Racing at the Welsh Championship - 20 Sep 2016
FIRST EVER WELSH 420 CHAMPIONSHIP HOSTED AT CARDIFF BAY YACHT CLUB
Twelve crews from all over the UK attended the first Welsh 420 Championships, hosted by Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, over the weekend of 17-18 September 2016.
Warm sunny weather, coupled with a light and variable north westerly breeze, characterised the weekend and proved challenging for the entire fleet.
Six turbo style races of around 30 minutes each were run on the Saturday, sometimes seeing 30 degree wind shifts on the course which provided plenty of winners and loosers on both the upwind and downwind legs. The start line also proved tricky with many competitors picking up a U Flag disqualification over the weekend.
The second day saw the race officer, Nick Sawyer, hoisting AP and waiting for the breeze which finally settled enough to get race 7 started just before midday. Again, equally tricky conditions saw crews caught out by large wind shifts across the course, with only enough time for five races.
Alex Smallwood/Ross Thompson were leading at the end of day one and were definitely the most consistent crew of the weekend, going on to be overall winners. Tom Collier/Adam Chadwick provided great competition, but finally had to settle for second place. A commendable third place went to local CBYC sailor Rhys Lewis/Drew Wright, whose place was nearly taken off them in the last race, but unfortunately for Hatty Morsley/Pippa Cropley, a UFD in race 11 secured Lewis/Wright's place on the podium.
Click on the ALL EVENT INFORMATION link above for complete results
