18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy at Circolo Vela Arco

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

Last week saw 18ft Skiff teams from across the world travel to Circolo Vela Arco for the Mark Foy World Championships. Teams assembled from UK, Germany, Denmark, Hungary and Australia to battle it out for the world title. There was practice day before official racing began where the fleet got boats out on the water and the race committee had a chance to get some courses laid before it kicked off.

Day 1

The first day was a mixed day on the water for the British fleet. The fleet were postponed for an hour to let the other fleets on the lake finish their races and create enough space for the skiffs to stretch their legs. It was certainly windy!

Rutland and Chameleon-I both tore parts of their mainsails so didn't get all races in. Union Rose had an impressive day staying out for the duration, even with their scratch crew. The Time Genie and The Black Dog were certainly waving the British flag at the front of races today both posting positions we'll within the top 10.

Day 2

The second day was another hazey start and felt similar to yesterday so the fleet wondered if the breeze would fill in big time again. However, by the point of choosing rigs, there wasn't much breeze. Eventually almost all the fleet launched on the little rigs. The first race was breezy enough for the smaller rigs but the wind died throughout the day to be perfect for the big rigs for the final race.

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda - photo © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

The British boats did well and still had The Time Genie sat in 2nd place overnight. The Black Dog also posted top 10 results to stay in contention for moving up later in the week. Rutland managed a full day of racing on their repaired main with a notable 7th place to lift them off the bottom of the leaderboard.

Chameleon-I had a moment of glory in the first race rounding the first top mark in third, but struggled to keep places to the end of the race. Union Rose enjoyed the lighter conditions and posted some results today.

Day 3

The middle day of the regatta was an insanely big day on the water for the skiff fleet! A storm was forecast for later in the day which was going to play against the Aura. There was some talk of the big rigs. That would have been a bad call.

Three races were sailed in absolutely glamour Garda conditions. Flat wires upwind and transom dropping downwind. The Time Genie has another good day getting consistent results keeping them in 3rd overnight.

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda - photo © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

The Black Dog managed to post a 5th place in the first race and had a racing incident with Rutland in the last, taking them both out of the final race. Other than that, Rutland had a good day in the fresh breeze.

Chameleon-I and Union Rose enjoyed another honking day on Garda, but found it tricky to pull a race together.

Another British sailor, Maddy Anderson, found her way onto Quality Marine Clothing for the day as stand in crew and had another awesome day racing skiffs on Garda.

Day 4

The fourth day of the Mark Foy brought another 3 races. Many sailors arrived at the boat park with some aches and pains and preyed they weren't in for another huge day on the water. Their prayers were answered.

The usual Northerly breeze built and died in the morning and the southerly breeze filled in as the boats rigged and launched.

The first race was around 20knots but there were two competing breezes fighting up the course which made for some snakes and ladders during racing.

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda - photo © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

The Time Genie had a good start in the first race, but a blown jib in between races meant they could only return after repairs for the final race. The Black Dog had some good results to hold their position in the standings.

Rutland and Chameleon-I both had good days on the water with mixed successes and moments of "interesting" upwind tactics but still getting results in ahead of some big names.

Day 5

The final day of racing started with some strange breeze coming from the north which made some teams question their rig choice or if they were even going to go sailing. The wind eventually came through and the fleet were unsure what the race course would look like, so there was a mix of rigs for the two final races.

Many sailors were caught out and missed the start of the first race. It was the big rigs that dominated, but a few small rigs were seen near the top. The second race had a full fleet and was similarly well contested between the rigs.

All British boats managed to maintain their positions on the leaderboard and strung the races together even after a hard week of sailing.

18ft Skiff World Championship for the Mark Foy Trophy on Lake Garda - photo © Circolo Vela Arco / Jacapo Salvi

Summary

Congratulations to the Australian team on Asko who take the Mark Foy world Championship. A huge thanks to Circolo Vela Arco for hosting a great event and the fleet hope to return soon!

The UK fleet return home now and have just a couple of weeks break before the third round of the Solent Grand Prix Series. The Black Dog has been brought out of the worldwide container and hopes to make its way to join the UK fleet for some racing in Calshot. Another sign that the 18ft is growing on UK shores.

Overall Results: