UK 49er National Championships at Royal Torbay Yacht Club

Simon Marks and Nick Murray running downwind on their way to winning the national title for the second year in a row © Jean Border / Border photos

Eighteen boats braved the journey to Torquay and were rewarded with a warm welcome and excellent race management from the host club.

An interesting format was employed for the Nationals, with the option of a 4, 3 or two day event. The first day is dedicated to class training with a good group of boats enjoying a days training under the watchful eye of Simon Hiscocks. The second day sees a 4 race series of which the overall result is counted as one race score into the main event, which takes place over the weekend. The Friday mini series is discardable, such that it is possible to turn up for the weekend and remain eligible to win the National title.

Friday was a relatively light and shifty day, in fact the shifty conditions were to be a feature of the championship. It was a new pairing of David Hopper sailing with old hand Mark Asquith who dominated the mini series counting a 2,1,1,2. Closely followed by Simon Marks and Nick Murray. Hiscocks swapped the coach boat to sail with Olly Spensley-Cornfield in third, scraping in front Mathew Rickard and Andrew Tarboton.

The weather forecasts did not hold much hope for racing on the Saturday and Sunday, however Saturday provided some perfect 49er conditions with 12 – 21 knots and flat water. Simon and Olly started the fastest with two bullets, but then came the Marks / Murray charge taking the next two races ahead of Hiscocks who desperate to gain an extra place capsized at the finish of race 5. Hopper and Asquith were not letting these guys off the hook and they kept the pressure on just a point behind. Behind these guys there was a battle between Peter Lawrence sailing with Miles Blaver-Mann and the much travelled Lyons brothers from Ullswater.

Saturday evening saw a most unusual sight as 90% of the fleet attended the class AGM. A very positive hour was spent distilling the virtues of the new rig and its effect on the growing popularity of the class in the UK domestic scene. Tristian Hutt has been running the events this year and has some great plans in place for the future. A competitive boat with a Carbon rig can now be bought from the secondhand Market for around £6000. The new rig is a marked improvement from the old boat, not only is it much more reliable, it makes the boat significantly easier to sail.

Sunday did indeed dawn windy, with foam being the dominant sight across Torbay. This was still not too windy for race officer William Butcher to attempt a race. With one point separating the top 3 it was any ones championship to take. All 3 teams, as well as Lawrence and Blaver-Mann arrived at the top mark together, a last shift caused all the teams to miss the lay line and amid much tacking it was Marks and Murray who emerged in front. Hopper and Asquith got stuck in a ferocious gust that knocked them flat at the jibe point, allowing Marks and Murray to hold on to there lead, pushed by Hiscocks and Cornfield. The two boats split on the next upwind leg (in mainsail flogging conditions) and despite some lost distance Marks and Murray held their nerve to record their third consecutive race victory and with it deservedly defended the title they first won last year.

A healthy state of affairs and a highly successful championship, the Autumn sees a number of national Ranking events at which a class coach will be on hand to distill some of the secrets at an evening debrief. Check out the class website and Facebook page for updates on extra events in this years program.

Overall Results: