Harken 29er Grand Prix Round 6 at Pwllheli Sailing Club

Harken 29er Grand Prix at Pwllheli © Andre Ozanne

Harken 29er Grand Prix at Pwllheli © Andre Ozanne

The 6th UK 29er Harken grand prix in Pwllheli got underway in great conditions with a decent 12 to 18 knots and some nice waves. With a big forecast for the Sunday, the Race Officer decided to try and get in five races - a real challenge given the lively conditions.

Nick Robins and Billy Vennis-Ozanne found their rhythm early and extended a sizable lead over the rest of the fleet. Local boys Huw Edwards and Josh Dawson quickly moved to second while battling it out for 3rd-5th place were Luke/Ewan Gribbin, Bella Fellows/Anna Sturrock, Sarah Jarman/Nick Devereux and me (Fin Armstrong) with my brother Dan. However, following a capsize around the windward mark on the second lap, we dropped back to 9th. Luke and Ewan won the battle for 3rd, while Nick and Sarah came just behind them in 4th.

This seemed to the theme for the day as Nick and Billy took another bullet in the second race, Huw and Josh again taking second, while Dan and I managed to hold on to 3rd place, pushing the Gribbin brothers back to 4th. The waves were proving to be quite tough for a lot of the fleet as,whilst it wasn't too windy, there were a lot of capsizes. Exhaustion set in and after the 2nd race, three boats called it a day and retired to the shore.

The top 5 remained practically the same for the next two races of the day, with only a bit of upset in the 4th race where Dan and I took 2nd place, leaving Huw and Josh with a 4th (which they would discard), and Bella and Anna to make an appearance in the top three.

Despite the challenging conditions the Race Committee turned round the races promptly which enabled the flag to go up for the 5th race giving some of the fleet (us) a much needed discard. As the wind picked up for the fifth race of the day, fitness came to the fore. The final race was tight at the front of the pack as the sailors smashed it out downwind in some big waves. Nick and Billy took their final bullet of the day and Huw and Josh were back down in third after we pipped them to the finish.

Sailing was cancelled on the Sunday due to the strong winds and swell leaving Nick and Billy to discard a first and take the win with Huw and Josh in second and Dan and I in third. Top Juniors were Henry Jameson and Toby Atherton, Bella Fellows and Anna Sturrock top girls in 5th with Sarah Jarman and Nick Devereux top mixed pair in 6th.

Pwllhelli again proved to be a great stop on the 29er circuit with the waves and wind providing high octane sailing. Even the local wildlife appreciated our arrival as a friendly though foolhardy seal popped up to say hello as the boats were coming in. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who helped at the Club and on the water - we can't wait to go back!

Overall Results: