Kneale stands out to take Topper title at RYA Eric Twiname Championships
by Hamish Stuart, RYA Cymru-Wales 10 May 2017 12:37 BST
6-7 May 2017
Topper sailor Ethan Kneale on day 2 of the RYA Eric Twiname Championships © Dan Towers / onEdition / RYA
Cardiff Bay sailor Ethan Kneale was the top Topper as defending champions Wales fell short of the team title at the RYA Eric Twiname Championships.
Kneale won the Topper class while Pembrokeshire's Iolo Davies finished runner-up in the Optimst class of boat, with Pwllheli's Arwen Fleur the top girl and 10th overall.
However the Wales team effort was not as strong as last year as the South East Zone were victorious when 270 sailors battled it out for individual and team honours on Rutland Water.
The Topper fleet saw three winners in the each of the day's races. As the only sailor to take two victories across the weekend, Kneale jumped to the top of the leaderboard and secured the Topper crown.
Kneale described the racing, "I've found it challenging, but I enjoyed winning! It was close racing, I didn't know if I could do it. It's a relief to have won and I'm very happy."
With the Optimist field still wide open going into the second day of racing, several boats had the title within their grasp.
Davis was uncatchable in the penultimate race after building a substantial lead leaving his rivals in the dust, but after a challenging last race he was pipped to the post and ended his day as the runner-up.
After adding two bullets to his scoreline, Henry Means (HSC/NBYC, E) was crowned Optimist Champion beating his 74 zone rivals. Fflur consolidated her position to top the girls' podium and finished 10th overall.
Event Director and RYA Senior High Performance Manager, Chris Atherton, was pleased with a successful event, "We have had a fantastic weekend of sailing across all of the courses. The conditions were challenging at times, with shifts testing the sailors but it's been a brilliant atmosphere afloat and ashore all.
"I have been really impressed with the young sailors this weekend, their attitudes have been fantastic and the standard of racing across the seven junior classes has been superb. It is great to see new sailors coming through the Zone Pathway and competing at an event like this for the first time.
"This event would not be possible without the support of the Eric Twiname Trust. Rutland Sailing Club has once again put on a brilliant event and I would like to thank everyone who helped the event to run so smoothly."
Full results online here.
More about the Eric Twiname Trust www.erictwinametrust.org and to donate www.justgiving.com/erictwinametrust.
You can follow the action on the event website, the British Youth Sailing Team Facebook and on Twitter @RYAYouthRacing.