Contender Nationals at Penzance Sailing Club

Once again, the Contenders got into the '50 at the Nationals' club at a superb event held by Penzance Sailing Club.

The first day saw a fairly apprehensive fleet go out in a Force 5-6 with huge gusts and a muddled sea. Most encountered a swim or two but it was Stuart Jones who took the first bullet, from Tim Holden and Andy Potter. Race 2 saw an increase in wind and Simon Mussell led throughout, until a final fluffed tack to the finishing line let a grateful Graham Scott in to take the win from Mussell. Only 18 boats completed both races with some wild reaches and some equally wild capsizes.

The following 4 days were sailed generally in a Force 3, mostly enough to trapeze but without the excitement of day 1. The racing was exceptionally close throughout the fleet, with a variety of race winners, John Browett, Stuart Jones, Graham Scott (twice), Stacey Bray, Bernard Shapley and Richard Gimmler all taking the gun at some point.

With 1 race to go, Scott led Jones by 1 point, Browett was safe in third, with Gimmler and Bray fighting it out for fourth. Scott and Jones kept the fleet entertained through 2 general recalls with some interesting gyrations, but Scott could not prevent Jones from getting a good start on the third attempt with both being in the top 3 at the windward mark. After an extremely close race, Jones eventually took the win from Scott and with it the Nationals crown for the second time by the narrowest of margins - with equal points, wins and second places, Jones had one more third place than Scott.

Overall Results: