Melges 24 Nationals at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club overall

A close final day at the Melges 24 nationals © Katina Read

A close final day at the Melges 24 nationals © Katina Read

Close racing sees Simpson take the national title

It was down to the wire for the leaders of the WKD Melges 24 Nationals taking place in Torquay.

As the gun went signalling the start of the last race of the championships hosted by the Royal Torbay Yacht Club, there was just one point between leader Quentin Strauss on PIPC-Project Specialists and Stuart Simpson on Barbarians. A foul on the start line meant Strauss had to do a penalty turn just before the gun went, leaving him unable to find clean air for the first beat. And his misery continued as Simpson got the better of him on a port/starboard manoeuvre leaving him trailing down the fleet.

The fleet seemed to be pushing themselves to the limits on this last race of the regatta in order to get a higher position, with a couple of collisions at the windward mark, and several boats doing penalty turns.

At the end of the first round it was Allen Brown on The Dogs….who was out in front, followed by local sailor John Pollard on Xcellent and Simpson.

Brown managed to stay ahead for the next round, correctly reading the wind shifts, to take their first bullet of the championship.

Second was Simpson, but a lost protest saw him disqualified from the race.

Earlier the day had followed the same pattern as the previous two, with very little wind and an overcast sky. A short postponement was called for by race officer Martin Wells-Brown but the fleet finally started their last day of racing with around four knots of breeze and the sun starting to make an appearance.

The fleet was led around the course by Simpson who ended the race with a huge lead. Pollard was closest but with the wind shifting was unable to close the gap. With Strauss breathing down his neck, Pollard managed to gybe inside of his rival as he approached the finish to take third by a whisker, with Paul Manning on Deep Blue in second. But another protest had been lodged and this time it was Strauss who was disqualified from the race.

Another postponement followed, but when the gun sounded for the second race the fleet behaved themselves and made a clean start. Another change in wind direction meant a change of course was needed after the first round as a close battle developed between Strauss and Simpson.

Strauss managed to stay ahead of Simpson, with Pollard finishing the race in third place.

At the end of the championships, it was Rob Smith helming Stuart Simpson's 'Barbarians' together with Freddie Kemp and Justin Chisholm who took the trophy with Strauss second and Pollard third.

At a gala dinner and awards ceremony, The top Corinthian prize was awarded to Allen Brown on The Dogs….with Simon Henning on White Rabbit second and Norwegian competitor, Jens A Wathne third.

Top female helm was Ann Ashworth on Ali II, the Babies trophy was awarded to David Franks and his team on Wild Thing with a combined age of 99 years, while the Wrinklies trophy went to Ancilla Clark and her team on Fiver with a combined age of 215 years.

The John Merricks Trophy was awarded to Paul Manning and his team on Deep Blue. First RTYC boat was Ashworth, second was event sponsor Joe Woods on WKD and third was Clark.

Top overseas boat was Brown, with Henning second and Wathne third.