Shark 24 sailing Championship - Canadian Shark, Bedlam, Wins!

by Doug Cunningham on 6 Oct 2013 A crew from the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club won the World Shark 24 sailing championships in Röbel, Germany on Lake Muritz. Defeating 45 other boats from Canada, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and Austria, the team led by Keven Piper and crew Tom Nelson and Jordin Clark won the nine-race series with a total point standing of 31.0. The race was convened under the auspices of the International Sailing Federation and was hosted by the Röbel Sailing Club.

Sailing under the name of their Hamilton-based sailboat 'Bedlam,' the team was tied with an Austrian-based boat following the four-day regatta, but was awarded the pennant during the tie-breaking process where the team with the highest number of first place finishes is awarded the trophy. Both Bedlam and the Austrian entrant 'Alaska' had two first-place finishes but Bedlam, using a borrowed boat provided by the host Club, prevailed with and additional two second-place finishes during the nine separate races.

Two other Canadian yachts finished in the top ten with Eager for More, captained by Greg Cockburn of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and 'Devil with a Blue Dress On' helmed John Brunt from the National Yacht Club in Toronto finishing third and fourth respectively.

Piper's crew was in eighth position after the first day of racing as they struggled with the sails and rigging on the loaner-boat, but moved up the standings with a second-place finish in the long distance race Tuesday and posted first, second and third place finishes in the three-race finale on Wednesday.

Piper, Nelson and Clark has been sailing together for more than a decade and won the North American Shark Championships last year. The crew will return to Hamilton to celebrate on the weekend.