NeilPryde Sailing UK 29er Winter Championships at Draycote Water Sailing Club

NeilPryde UK 29er Winter Championships © DWSC

Last weekend the NeilPryde Sailing UK 29er Winter Championships was held on Draycote Water in the snow and ice. Four races were completed as scheduled on Saturday in a fresh 12 knots.

The first race saw 2787, Ewan Wilson and Fin Armstrong, reign victorious after a downwind leg crammed with many gybes as the leaders tried desperately to stay in the unpredictable Draycote gusts.

Race 2 was much the same with 2661, Monique Vennis-Ozanne and John Mather, taking the win in that one.

Similar conditions again showed themselves in Race 3 and, with a huge gust on the left side of the first beat, 2848, Archie Leckie and Ben Ibbotson, led the whole way around the course. To finish the good day's sailing and get everyone back to warmth, there was a quick final race ending in a closely-contested win by Ewan and Fin.

In the evening there was a fascinating talk by Kirstie Urwin about her research on resilience and parenting styles and the pathways to take. Overnight the scores lay with Monique and John, Ewan and Fin and 2816, Henry Jameson and Louis Johnson, all on equal points leading to a tense day of racing on Sunday.

NeilPryde UK 29er Winter Championships - photo © DWSC

Sunday brought us another four races, after a quick postponement in the morning whilst waiting for the wind to arrive. After an hour of waiting, a steady 8 knots filled in and in the icy morning conditions we saw race 1 taken by 2898, Aled Llewellyn-Jones and Ben Willet. Following them was a closely contested second place battle between 2289, Tom Storey and Pierce Harris, Monique and John and Ewan and Fin eventually taken by Tom and Pierce.

For race 5 the winds picked up and Ewan and Fin showed their dominance after a quick first downwind jumping them into first where they stayed. Behind them was a Jameson family battle in which Henry Jameson and Louis Johnson closely won leaving 2545, Rupert Jameson and James Hall to take third.

The next two races were contested in the light, shifty winds again and the leading group of Tom and Pierce, Ewan and Fin and Monique and John seemed to stay the same with Monique and John winning both by a fair distance followed by Ewan and Fin then Tom and Pierce.

Overall the day jiggled around the leaderboard with Ewan and Fin taking home the trophy at the end of the day. Great prizes were given by NeilPryde and a special spot prize went to 1490, Tasmyn Green and Megan Gibson, for showing outstanding perseverance in a tricky first event in a tricky boat.

NeilPryde UK 29er Winter Championships - photo © DWSC

Overall Results: