2019 Etchells British Open and National Championship at Cowes
by Louay Habib 3 Nov 2019 12:26 PST
1-3 November 2019
The Etchells British Open and National Champion for 2019 is Jolly Roger sailed by Tom Abery, Bruno van Dyke, Matt Reid, Dom Mortimer and Quentin bes Green.
The 2019 Corinthian National Champion is Audrey sailed by Jon Warwick, Will Bedford, Adele Young and Will Heritage, who have all come through the Cowes Etchells Youth Programme. The first youth team at the championship was the Royal Dart YC team of Miles Jones, Fraser Woodley and James Homes.
"Racing in the Cowes Etchells fleet is pretty tough and very challenging. We never thought we would win it until we crossed the line in the last race. Thank you to all of the teams and see you next year!" commented Tom Abery. "That was a big weight of our shoulders, we have been trying to win this for nine years." commented helm Bruno van Dyke. "Sometimes thing just go your way - the stars aligned."
On the first day (Friday 01 November) the fleet sailed in 15-20 knots of breeze from the southwest, with gusty conditions testing boat handling skills. After three races Ante Razmilovic's Swedish Blue was a point ahead of Strait Dealer, helmed by Graham Sunderland. Jolly Roger was third. Swedish Blue got two great starts and showed impressive downwind speed to win the opening two encounters. Rob Goddard's Rocketman nailed the pin end to win the start of Race 3, but the race was won by Jolly Roger.
The second day of racing (Saturday 02 November) was a non-starter as a 50-knot front blasted into the Solent. The race committee, led by PRO Paul Jackson, called off racing for the day at 08:00 allowing the Cowes Etchells Fleet the opportunity to watch the Rugby World Cup Final. The Royal Ocean Racing Club provided a Full English Breakfast for an eager crowd, the fayre was more enjoyable than the result, especially if you were English!
Three races were held in a variety of conditions on the final day (Sunday 03 November). Race 4 was a light airs affair with a northerly gradient at the start. Kim Ridge's Colin was over eager at the pin end and having been called OCS restarted some way behind the fleet.
However Colin, with Dog Palfrey on tactics, spotted a big lefty and recovered from their premature start to win Race 4. The penultimate race was held in building conditions with a big wind shift after the first lap. The race committee spotted the shift and changed the course axis to accommodate the 30 degree wind shift. As the breeze swung to the west, Jolly Roger came to the fore scoring their second bullet of the championship.
After a General Recall, Race 6 got away under the U-Flag. Three teams fell foul and were disqualified including Swedish Blue, effectively taking away any chance of victory in the championship. Jolly Roger showed impressive speed to take the gun and seal overall victory. Shaun Frohlich's Exabyte 7 won a close battle for second just pipping Strait Dealer to the line.
The Prize Giving was held at the Cowes Yacht Haven with Rob Goddard as master of ceremonies and Julia Bailey awarding the prizes for the 2019 Etchells British Open and National Championship. The ceremony included the announcement of the winner for the eight regatta series Champion of Champions, which was Rob Goddard's Rocketman. The Etchells Ice Bucket was won by Jon Warwick's Audrey.
Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Etchells nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here
Pos | Bow No | Sail No | Yacht Name | Skipper / Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
1 | 52 | GBR 1352 | Jolly Roger | Tom Abrey / Bruno van Dyke / Matt Reid / Dom Mortimer/Quentin bes Green | 5 | 3.5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9.5 |
2 | 31 | GBR 1431 | Strait Dealer 1431 | Graham Sunderland / Sam Penhaul Smith/Graham Bailey / Harry Blowers / Phoebe Connellan | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
3 | 33 | GBR 1438 | Swedish Blue | Ante Razmilovic / Brian Hammersley / Andrew Mills / Iain Percy/Graeme Spence | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | UFD | 14 |
4 | 37 | GBR 1437 | Exabyte 7 | Shaun Frohlich / David Bedford / Duncan Truswell | 3 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 17 |
5 | | GBR1351 | Audrey (Corinthian) | Jon Warwick / Will Bedford / Adele Young / Will Heritage | 4 | 3.5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 21.5 |
6 | 20 | GBR 1020 | Royal Lymington YC Youths (Corinthian) | Robby Boyd / Max Crowe / Andrew Pimm / Rebecca Coles | 6 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 27 |
7 | 45 | GBR 1459 | Colin | Kim Ridge / Jack Wetherell / Andrew Palfrey | RET | 8 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 31 |
8 | 39 | GBR 1439 | Rocketman (Corinthian) | Rob Goddard / Bryn Phillips / Josh O'Brien / Vicky Cowan | 8 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 38 |
9 | 92 | GBR 927 | Royal Dart YC (Youth) (Corinthian) | Miles Jones / James Holmes / Fraser Woodley / Libby Watkins | 7 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 11 | UFD | 43 |
10 | | GBR 782 | Royal Thames youth team (Corinthian) | Arthur Henderson / Thea Crawshaw / Verity Hopkins / Ben Gratton | 11 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
11 | 94 | GBR 1194 | Oxford UniversityYouth Team (Corinthian) | Rebecca Anthony / Josh Bell / Meli Besse / Annika Moeslein | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 8 | UFD | 49 |
12 | 14 | GBR 1014 | Grieg City Academy (Corinthian) | Jahvarn Knight / Jamal Ganiyu / Azat Ulutas / Goncalo Ribeiro | RET | DNS | DNS | 8 | 10 | 6 | 54 |
13 | 5 | GBR 1005 | Eccentric (Corinthian) | Colin MacDonald / Peter Boyd / Ioannis Stamate | 10 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 58 |
14 | 40 | IRL 1040 | A Little Xcitable (Corinthian) | Peter Hodgkinson / Sarah Hodgkinson / Ian Kiff | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 58 |
For more information about the RORC visit rorc.org