Albacore National Championship at Llandudno Sailing Club

Albacore Nationals at Llandudno © Llandudno SC

Judy and Paul Armstrong have won the Albacore Nationals at Llandudno in convincing style mastering a range of conditions over the three day event. The wife and husband team followed up their recent runners up spot in the European Championships with their first ever Nationals win which is also the first ever win by a lady helm.

Day 1 dawned with a gusty off shore breeze and as the first few boats launched it quickly became obvious that the wind was at the limit for the 32 boat fleet – how obvious was reinforced within minutes by a broken mast plus a half sunken boat encouraging many to stay on shore! With the wind showing no sign of abating there were no complaints when the PRO canned the racing for the day.

This mean that Day 2 became a four race day and with the wind dropping to a more manageable level the fleet was out in force. Local brewing company, Wild Horse generously sponsored a first to the windward mark prize of beer so there was added incentive to get there first in each race.

Race 1 saw one of the youngest helms Ian Stone and his crew Miles Weekes win the beer but they were soon passed by Mike Hartley and Lewis Brailsford who in turn were passed by eventual winners Judy and Paul plus Nev Herbert and Mark Fowler with Jerry Rook and Jake Stow slipping into third.

For Race 2 the wind had shifted right and this time Nev and Mark, sailing with a borrowed mast, led from the front to take the win ahead of the Armstrong's with Ian and Miles taking third.

The third race saw Mike Banner and Jason Upton taking advantage of a holding tide at the start to take the beer at the windward mark. Some tight racing ensued but eventually they were passed by the Armstrong's who won again, with Jerry and Jake second and Phil Tindall and his son Tom in third.

Albacore Nationals at Llandudno - photo © Llandudno SC

In Race 4 the wind started to drop slightly forcing a course change with the left side becoming more favoured. The Armstrong's slipped to fourth – not bad for a discard, allowing Jerry and Jake to win and lead the fleet in for a tractor assisted pull up the impressive new concrete launching ramp before the fleet descended on the club house for a meal, the AGM and the day's prizes.

On the final day three races were sailed in the lightest conditions of the weekend with the tide playing a bigger part in the tactics. Judy and Paul showed their desire to wrap up their first Nationals win with a 1,1,2 scoreline. Nev and Mark suffered from a brace of OCS's despite a third in-between and Phil Smith and Tom Williams sailed a consistent series with seven top ten results to claim fourth overall. Jerry and Jake sailed consistently to take the runners up spot just ahead of Mike and Lewis.

So Judy and Paul Armstrong from Scaling Dam are the deserved National champions and at the prize giving, where they took away an impressive array of silverware, they thanked all at Llandudno SC for a well-run event, Noble Marine and Wild Horse Brewery for their support and their fellow competitors.

The silver fleet was won by Michael Scott crewed by Eddie Farrell.

Next year the Nationals are part of the bi-annual International Championships – a week-long event at the home of the 2012 Olympic venue - Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy from 5th to 11th August. The target is to get around 70 Albacores racing with fleets from the USA and Canada expected to play a big part.

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Albacore nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here