Second win for National 18 in RYA Scotland Champion of Champions

RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Trophy © Marc Turner / www.ryascotland.org.uk

RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Trophy © Marc Turner / www.ryascotland.org.uk

The best Scottish dinghy sailors across sixteen dinghy classes took part in the RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Trophy at Largs Sailing Club over the weekend. The different classes of boat compete together, from junior to senior class champions they race to determine which class and crews are best.

The National 18 Ultra had the strongest set of results over the five races, winning three races in total under the Portsmouth Yardstick handicap system. As one of the largest boats in the fleet it required a three man crew, helmed by Stuart Urquart and crewed by his brother Richard Urquart and Martin Cruden all from Findhorn YC on the Moray Firth.

Stuart Urquart, who previously won the championship in 2013 commented.. "It's been a great weekend, very cold this morning but once the wind settled in we had three good races. Good for a Sunday." He continued. "It has been fantastic to win the event and well worth coming down. We thought it was a very well run event, but challenging for Race Officer today and the three races were very enjoyable."

The local easterly breezes proved unsteady and at times brisk but rarely from the same direction. The race committee were forced to abandon the third race scheduled on Saturday after a memorable first race in almost perfect conditions of 12-15 knots. Racing started later than schedules on Sunday as a colder northerly breeze remained indecisive on a bright crisp autumnal day.

Calum Bell returning to the Topper class after his first few events in the youth 420 class earlier in the year managed to climb to 2nd overall and was the first single handed dinghy at the event. All the winter training in the Largs Channel clearly proved very useful for the conditions over the series.

He said. "I'm surprised and pleased with the result. I didn't know what to expect as you don't know what your result is until the very end. I had to remain disciplined and keep trying harder as you can't compare yourself to the other boats in any way. Hopefully I'll try it in the 420 next year."

RYA Scotland Champion of Champions Trophy - photo © Marc Turner / www.ryascotland.org.uk

Viola and Micheal Scott, sailing their Osprey, managed to claim third place after a consistent set of the results, with last year's winner David and Ian Kent sliding to 4th overall.

This longstanding trophy is an invitational event based on Scottish Championships and traveller series results throughout the season. RYA Scotland support and number of class racing initiatives including class grants that aid towards training and coaching. If you are interested about finding more about class support please visit the RYA Scotland website here.

Overall Results: