Navigators & General Mirror Nationals at Itchenor Sailing Club Overall

Navigators & General Mirror Nationals at Itchenor prize giving © Mary Pudney

Ian and Zoe Walker win the Navigators & General Mirror Nationals at Itchenor © Mary Pudney

Itchenor Sailing Club hosted 64 boats for the 2012 Navigators and General Mirror National Championships. It once again proved itself to be a true family boat with competitors ranging in age from 7 to 70 years old. Much of the talk before racing was about Abu Dhabi Volvo Ocean Race skipper Ian Walker who was fulfilling a lifelong ambition by entering the nationals with his 11 year old daughter Zoe.

Day 1 was too windy and PRO Peter Taylor was left with no choice but to abandon all racing meaning that the Championship would be compressed into 2 busy days. Thursday dawned with a lighter wind forecast but it remained windy on Chichester Harbour with windspeeds hitting 25 knots. Spectators were treated to some spectacular sailing on the triangle / sausage courses that proved a real test in the tidal waters. Fastest out of the blocks were Max Odell and Finley Boon from Northampton SC who managed to overhaul Eddie Grayson and Gemma Keers to win race 1. Race 2 belonged to Ian and Zoe Walker who lead round every mark to win comfortably from Milly and Nick Pugh from Poole YC who were full of confidence having recently finished 3rd at the 2012 European Championships. Max and Finley followed up their win in race 1 with a third place to round out the top 3. Eddie and Gemma were left to rue an OCS that would put pressure on them for the rest of the series.

There was drama before the start of race 3 as joint leaders Max and Finley capsized and broke their mast alongside their support boat. This meant they couldn't race and they would have to use up their valuable discard. By now it was 25 - 30 knots and the wind against tide made for tricky waves and very testing and surprisingly cold conditions. The 64 boat fleet was down to 35 by the end of race 3 and many of the leading boats opted not to fly spinnakers on the short reaching legs. It was a survival test with many of the younger crews showing fantastic resilience and skill to complete all three races. It was Nigel Thomas and Billy Vennisozanne who demonstrated the best boathandling to take the win ahead of locals David and Charlie McGregor from Bosham SC. Sarah Richards and Alexander Baird rounded off a very consistent day with a 3rd place to add to their two 4ths in races 1 and 2.

The last day saw a further drop in the wind with 15 knots easing off to under 10 by the end of the day. Overnight leaders Ian and Zoe Walker found themselves in trouble in race 4 after fouling another boat and taking a 720 penalty on the first beat. They recovered well but a 13th place finish opened the door for others and none more so than Milly and Nick Pugh who took first place to move into 2nd overall. Local girls Isabel Davies and Millie Moss from Itchenor were again consistent to grab 3rd place behind Eddie Grayson and Gemma Keers. As the wind dropped it became very shifty and it was hard for teams to remain consistent. Ian and Zoe Walker quickly got in phase in race 5 to score a second race win but with Max and Finley 3rd and Milly and Nick 7th it meant that any of these 3 boats could still win the championship on the last race. Rosie and Helena Watkins also revelled in the lighter winds to score a 2nd place, their best race of the series whilst former expert International 14 sailor Bruce Grant and his son William were making the most decisive move up the fleet with a 6th place that kept all of their results in the top 10.

A huge windshift at the start of race 6 meant that it was Ian and Zoe Walker that got away clear chased by Nigel Thomas and Billy Vennisozanne with Milly and Nick Pugh close behind. The shift put paid to Max and Finley's chances as they only managed a 17th place that they had to count after their DNC in race 3. Milly and Nick showed what a bright future they have ahead of them by overtaking both Ian and Nigel to win race 6 and claim 2nd overall. Isabel Davies and Millie Moss remained consistent with a 5th place that raised them to 3rd overall. Perhaps the unluckiest team of the day were Sarah Richards and Alexander Baird who were in 2nd place after the first day of racing but discovered a huge bend in their mast that left them short of pace for all of the last 3 races dropping them to 8th overall.

Ian and Zoe Walker's 2nd place finish in race 6 meant a 5th Mirror National Title for the America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race skipper and a first for his daughter Zoe. It was 23 years since Ian last sailed a Mirror and as he reminded everyone in his winning speech most of the fleet were not even born when he last sailed a Mirror. Ian praised the high standard of the young sailors in the fleet, the quality of the new boats and the excellent race management.

Prize Winners:

• Ian & Zoe Walker, 1st over 39 year old, 1st Parent and Child
• Milly & Nick Pugh 2nd overall, 1st Ladies helm, 2nd Gold fleet, 1st Under 15, Winner of the New Navigators & General trophy combined best result at Europeans and Nationals
• Max Odell & Finley Boon, 1st Silver fleet
• Bruce Grant, 1st over 49 year old
• Eddie Grayson & Gemma Keers, 1st under 19 other than winner of Under 15 prize
• Charlie March & Henry Heath, 1st Bronze fleet, & last boat to complete all races.
• Rob Dean, 1st Single hander
• Helena Watkins (age 7), youngest crew to complete all the races

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Mirror nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here