Sigma 38 National Championships at Royal Lymington YC

by Susan Rainger on 1 May 2013 Sigma 38 National Championships 2013 takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, 4th - 6th May. The Sigma 38 Class Association is delighted to announce that in its 25th Anniversary year a crew of mainly under 25 year olds will be challenging the more established boats at the 2013 National Championships.

Committee member, Cees Schrauwer's, owner of Gambit has generously allowed the youngsters skipped by Tim Goodhew, who cut his racing teeth crewing on the family Sigma 38, to campaign his boat. What could better demonstrate the versatility and longevity of the Sigma 38 than a 25 year old boat being crewed by a group of mainly under 25s! A fitting tribute to this British yacht specifically designed by David Thomas in the 1980s to handle tough offshore conditions in response to the tragic Fastnet of 1979 where force 10 gales decimated the fleet.

The Sigma 38 primary ethos is to maintain a competitive one design class, where sailing ability counts more than the size of one's wallet! The class demonstrates that you don't need the newest, most expensive toys to enjoy exciting, competitive, close quarter racing. Encouraging better and closer competition by sharing skills with new owners and building up the experience of younger members plays a vital role in this.

Although highly competitive on the water the class also prides itself on having a friendly, sociable approach off the water, with advice on optimising performance and boat maintenance and with crew sharing. Additional emphasis is being placed on events off the water thanks to the generosity of overall regatta sponsor,Yachting Sports, who have been delivering the highest quality of yachting maintenance to their customer for approximately 25 years. One Sails, RS Divers and Southern Ropes will be supplying race prizes. The Class Association is delighted to thank all the sponsors whose support helps make the Sigma 38 one of the most successful one design classes ever.

Following the success of the 2012 championships, both in terms of race management and the warm friendly welcome, the Sigma 38 Class had no doubt the Royal Lymington Yacht Club would be ideal hosts for the 25th Anniversary Nationals. That the competition amongst this classic one design fleet is always intense and hard fought is borne out by the last years statistic that there were six different winners in seven races. The 2012 National Champions, Festina Lente, sailed by the Meakins family and friends will be returning to defend their title along with a number of other series and championship winners.