Swallow National Championship at Itchenor Sailing Club

Gwaihir leading Skua during the Swallow Nationals at Itchenor © ISC

The 70th anniversary event of the Swallow's debut at the 1948 Olympics in Torbay was hosted by Itchenor Sailing Club and sailed in Hayling Bay over two days in glorious, if somewhat light conditions, and attracted a top quality fleet of 17 boats.

This was a long-awaited battle between a number of elite boats and sailors and did not disappoint – even if tidal conditions and significant wind shifts occasionally challenged the fleet.

First win after a delayed start on Saturday went to the family-crewed Skua and in emphatic style from last year's champion, Gwaihir. However in the second race the placings were reversed with the 2016 champion, Carolyn Brigg in Marengo filling third place twice over in Marengo – honours even at that point. A bold start for the final race of the first day and some canny upwind tactics brought Swift helmed by Jon Perry to the front with Gwaihir and Skua recovering well from indifferent starts to occupy the other podium positions.

At the end of the first day's racing Gwaihir topped the leader board by a single point from Skua and the fleet celebrated this auspicious anniversary with an excellent open air Championship Dinner at Itchenor Sailing Club.

Racing was initially delayed on day two, for the sea breeze to settle but when it did the race produced another winner with Anthony Lunch in Solitude showing good speed and control of the fleet, with Marengo and James Hartley in Osprey following close behind.

In the final and breezier race of the five race series, Gwaihir managed to cross the fleet on port and was away. As the closest challenger, Skua did an excellent recovery job to climb to second but it was not quite enough. Marengo finished third once more.

A resounding success, the Championships were the perfect tribute to the Swallow's 70th anniversary and benefitted from excellent race management by Itchenor Sailing Club members and by Richard Fleck the Race Officer.

Overall Results:
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