North Devon Yacht Club: Sport Nationals
Saturday 12th - Monday 14th May 2012

29 Sport 15 catamarans from 10 different clubs around the country crowded the sandy beach at Instow last weekend providing a great spectacle for onlookers from both sides of the estuary as they competed in 6 races for the 2012 National title.

Race 1 on Saturday, in a force 2 Northerly breeze saw local boat Pete Ewing benefit from a useful wind shift and squeeze into first place in a very close finish. The second race, over a similar course, was again very close racing but this time none of the 13 local boats could stop Liam Thom from Shanklin Sailing Club from getting to the line first. Race Officer Gordon Smith did well to fit in a third race on Saturday with the wind backing to North Westerly and freshening to allow faster racing but also the first capsize. Kevin Dutch from Seasalter Sailing Club won the last race of the day.

Sunday morning found the estuary bathed in sunshine again but no breeze at first. The fourth race saw the fleet split at the start with those choosing the North Shore gaining advantage in the light airs. The winner was Steve Sawford of Rutland Sailing Club who overhauled the early leader, Paul Grattidge of Shanklin. By race five, the wind had freshened to a perfect force 4 giving exciting reaching and allowing the course to be extended to five laps. There was close racing with only seconds separating the leading group of 6 or 7 boats at the finish. Charles Watson (Halifax Sailing Club) Robert England (Carsington), Kevin Dutch and Mark Aldridge (Grafham Sailing Club) and North Devon’s Keith Heason swapping places. Watson sailed out the eventual winner.

The weather for the last race on Monday morning improved after a damp start with a steady Westerly force 3-4 giving fair conditions on the course set seaward for the 6 rounds. A win by Kevin Dutch (Seasalter Sailing Club) secured his overall title of Sport 15 National Champion 2012.

At the prize giving ceremony ashore, The Jimmy Johnson Memorial Trophy, a new trophy for the best veteran was unveiled and presented by Mrs Alex Johnson to Robert England. Steve Sawford and Charles Watson were confirmed as 2nd and 3rd overall with Pete Ewing the best North Devon Yacht Club sailor and Dave Warren (North Devon Yacht Club) securing the prize for the most determined sailor!

Instow
Instow
Kevin Dutch Winner
Kevin Dutch Winner
The helms!
The helms!

Results:

Click for: Full Results with all Sub-Competitions

OVERALL RESULTS
Competitors Races - 6 of 6 Sailed (No. of Discards: 2) Event Placings
Name Sail ClubRace 1Race 2Race 3Race 4Race 5Race 6Points Place
Kevin Dutch1938Seasalter Sailing Club8 2 1 11 3 1 71
Steve Sawford1733Rutland Water Sailing Club5 9 2 1 6 2 102
Charles Watson1237Halifax Sailing Club14 3 13 3 1 4 113
Paul Grattage1458Shanklin Sailing Club13 6 30 2 8 3 194
Mark Aldridge19Grafham Water Sailing Club2 15 6 8 4 8 205
Liam Thom554Shanklin Sailing Club10 1 4 9 15 7 216
Robert England1351Carsington Sailing Club11 4 10 6 2 10 227
Erling Holmberg2007Shanklin Sailing Club7 5 8 4 11 11 248
Roger Ackroyd1715Witham Sailing Club6 30 3 13 22 14 369 ¹
Stuart Pierce1813Shanklin Sailing Club9 10 14 10 7 12 3610 ¹
George Love1825Carsington Sailing Club4 14 20 23 10 9 3711
Peter Ewing1317North Devon Yacht Club1 21 9 19 20 13 4212
Roger Bone1681North Devon Yacht Club3 12 12 16 18 30 4313
Ed Tuite Dalton1940Draycote Water Sailing Club18 17 5 17 9 15 4614
Penny Slee1278North Devon Yacht Club12 11 16 12 12 30 4715
Simon Fleet1936North Devon Yacht Club20 24 19 5 21 6 5016
Paul Craft1267Open Dinghy Club16 16 30 15 16 5 5217
Keith Heason1424North Devon Yacht Club21 18 18 14 5 16 5318
Robert Way1526North Devon Yacht Club17 7 21 21 13 17 5419
Philip Warner1756Draycote Water Sailing Club19 13 22 7 24 30 6120
Ian Mounce1951North Devon Yacht Club15 19 11 25 17 19 6221
Nick Dewhirst2006Whitstable Yacht Club30 28 7 20 14 30 6922
Pat Smith1943North Devon Yacht Club23 20 17 26 19 18 7423
Geoff Mitchell1662North Devon Yacht Club24 8 24 30 30 20 7624
Christine Roman1925Shanklin Sailing Club27 23 15 28 23 30 8825
David Warren1711North Devon Yacht Club26 22 25 22 25 21 9026
Ellie Price1547North Devon Yacht Club22 26 26 18 26 30 9227
Richard Hentall7North Devon Yacht Club25 25 23 24 27 30 9728
Wayne Silver1272North Devon Yacht Club28 27 30 27 30 22 10429