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Hansa eSailing Championship

by David Durston 2 Jun 2020 08:07 BST 30 May 2020
Hansa eSailing Championship: A rare sight © Hansa Class

On Saturday 30th May Hansa ran a Virtual Regatta to discover who would become the class champion of the Class and represent us in the RYA's eSailing Spring Class Championship 2020.

The competition required 5 races to be run sailing J70s, with 2 discards. All of the sailors have been competing against each other regularly in their own series, so this one off showdown for the honour of representing Hansa was going to be fiercely contested.

The first race went to Mike Everitt with David Durston in second place. The series leaders, Paul Phillips and Rory McKinna got off to a bad start with a 5th and 7th place respectively.

Race 2 saw a different winner in James Woosnam, with David Durston getting another 2nd. Mike Everitt took another 1st in the third race after a disastrous 7th in the race before; David was again 2nd. In race 4 Paul found his form and delivered a bullet, to set up an interesting situation for the final race. The two discards meant that a good result for several people could elevate them to the top spot. The race was won by Paul which pushed him ahead of David who had all 2nd places so far. David and Mike were battling for 3rd place, which would determine whether or not Mike leapt above Paul. David held his lead which meant that all three competitors finished on 6 points after discards.

Paul's win in the last race meant that he took the top spot, with Michael 2nd, pushing David to 3rd. The three podium places will all receive Gul vouchers, and Paul goes forward to pit his skills against the champions from other classes.

Meanwhile, only four events remain in the 10 week Hansa Gul VR series 2020, and it's close at the top. Week 5 saw some more spot prizes given out, with Harry Kennington receiving a £30 Gul voucher for registering his first win. Also Rory McKinna was awarded a £40 voucher for three 1st places that same week, an achievement that he repeated the following week. Rory's strong performances have put him to within 9 points of the current leader, Paul Phillips, and has added distance of 11 points from David Durston in 3rd place. Nobody is giving much away though, Rory logged three 1sts and a 2nd in week 6, Paul two 1sts and two 2nds, and David two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 4th. There are still plenty of points up for grabs, so there will be an interesting culmination to the series on 23rd June.

It looks like the need for social distancing will prevent the Hansa Class from competing for a while longer yet. Many sailors need assistance in and out of the boat, and to race we must also have a level of safety cover. It is very frustrating, but at least we are able to compete virtually, and to get together every week by Zoom. Many of the sailors and volunteers are in the shielded category, so having activities like these are proving to be a God send.

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