Impressive results from Royal Lymington's youth sailors at the 29er Nationals
by Tanya Baddeley 16 Aug 17:28 BST
9-13 August 2022
Sam Webb & Ben Mueller (2nd), Santi Sesto Cosby & Leo Wilkinson (1st), Charlie Gran & Sam Jones (3rd) at the 29er UK National Championships © Genie Webb
From Monday 9th to Saturday 13th August, youth sailors from Royal Lymington Yacht Club (RLymYC) competed in the 29er National Championships at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club. With just two days between the end of the World Championships in Barcelona and the start of the National Championships, there was little rest and a very quick turnaround in the midst of the heat wave.
The National Championship racing took place over six days, with practice races on the Monday followed by three days of qualifiers and two days of final races. The PRO Ian Bullock did his best to get three races per day but the light winds tended to die around lunchtime so it was early starts followed by swimming in the afternoon.
Santi Sesto Cosby and crew Leo Wilkinson started very strongly with four bullets in a row! Ben Mueller and Sam Webb put on a very good chase but could not close what was an unassailable lead, even with two bullets to finish in races 11 and 12.
Santi said: "The fleet was a very high level as most had just come back from the Worlds, so people were trained and ready to go. It wasn't that windy and was all down to playing the shifts, especially downwind. It was so nice to race with all our friends and the best way to finish the season and finish my time sailing with Leo who will now be moving on to the 49er."
From the girls' perspective it was extremely tight race, even to the last day. However, Ella Lightbody and Felicity Brellisford managed their first ever bullet in the 29er on day 4 and that gave them a strong position going into the final day.
Ella said: "We're super happy that all our hard work over the winter has paid off, it's a great way to end the season."
Congratulations to RLymYC's Santi Sesto Cosby and Leo Wilkinson who became the 2022 29er Youth, Open and British National Champions.
And to RLymYC's Ella Lightbody and Felicity Brellisford who were crowed the 2022 29er Ladies British National Champions (ninth overall).
RLymYC members Ben Mueller and Sam Webb finished an impressive second overall.
Well done also to Annabelle Vines with crew Raulf Berry who were in a close race all week for the Mixed Pair title, narrowly missing out despite a third place in the final race. They finished second Mixed Team (15th Overall)
Results for other RLymYC members: Cameron Sword sailing with Johnny Sargent finished 8th overall, Oliver Vines with Kuba Staite were 19th overall, Agnes Bracey Davis and crew Felix Cummings were 23rd overall and George May sailing with Rob Mawdsley were 28th overall.
RLymYC 29er Fleet Captain and UK 29er Class Association Chairman, Phil Lightbody said: "Congratulations to the RLymYC 29er fleet for their superb performance at the Nationals! The fleet has worked hard over a busy summer of events, with many of them having taken time out for their GCSEs and A Levels in May and June."
The 29er is a fun, fast and exhilarating boat to sail. This high-performance skiff is a two-person, single trapeze dinghy with an asymmetric spinnaker. Fully battened sails, with a self-tacking jib, supported on a composite tipped mast make the 29er dynamite downwind. The 29er is a great boat to transition into after learning to sail in one of the junior classes.
Royal Lymington Yacht Club's vibrant 29er fleet welcomes sailors transitioning from other junior fleets and consists both of sailors new to the fleet who are seeking to pair up with a crew or helm, as well as a number of established pairs who have been training together for some time. Regular coaching and training is offered, as well as racing on Monday evenings and Friday evenings. Find out more at rlymyc.org.uk/29ers