Swallow National Championship at Itchenor Sailing Club

by Tony Glover 10 Jul 2018 11:46 BST 7-8 July 2018

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

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
1	93	Gwaihir	Mike Wigmore / Mark Struckett / Charles Hyatt / Keith Bliss	2	1	2	4	1	6
2	3	Skua	Harry Roome / Prue Roome / Charles Roome	1	2	3	8	2	8
3	82	Marengo	Carolyn Brigg / Charles Fisher / Nick Boyd	3	3	6	2	3	11
4	95	Osprey	James Hartley / Jeremy Sibthorp / Peter Bentley / Ian Tillet	4	11	7	3	4	18
5	86	Migrant	Chris Fox / James Leaver / Barnie Hartley	6	8	4	5	5	20
6	7	Swift	Jon Perry / Peter Brasier / John Tremlett	11	4	1	10	6	21
7	92	Cockersoottie	Charles Prescot / Mimie Currie / Dudley Howard	8	7	5	9	14	29
8	67	Solitude	Anthony Lunch / Andrew Reid / Adam Levitt	10	12	10	1	OCS	33
9	66	Buccanneer	Mike Bond / Simon Hamlyn / Marcus Irwin‑Brown / Mike Burnford	7	9	8	11	9	33
10	74	Archon	Malcolm Green / Elizabeth Pattison / Chris Creak	9	5	9	16	12	35
11	88	Darter	Tony Glover / Mike Lindsay / Gayle Palmer	13	13	13	6	8	40
12	70	Curlew	Simon Slater / Peter Baron / Tim Boswijk	5	14	14	13	11	43
13	87	Echo	George Miller / Simon Miller / James Cunnison	12	6	12	14	13	43
14	80	Blue Tit	Tom Clarence‑Smith / Andrew Dunlop / Paul Giles	14	10	11	12	10	43
15	89	Svala	Nigel Masding / Hugo Fisher / Richard House	DNC	DNC	DNC	7	7	50
16	76	Harlequin	Mark Walker / James Govan / Peter McGleughlin	15	15	15	17	15	60
17	60	Whimbrel	P Snell / J Webber / M Cover	DNC	DNC	DNC	15	DNC	69