Wayfarer National Circuit Event at Blackwater Sailing Club

The Wayfarer National Circuit starts at Blackwater © Steve Collins

Twenty crews competed in the first UK Wayfarers National Circuit Series event of 2008 at Blackwater Sailing Club on the 17th and 18th May. This event doubled up as the Eastern Area Championships and was convincingly won by Quentin Strauss from Upper Thames SC crewed by Martin Hare from the home club.

The National Circuit Series is a new innovation for the Wayfarers’ 50th Anniversary Year and consists of five high quality open meetings at; Blackwater SC, Warsash SC (also the South Area Championships) 14-15 June, Waldringfield SC 2-3 August, Upper Thames SC 27-28 September, Bough Beech SC 8-9 November.

Competitors will count their best three results in the series out of the five, and the winners will be awarded the brand new Hartley Laminates Trophy. Two of the new Mark 4 Wayfarers built by Hartleys featured at Blackwater, and Mike McKechnie crewed (and coached) by Graham Ireland proved that the Mark 4 can be as fast as the fastest in the class when it is sailed well,

The competitors enjoyed two days of fiercely competitive racing at Blackwater in a force 3-4 easterly to north easterly breeze, on excellent Olympic courses laid by the Race Officer, Commodore Barry Foulds and his team. Conditions were grey and overcast on Saturday and sunny and bright on Sunday, but there were some big shifts and much place changing on the beats on both days. Although Quentin and Martin won all four races, they had to work hard in every race to do so, and the other places on the podium were not decided until the final race. In the end Roger Challis and Mark Johnston of Wadringfield SC, squeezed past Mike and Graham of Shoreham SC to take second overall.

Overall Results: