John Pollard Wins WKD & Westaway Sails UK National Championship

This year’s championships were hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in the picturesque seafaring town of Falmouth. Crews from the 9 boat flight enjoyed the on-set of summer with bright skies and fair winds.

There were notable absences in the fleet this year – some of the more usual faces were conspicuous by their absence. The championship title was up for grabs and the hot-money in the fleet presented themselves in the form of John Polland with team Xcellent, Keith Musto, Eamonn O’Nolan with team Wild thing, and last but not least the Henning clan with team March Hare.

Day one saw light and extremely shifty conditions. Race one start was delayed whilst the fleet waited for the conditions to settle. Winds of 6 –10 knots predominated from N-NE. The breeze gradually built during the day, enabling 4 races to be sailed. The day’s proceedings were dominated by team Xcellent, with half of the fleet being disqualified in race one for sailing the incorrect course.

Day two started with a steady 10 knots of breeze. Winds gradually dropped off slightly during proceedings, but had built up to about 15 knots by the last race. Three races were sailed in shifty (approx 30 degree) conditions, resulting in a lot of “fleet touring” taking place. Keith Musto proved to be the most efficient at reading the shifts and clocked up two wins out of the day’s three races.

Racing was postponed on day three due to very little wind. The breeze slowly built to a respectful 10+ knots and once racing did get underway, the conditions were much more consistent with much smaller shifts. Breeze was more southerly. Mike Henning in March Hare took line honours in the first race of the day, with John Pollard and team Xcellent taking the remaining two.

Breeze was distinctly lacking for the last day of racing. With the last start of the championship scheduled for no later than 1300, the day’s races were abandoned at 1130am. Overall John Pollard and his crew aboard Excellent took the Championship by eight points from Eomonn O'Nolan's Wild Thing with Michael Henning sailing March Hare third.

Many thanks to all those at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club for their hospitality both on and off the water. Sincere thanks to event sponsors WKD, Westaway Sails and Devoti for their involvements in the championship also.

1st, GBR650, Xcellent, John Pollard
2nd, GBR435, Wild Thing, Eamonn O'Nolan
3rd, GBR535, March Hare, Michael Henning
4th, GBR359, Mustgo, Keith Musto
5th, GBR611, WKD Red, Joe Woods
6th, GBR648, Team Panasonic, Adrian Peach
7th, GBR340, White Rabbit, Chris Sharp
8th, GBR269, Blondes on Top, Anne Ashworth
9th, GBR432, Crazeology, James Middleton-Stewart