Champion of champions crowned at RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta 2016

by Susie Nation-Grainger, RYA 9 Aug 2016 11:22 BST 6-7 August 2016

Peter Gregory (2.4mR class) was crowned 2016 RYA Multiclass Champion at the ninth RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta this weekend (6-7 August).

More than 54 boats and 64 sailors from a far afield as Australia took to the water at Rutland Sailing Club for British's largest sailing event for people with disabilities. They competed in eight classes: 2.4mR, Challenger, Hansa 2.3, Hansa 303, Hansa 303 Double, Skud 18, Hansa 303 Single, Liberty and the RS Venture.

Racing began on the Saturday when the wait for the wind was rewarded with three hotly contested back-to-back races and prizes up for grabs in each fleet. With too much wind on the Sunday and regular gusts of 25 plus knots, plans for three further races had to be canned, leaving Saturday's results as the final standing.

The prestigious Ken Ellis trophy is awarded to the leading boat in classes with the highest number of competitors. This year it was awarded to Peter Gregory (2.4mR) from Wealdon Sailability. Peter who lives in Surrey, counted two firsts and discarded a fourth from the final race, during which gear failure saw the jib pole come away from the mast. "It's a very friendly regatta,' said Peter. 'It was quite fluky conditions, slightly shifty and the pressure was up and down, but we got a decent sail out of it.'

Class Winners:

Name	Class	Club
Peter Gregory	4MR	Wealdon Sailability
Graham Hall	Challenger	Rutland Sailability
Lindsay Burns	Hansa 2.3	Frensham Pond Sailability
James Woosnam & Iona Parker	Hansa 303 Double	Frensham Pond Sailability
Christine Spray & Neville Rose	Skud 18	Rutland Sailability
Bob Schahinger	Hansa 303 Single	Adelaide Australia
Chris Atkin	Liberty Class	Hanningfield Sailability
Paul Allen & James Adair	RS Venture	Rutland Sailability

Sailability enables people with a disability to experience sailing and to sail regularly and the Multiclass Regatta brings together sailors across the whole spectrum of abilities in a range of different boat classes.

For Lindsay Burns (Frensham Pond) competing in the Hansa 2.3 Class the Multiclass is the main event of the year. 'This regatta is the most important on our circuit. It's a sailing event, it's a sociable event, and it's everything. I love being here and being part of all the different classes for disabled people. It's very special to me.'

With a training day on the Friday, the regatta is also a fantastic opportunity for less experienced racers to train on the racecourse and to compete alongside more experienced crew including Paralympic hopefuls.

RYA Sailability Manager Debbie Blachford said: "Despite the fact that it was too windy to compete on Sunday we've had a fantastic Regatta. From the very first year you can see just how much it has grown. Everyone's skills have developed and we have new competitors every year. It's great to see all the fleets growing. I'd like to thank all of our volunteers who have worked tireless all weekend to get sailors on the water and to make this Regatta happen".

Next year's RYA Sailability Multiclass Regatta will be 5-6 August 2017 at Rutland Sailing Club For more information about Sailability visit www.rya.org.uk/sailability