GP14 National Championship at Pwllheli Sailing Club - Day 1

With Barbados still ever present in memories it was with high hopes of sun tans and turtles that the GP14 fleet gathered in Wales for the 2016 National Championships. In the end all it could deliver was sea weed and spray against a back drop of grey skies and dark water.

Part of the Craftinsure Super 6, the entry of 36 and 4 cruisers duly rigged and started the long trek to the sand. As a lover of tiny inland lakes I asked seasoned sea sailor Frank Nickless for his assessment of the weather conditions as we stood on the beach waiting to launch. Hoping for some gem about tides, eddies or the favoured side of the course that would give us edge I looked intently as he pointed to the wonky horizon and informed me that meant "really ******* big waves."

To be fair to Frank he was right! Although they weren't as bad as Looe apparently but were around 7 foot at times and were decidedly uneven and lumpy.

With the practice race all done there was plenty of time to hang around, and work on my drowned rat look as the waves crashed over the foredeck relentlessly. After swallowing yet another salty mouthful and reminding myself that I was doing this for fun we lined up for the start.

The wind during the race was a manageable 18-22 knots as the fleet set off down the first beat. Shane MacCarthy and Andy Thomson (Greystones SC) continued where they left off in the practice race and rounded the windward mark first. Closely chasing was the new pairing of Fergus Barnham and Ellie Devereux (Northampton SC/Budworth SC) with Sam Watson and Andy Hunter (Nantwich SC) in third. Coming up to the gybe mark Sam and Andy took a wide line allowing Nick Devereux and Geoff Edwards (Budworth SC) to sneak in the inside. Sam and Andy were unable to shut the door and protested the Budworth pair. On the water they finished in that order and then followed the protest committee.

Sam and Andy lost the protest and despite no counter protest was lodged from Nick and Geoff the jury decided that Sam and Andy had breached rule 18.4 and were disqualified! All four were left scratching their heads as to the outcome and it soured what was a good day's racing.

I can't give too much insider knowledge about how the race went from the middle of the fleet as our rudder fitting snapped and we had to be towed in to find Justin Smith and Sarah O'Neill had had some similar bad luck with the kicker snapping.

The best thing about coming off early though was the free beer sponsored by Ginger Boats. Thanks also go to SP Boats and English Braids who sponsored the prizes.

Results after Day 1: