Contessa 32 Nationals - Rogers comes from third place to win

by Keith Feltham on 8 Sep 2009
Contessa 32 Nationals report.

Variable weather and testing conditions at Hayling Island Sailing Club resulted in very close racing and Jeremy Rogers in the rejuvenated GiGi eventually coming out on top.

Going into the last race the two local boats, Seb Gardner's 'Polar Star' and Roger Vickers' 'Wild Thyme' were level with 11 points with JR in GiGi close on their heels with 10 points.

With no discards it was nail biting stuff. The race team of Roger Palmer and Keith Feltham set a very good course that had the top boats challenging all the way to the finish. Another local boat, Geoffrey Palmer's Shardik having had average performance over the weekend, read the tidal conditions to perfection and squeezed into the picture and stole second place from Polar Star on the line by half a boat length, followed by Wild Thyme, which gave GiGi with Ray Mitchell on board the championships.

You would never think these boats are 40 years old next year. GiGi is well known for having 'doubled' the Horn, Cape Horn that is, and is now owned and has been refurbished by her original builder Jeremy Rogers. The CO32 was the only boat in her class and the smallest boat to complete the notorious 1979 Fastent Race and Rogers is still building new Contessa 32s today.

Racing was close all the way down the fleet with Drumbeat (4th), owned by Eldred Himsworth, flying over from his home in America to race and Giles Vigar in Trican, which he keeps in Poole (13th) only separated by a few minutes. Boats in the middle of the pack can always turn on the heat, Simon Pritchard's 'Firefly' gaining a 3rd place and Simon Porter's 'Equator' a 2nd in race two.

Carolina, Andaxi and Connie were sailed conservatively whilst Blanco and Cosantes, who are normally at the front, could not find their normal speed.