Bollinger Oxford Magnum
by Ellen Milner 25 Nov 2003 13:33 GMT
22/23 November 2003
Close racing at the Bollinger Oxford Magnum © Nikki Catt
This year the prestigious Bollinger Oxford Magnum team-racing event, hosted by Oxford University Yacht Club, was held on 22nd and 23rd November. Twenty teams from across Great Britain competed at Farmoor Reservoir to win the traditional Magnum of Bollinger Champagne.
Amongst the hot competition battling it out for the title were the Royal St George YC and the New Forest Pirates who came 4th and 5th at the World Team Racing Championships, respectively; and eleven university teams including both Southampton and Oxford who were winners and runners-up respectively in the BUSA Team-Racing Championship last April.
Saturday morning brought a delayed start as the 120 competitors watched England storm to victory in the Rugby, but 5 minutes after Jonny Wilkinson secured England’s triumph, the preparatory signal sounded for the start of the League stage of Bollinger Magnum. Conditions were drizzly but the steady breeze enabled the racing to progress at a decent rate and by the end of the afternoon sixty races had been sailed.
Sunday morning saw the racing recommence in slightly less breezy conditions but within 3 hours the Leagues were completed indicating the teams who had qualified for the quarter-finals as: Loughborough and Southampton Universities, Royal St George Yacht Club, West Kirby, New Forest Pirates, Blue Popcorn, Society and Magnum. The racing was tight and there was much switching of combinations before Southampton 1, New Forest Pirates, West Kirby and Blue Popcorn secured their places in the semi-finals.
West Kirby and Pirates proved to be top of the final four and emerged as winners to battle it out in the final. It was to be the Pirates’ day though – the Magnum of Bollinger went to the team of Stuart Hudson, Dom Johnson and Owen Modral, who ensured their victory by winning the first two races.
Thanks should go to Bollinger for sponsoring the event; the Oxford University Squad who guaranteed the smooth running of the event; the Umpires who ensured fair racing; and London and Southampton Universities, and Sevenoaks School who lent their fleets of Fireflies for the event.