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Home / News / English Challenger Championships : Grafham Water Sailability
Home / News / English Challenger Championships : Grafham Water Sailability

English Challenger Championships : Grafham Water Sailability

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Published 17:25 on 17 Jun 2022

The English Challenger Championships : Grafham Water Sailability were held on the 11-12 June 2022

Marion Edwards

Thirteen Challengers took part in the English Challenger Championships held during the weekend 11-12 June. The event was organised by Grafham Water Sailability and held at the Grafham Water Centre. There were seven visiting sailors, two of whom were kindly loaned boats by Grafham Water Sailability.

The sun was shining but the wind was blowing. It was predominantly west south west but with some significant shifts.

Given the wind direction, launching should have been easy but there were some substantial (20+ knot) gusts which made things "interesting". The wind had begun to build before the start of the first race.

In race 1 Nick Bett (261) was hot off the blocks and was first to the windward mark. He was overtaken by Val Millward (312) on the top reach and the pair began to extend from Graham Hall (270) and Alex Hovden (304). Graham decided not to follow Val, Nick and Alex up the second beat and made substantial gains to lead by the second windward mark. A poor tack by Graham at the end of lap 2 allowed Val through and she led to the finish. Graham was second and Nick third.

The fleet returned to shore for lunch. During lunch the wind continued to build and by the time the fleet was due to launch it was gusting 28 knots. The fleet did not launch. During the afternoon people enjoyed the sun, retired to the pub or (in one case) polished their boat.

Thankfully the winds were lighter on Sunday though still with some good F5 gusts. The sun continued to shine. Weather and time permitting, the intention was to complete four races.

The fleet was launched promptly and race 2 soon started. David Driffill (275) was first to the windward mark followed by Nick, who touched it and went off to do his turn, so Graham rounded in second. David led until the second beat when he met Graham coming across on starboard. Graham grabbed the lead and held it to the finish. Nick came through to take second and Val was an uncharacteristic third.

Race 3 saw Val getting into her stride and she led from start to finish. Nick had been keeping up with her but on the second beat his outhaul failed and he retired to make some urgent repairs. This allowed Graham to take second place and Val sailed the final stages of the race conservatively to make sure he could not pass.

Race 4 Val got off to a good first beat and extended her lead while the rest of the Gold fleet fought amongst themselves. At the final leeward mark, Alex displayed superior tactical nous and beat Graham to the line by a couple of seconds to take second.

Going into the last race, a win for Graham would not be enough as Val would have to be third (or worse) to lose the event. Val soon took charge and although chased hard by Graham, she took the win by about 12 seconds.

So Val retained the Shipwrights Trophy as first overall and she is the 2022 English Challenger champion. Graham was second and Nick third.

All in all it was an excellent event. At the prize giving thanks were given to race officers Nigel Denchfield (Saturday) and David Williams (Sunday) and mark layer Naomi Watts - all from Grafham Water Sailing Club. Thanks were also given to Pauline Shaw as regatta organiser, all the Grafham Water Sailability volunteers and the Grafham Water Centre.

Pos

Helm

CrewName

SailNo

Boat

Club

Fleet

R1

R2

R3

R4

R5

Total

Nett

1st

Val Millward

312

Legless Jester

Rutland SC

Gold

1.0

(3.0)

1.0

1.0

1.0

7.0

4.0

2nd

Graham Hall

270

Daisy

Rutland SC

Gold

2.0

1.0

2.0

(3.0)

2.0

10.0

7.0

3rd

Nick Bett

261

Last Orders

Rutland SC

Gold

3.0

2.0

(14.0 DNF)

4.0

3.0

26.0

12.0

The photographs were taken at the prize giving and show the three musketeers from RSC!

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Last updated 11:33 on 29 October 2022

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