National 12 Championships at Brixham Yacht Club

National 12 Championships 2013 © Gareth Fudge

Brixham Yacht Club played host to nearly 40 National 12s over the late May Bank Holiday weekend.

Races 1 and 2

Racing kicked off on Saturday afternoon and sailors happily flocked to the start line in plenty of sunshine and a light breeze. The PRO set a sausage-triangle course and racing was soon underway. In race one Tom Stewart and Andrea Ralph took an early lead, Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne, well known for their speed in the light winds were hot on their tail, poised to challenge for the lead. It was right at the end of the race, on the last run when their seized the opportunity and inched ahead of Tom and Andrea to take the bullet.

With the taste of the first win Graham and Zoe got off quickly in the second race and played the shifts to their advantage to lead around the windward mark. This time it was Tom and Andrea in the challenge position but they were unable to get ahead.

At the end of day one Nick Copsey with crew Alex Warren was just ahead of Peter Ballantine and Theo Harris in the Corrigan Cup for U21s. Meanwhile John and Heather Rees were the first of the Admirals Cuppers.

Races 3 and 4

With a stronger south westerly wind on Sunday and choppier waters it was Steve and Joanne Sallis' turn at the top in Race 3. They had to fight off strong competition from Tom and Andrea who came in second and Graham and Zoe who took third place. Graham Camm, with crew Zoe, were back on form for the second race of the day, but this time followed by John and Katy Meadowcroft. Tom and Andrea managed to hold on to third place.

In the vintage fleet Brian Kitching, with crew Naomi Bilton, was well on his way to winning the renowned Shotgun trophy (which is the transom of the N12, Shotgun!) beating some of his non-vintage competitors – hopefully he phoned home to clear some space on the mantle piece!

The fleet were also fighting to win the Buddies Prize, where three boats of different ranking from across the fleet were joined up to help each other and the winning team, with the lowest combined points score, would receive prizes supplied by P&B. After two days the team in the lead consisted of John and Mandy Thornton in their Final Chapter, the Numinous of Rosie White, crewed by Dad, Chris White and Nick Copsey with Alex Warren.

Off the water entertainment was provided by local band For Rock's Sake as well as various fancy dress costumes which fleet member created to look like the name of a boat design or boat name. Incoming Chairman Jeremy Carey took first prize as '12 Bore' with the innovative 'Shake your Beans' (including a Sheikh and some giant cardboard baked beans tins) from the Camm family coming in second on the clap-o-meter.

Race 5 – The Burton Cup

Day three of the National 12 Championships saw the annual Sir William Burton Cup race being sailed in south westerly winds of over 25 knots. The race, first sailed seventy seven years ago in 1936, consists of four laps plus a beat of a triangular course, each leg is a mile long making this a thirteen mile race for the National 12s.

Tom Stewart with crew Andrea Ralph, took an early lead at the end of the first beat and were the first to make it to the wet and wild top reach. John and Katy Meadowcroft followed behind in their new t-foiling Hijack design, but in hot pursuit Steve Hall and Ally Dart rounded behind them.

Many sailors got to inspect their hulls quite closely after falling victim to the persistent gusts along the top reach, with the gybe mark also providing some spectacular entertainment for the rescue crews!

Stewart and Ralph continued to show the fleet how it was done for the remaining miles with Hall and Dart managing to get ahead of the Meadowcrofts during the second beat. They were followed by William Warren and Sophie Mackley in the original t-foiling Dead Cat Bounce.

The sailing was followed by an excellent Burton Dinner at Brixham Yacht Club, where Tim Gatti received the Decanter Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the class as he recreated the original Uffa Fox 12 design, using traditional methods, when building Gruffalo, due to launch at the Vintage Championships at the end of June.

Races 6 and 7

With Graham and Zoe leading, but only one point ahead of Tom and Andrea, all was to play for in the final day! Light northerly winds greeted the sailors as the made their way out to Tor Bay and everyone who had read the forecasts knew that the shifts would play a big part today. After being recalled from half way up the beat due to the wind swinging round, the first race was restarted and got underway. Tom, Graham and Steve all disappeared off into the distance after the first lap with Graham taking the early lead.

Tom, however, caught him up and managed to overtake on the second lap. All could have been lost though as the wind slowly died and started to swing. The decision was made to shorten the race and Tom and Andrea put a quick tack in to the finish to make it round in front! They were followed by Graham and Zoe, meaning it was all level pegging before the final race but Graham and Zoe were ahead on count back.

It was getting tense after Race 6 as the fleet waited for more wind to fill in. A lot of overall and subsidiary trophies depended on this last race and it was looking doubtful whether it would be possible to hold it. When the wind eventually filled in from the south west, a general recall lead to the black flag being flown. Graham and Zoe took the opportunity to match race Tom and Andrea and managed to push them over the line. It all looked good for Graham and Zoe who just needed a third or better in the final race to guarantee their win.

Graham and Zoe in their Dead Cat Bounce lead the fleet up the first beat and managed to stay in front as the boats bunched up on the first run. However, the second beat once again saw the wind die and it became a race to the finish line. As the wind filled in Graham and Zoe found the 12s of Steve and Joanne Sallis, Nick Copsey and Alex Warren and Mike Storey, crewed by daughter Sophie upon them, and only managed to claim a fourth place.

Trophies

In the overall results in the Juniors Peter Ballatine and Theo Harris came in first with Nick Copsey and Alex Warren in second. Mike Story and daughter Sophie were the first family team.

Brian Kitching was right to clear his mantelpiece as his won the Shotgun Trophy for the first vintage boat and Tom Lee with crew Helen Chapman had an excellent final day's sailing to beat John and Heather Rees for the Admirals Cup Trophy.

Thanks go to Brixham Yacht Club for being great hosts both on and off the water and to our event sponsors: Gul, Pinnell & Bax and Fullers.

Overall Results: