tango, but with returning Etchells
Veteran, Nick Griffiths, sailing Ada, making up the top three.
With the tide now in full flow, and the
breeze being at its most in the the third and final race of the day, team No Dramas absolutely
dominated the day to take a third bullet and a very convincing overall win, team Swedish Blue led by
Ante Razmilovic managed to get their first podium of the event in second, with team Tango taking
third in the last race of the day.
The points across the board were pretty even, with very little separation between the fleet after 3
races, demonstrating yet again just how close and competitive the fleet is.
A huge congratulations
to Sumo for placing top youth and top Corinthian boat, the team was made up of Hamish Pimm,
Cameron Yates, and Will Oldroyd.
No Dramas, made up of Andrew Lawson, Graham Vials, and Billy
Russell took the overall win with their perfect scoreline of three bullets, Tango, sailed by Chris
Hampton, Charlie Cumberly, and Sam Haines finished second overall after a good series over three
races, with Ante Razmilovic's Swedish Blue, with crew Brian Hammersley, and Mark Lees, taking
third overall on countback to Shaun Frohlich's Exabyte in fourth.
The prize-giving and post-racing beers took place in the fantastic Pontoon View bar, located in
Cowes Yacht Haven, overlooking the marina and the Etchells parked on the dock.
The Etchells fleet
would like to thank both Cowes Yacht Haven, and the Pontoon View for their always excellent
hospitality, and to the Royal Thames Yacht Club for running a great regatta in extremely challenging
conditions.
We are looking forward to seeing the fleet out at the Island Sailing Club regatta on the
20-21 of July!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Boat | Sail No | Crew | R | R | R | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | No Dramas | GBR 1490 | Andrew Lawson / Graham Vials / Billy Russell | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Tango | AUS 1466 | Chris Hampton / Sam Haines / Charlie Cumbley | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Swedish BLUE | GBR 1438 | Ante Razmilovic / Mark Lees / Brian Hammersley | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | Exabyte | GBR 1459 | Shaun Frohlich / Duncan Truswell / Ben Cooper | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | Ada | GBR 1517 | Nick Griffiths / Brad McLaughlin / Quentin Bes‑Green | 7 | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| 6 | SUMO (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 1020 | Hamish Pimm / Camereon Yates / Will Oldroyd | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 |
| 7 | Alison (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 957 | Harry Cowell / Matt Barrett / Matty Evans / Megan Farrer | 6 | 10 | 5 | 21 |
| 8 | Standfast | GBR 1508 | Simon Patterson / Luke Cross / Jack Wetherell | 8 | 6 | 9 | 23 |
| 9 | Mano (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 1194 | Harry Blythe / Sam Barnes‑Thornton / Benedict Brown / Chris Haslam | 11 | 9 | 8 | 28 |
| 10 | Shamal (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 927 | Owen Colbern / Charlie Cooper / Max Bradley / Becky Caiger | 12 | 7 | 11 | 30 |
| 11 | Pulse (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 782 | Maisie Harkess / Lia Horne / Elise Fitzgerald / AJ Luxton | 10 | 11 | 10 | 31 |
| 12 | Ariel (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 1148 | Catherine Brooke / George Sellwood / Finlay Oliver / Kate MacAdorey | 9 | 12 | 12 | 33 |
| 13 | Palaver (Corinthian) (Youth) | GBR 1014 | Corneille LePrince / Felipe Garcia / Max Guiguet‑Belcher / TBC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 45 |
| 14 | Audrey | GBR 1351 | Ted Blowers / Paul Blowers / Tom Blowers | DNF | DNC | DNC | 45 |