18ft Skiff UK National Championship at Calshot Activities Centre
by Tom Hill 10 Sep 2018 22:09 PDT
7-9 September 2018
2018 UK 18ft Skiff National Championship at Calshot © Calum Healey
With Calshot being the new home of the UK 18ft Skiff fleet, it was always going to be the location for the 2018 UK Nationals. The entry list was a who's who of the UK fleet, so the title was going to be fiercely fought over three days.
Day 1
Three races were sailed on the first day in some crossover conditions. Or at least how that's how it looked when rigging...
The first race was set with a bit of bias, so not many manoeuvres, but gave teams a chance to get settled. The Time Genie managed to power through the lulls in their small rigs to get a bullet. Rutland kept their big rig in the air for a second followed by the girls on Sail 4 Cancer.
The second race was set more true which opened up some options for overtaking. The Time Genie got ahead and Rutland were chasing again until they tipped it in letting Sail 4 Cancer and ChameleonI through for second and third.
The last race cranked up a notch. The big rigs were certainly outside their comfort zone. The fleet held it together until it really pumped at the final windward rounding where a couple of boats capsized. After some painful capsize recoveries, 4 boats got over the finish.
Day 2
The second day was much more controlled for the teams as the rig call was easy and everyone was one their twos. Another 3 races were added to the board in some fun conditions.
The first race was one of many close starts with the fleet racked up. The Time Genie got ahead and led The Black Dog and Rutland to the finish.
The second race was equally close starting, but Rutland poked their nose in front to lead for most of the race, until a tack line explosion saw them let The Time Genie through but fended off Black Dog to keep hold of a second.
The third race saw The Black Dog getting their best start and were leading The Time Genie around the course until a tricky tack saw The Black Dog in second. LED got their best result of the regatta to finish off the podium.
Day 3
With a forecast of touching 20 knots and wind over tide, the final day of the UK National Championship was also going to be one to remember on the Solent!
The race committee set a course incredibly quickly to keep the sailors from waiting around. That didn't stop LED squeezing in the pitch pole of the weekend before the start. A textbook cartwheel with all 3 round the front and transom pointing at the sky.
The first race was set off in powered up conditions. The Black Dog led around the top mark but tipped it over in the first gybe to let Rutland through. They led through the rest of the race to get their first bullet of the weekend followed by Sail 4 Cancer.
The second race was a touch breezier, and the tide had really started to pump, so the sea state started to get interesting! The Black Dog got ahead and led all the way around, racing tightly with Rutland who finished not far behind.
The final race was certainly the trickiest of the day. Rutland started late after a tiller extension swap between races. The Black Dog had certainly got into their groove and showed a masterclass race to take another bullet. The Time Genie had issues with trapeze wires snapping so weren't able to get stuck in at the front. Rutland and Sail 4 Cancer both managed to complete the race with some capsizes for good measure.
Overall
So the title for National Champion of 2018 goes back home with Graham Bridle and his team on The Time Genie. They showed some excellent boat speed to chalk up an impressive tally of bullets on their score sheet. There was very close racing throughout the fleet and 2nd to 4th overall was constantly changing throughout the weekend and was finally settled in the last race.
The class would like to thank all sailors for coming and taking part. The fleet had a mixture of old and new faces and plenty of enthusiasm for these awesome boats. A huge thank you to the Race Committee of Ben, Elliot, Adrian and Tom who fired off 9 great races in some tricky changeable conditions. And finally, thanks to Calshot Activity Centre for hosting the fleet on their own private beach for the weekend.
A short breather before the final event of the season in three weekend's time to decide who will be crowned the inaugral Solent Grand Prix Series Champion!
Overall Results:
If you took part in the 18ft Skiff nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | The Time Genie | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (8) | 3 | (8) | 9 |
| 2 | Rutland | 2 | (5) | 4 | 3 | 2 | (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | The Black Dog | 8 | (8) | (8) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | Sail 4 Cancer | 3 | 2 | 3 | (8) | 4 | 4 | 2 | (4) | 2 | 20 |
| 5 | ChameleonI | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | (8) | (8) | 32 |
| 6 | The Green Skiff | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | (8) | (8) | 48 |
| 7 | LED | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | (8) | (8) | 51 |