Optimist British National and Open Championships at Pwllheli SC

by Sarah Alexander on 13 Aug 2012 Volvo Gill Optimist British National and Open Championships 2012 are being held from Monday 13th August in Wales. Some of Britain’s top up and coming young sailors are looking forward to an exciting week of racing at this annual event. Over 500 British and International competitors, including sailors from France, Finland, Dubai, Hong Kong and the USA will once again take to the shores of Pwllheli Sailing Club to battle it out for Championship titles.

Racing is from Monday 13th to Friday 17th August and the event notoriously attracts top young talent looking for competitive, first class racing.

'We are looking forward to heading back to Pwllheli Sailing Club for the Volvo Gill Optimist British National and Open Championships. It is a fantastic venue for racing and always delivers a great mix of sailing conditions. This is the 51st Optimist National Championships and we are pleased to see the class continue to attract so many enthusiastic young sailors who are looking for fun but competitive racing.' Said Simon Rogers, IOCA UK Chairman.

Racing throughout the week will be split into five separate categories, the Senior Fleet for those aged thirteen to fifteen, the Junior Fleet for those aged eight to twelve, Regatta Racing aged eight and above and for those that are looking for transition to the Junior fleet, Regatta Coaching for those competing at the event for the first time and Mini Racers aged eight and nine, who are just learning to sail.

In the Senior fleet racing will be highly charged as always with 2012 World Championship squad members, who have recently returned from the Championships in Boca Chica, the Dominican Republic looking to perform against overseas competition.

Aaron Holman (15, Hollowell Sailing Club) will be looking to defend his 2011 title and Max Clapp (13, Royal Southern Yacht Club) will be looking for an upgrade after finishing second in the Junior fleet.

Fellow World squad member, Milo Gill Taylor (12, Spinnaker Yacht club/ Royal Lymington Yacht Club) will be looking for a repeat performance of last year where he finished first just one point ahead of Max. In the Regatta fleet, 2011 Volvo Gill Optimist Inland Champion, Haydn Swell will be looking for more success after an impressive first place finish in May at the Volvo Gill Optimist Championships, Graftham Water Sailing Club in May.

2012 has been an exciting year for British sailing and the Optimist class with a number of the country’s top sailing talent and former Optimist sailors battling for gold this summer. These sailors act as a huge inspiration for the next generation of Olympic sailors.

'I started my career sailing an Optimist dinghy and the Volvo Optimist National Championships were always an important event for me and one I enjoyed competing at. It is great that the class continues to go from strength to strength, building such talented young sailors and I wish everyone competing next week the best of luck.' Said 1992 Optimist National Champion, Ben Ainslie who this week became the most successful Olympic sailor ever after winning his fourth consecutive gold medal.
International Optimist Class Association UK website