Formula 18 UK Nationals at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy
by William Sunnucks 7 Oct 2013 19:15 BST
14-16 September 2013
Formula 18 nationals at Weymouth © Nick Champion /
www.championmarinephotography.co.uk
Grant Piggott and Simon Farren were the winners of the 2013 Formula 18 catamaran UK Nationals with a near perfect 1,1,2,1 scoreline.
The event was held at WPNSA, the venue for the 2012 sailing Olympics, and shared with the Hurricanes 5.9 class: the catamarans were almost lost in the huge compound, but enjoyed the world class sailing waters and professional race management.
After their huge world championship in Grosetto Italy (183 entrants from 29 countries) the UK nationals is a relatively small event. 20 teams braved the strong wind forecasts which put off many. Despite this race officer Jim Gollop ran three good races on the Saturday and one on the Sunday morning before the 38 knot breeze kicked in, cancelling the remainder of the event.
The F18 class is notable for close racing between quite different designs, all of which conform to a tightly controlled "box" rule. Most popular in the UK is the Nacra Infusion as used by winners Piggott and Farren. Second was an Edge from Western Australia sailed by A class sailor Chris Field and Ollie Egan. Other designs represented were the Hobie Wildcat, the Cirrus R, and the older Nacra 18s. The class is keen to encourage participation by other older designs - Hobie Tigers, Dart Hawks and Nacra Infusions for example. Owners will be very welcome, and will benefit from a personal handicapping system which is being developed.
Overall Results: (top three)
1st Grant Piggott and Simon Farren (Weston SC)
2nd Chris Field and Ollie Egan (Minnis Bay SC)
3rd David White and Jon Sweet (Thorpe Bay SC)