Hansa UK Traveller Trophy Series Round 4 at Whitefriars Sailing Club
by Nicky Durston 22 Jun 2025 13:14 BST
31 May 2025
Hansa UK Traveller Trophy Series Round 4 at Whitefriars © Paul Snook & Nicky Durston
The fourth Traveller Trophy in the series was held at Whitefriars SC, in the beautiful Cotswold water park, on the 31st May. It was a sunny day with a light south westerly wind, which led to testing conditions on the water, especially at the windward mark.
There were 9 entries in the Liberty class, with Mary Duffy travelling all the way from Ireland to enjoy the competition. The competition was tough, with Paul Phillips who in 2024 became the European champion, and Mike Everitt who is the reigning UK National champion. But they didn't have it all their own way.
Paul Pearson took the first race, reading the shifts well. Mike Everitt found his form in the 2nd and 3rd races, taking two first places, closely challenged by Paul Phillips who pushed him all the way to take 2nd place in both races.
The stage was set for the final race with Mike on 5 points, Paul Phillips on 6, and Paul Pearson on 7. The wind had built with stronger gusts, but still the Whitefriars venue provided challenging shifts and a few holes. Tess Watkiss started the final race well, reaching the windward mark in first place. She continued to make good decisions throughout, holding off Paul Phillips who needed a bullet to leapfrog Mike. This meant that none of the top 3 improved on their scores, with the final race being their discards.
In the Hansa 303 one-person class the first race was taken by Toby Owen from Whitefriars who used local knowledge to his advantage. He then unfortunately had to retire.
As with the Liberty fleet the four races were one by three different sailors. The second race was taken by Sophie Brisley, another young local sailor. It's great to see that sailing, and in particular the Hansa Class, are attracting young people to the sport. Races 3 and 4 were won by James Woosnam, a more seasoned sailor, which gave him a net score of 4. Logan Bell came a close 2nd on 6 points with Sophie just behind on 7.
The story was a little different in the 303 two-person fleet with Stuart and Lynne Swan putting down three 1sts and discarded a 2nd. Philip Hall and DD just took 2nd place overall by virtue of their 1st place in the final race, giving them nett 11. Two teams were just behind on 12 points, but Chris Tye and Paul Aggett from Whitefriars took it on count back.
Huge thanks to Chris Hargreaves for organising the event and to all the volunteers on safety, the race team, and the shore crew; not to mention Simon Portman who provided excellent catering throughout the day.
Full results can be found here.