420s Out in Force for the Tiger Trophy
by Jennie Clark 18 Jan 2019 19:13 AEDT
420 Inlands at Rutland © Richard Sturt
The 420 class have a packed programme of events running through the spring and
incorporating the selector events for the 2019 teams for the World and European
Championships.
The first event on the calendar is the Tiger Trophy and 18 boats have already
signed up for the event, which out of 69 boats overall makes them by far and
away the biggest fleet so far.
It's great news for the class, who will award a
number of 'class' prizes in addition to the event prizes. With more boats
intending to enter the fleet expect to exceed 20 boats.
The event has particular significance for the class; the late John Merricks
was supplied with a 420 'Rutland Challenge' by Rutland club member Tony
Everard, then Chair of Everards Brewery, and this allowed John to continue to
develop his sailing career.
The very first 'Everards Rutland Challenge' for
the Tiger Trophy was sailed in 1994 and provided an event for young sailors
from various classes to compete against each other in the winter months.
John
went on to sail in the Atlanta Olympics in the 470 class, winning a silver
medal together with sailing partner Ian Walker, and its great to see two 470s
also signed up to take part.