Folkboat National Championship at Royal Lymington Yacht Club

The Folkboat 2017 National Championship was hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club over the weekend of 16/17 September. 14 boats competed, 12 from Lymington and 2 from Yarmouth.

Saturday dawned with sunny spells and light, variable NE/NW winds Sunday was overcast with 8-10 knots from the North East with strong ebb tide. Challenging conditions for any race officer.

The 1st Windward / Leeward race on Saturday started promptly at 11am in very light airs, several boats were over the line at the start, including Crackerjack, and Pilgrim. Claire Locke in The Otter, from Yarmouth, finished 1st, closely followed by Crackerjack and Pilgrim taking second and third place. After one general recall and 3 abandoned starts due to large wind shifts, a "round the cans" race was completed in light and very frustrating conditions, Madelaine and Pilgrim both going aground whilst short tacking up the mainland shore! In the dying wind, Madelaine won followed by Tak and Crackerjack. A lovely rainbow appeared over the Eastern Solent, lighting up the proceedings through the heavy rain! Later, approximately 20 people enjoyed drinks courtesy of Tony Smee, (Folkboats UK) followed by a dinner at the RLYC.

Sunday's racing began with a chilly N/E 8-10 knots of wind. The RO opted for a Windward Leeward race to begin the day. The ebb tide and light airs made it difficult to cross the line on starboard and there was some tricky port tacking to clear the pin end! A couple of boats were recalled, but with a few wind shifts they were soon back in the race which was won by Madelaine; a close tacking duel back to the finish line resulted in Pilgrim 2nd and Samphire 3rd. This was followed by two "round the cans" races, the first won by Crackerjack followed by Madelaine and Tak. The final race was shortened with the wind dying and a still strong ebb. Tak won followed by Crackerjack and Madelaine with Pilgrim, Samphire, The Otter and Eala battling it out behind.

Final overall positions were 1st Madelaine, 2nd Crackerjack and 3rd Tak, followed by Pilgrim 2 points behind in 4th place, Samphire 5th and Yarmouth boat, The Otter, 6 th.

Matthew Jones, Chairman of the UK Folkboat Association presented the prizes and thanked the Race Officer, John Whyte, and his team of volunteers for successfully getting 5 races completed in very challenging conditions. He also thanked James and Derry Beatty, owners of the committee boat, and the RLYC for hosting the event and looked forward to welcoming everyone back next year.

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