Contender UK National Championships at Plymouth

 With the enforced two year wait for a UK nationals and the promise of a venue featuring within the Sail GP, the clamour for this year's Contender nationals was only tempered by the number of other big events occurring simultaneously. Still, 40 god-like specimens arrived ready to joust both inside and outside of Plymouth's famous Sound.

A mixture of the Plymouth youth sailing association and the Mount Batten centre had us ably covered for all possible needs, both on and off the water. With that stuff taken care of, the focus shifted toward the conditions, and therefore the rapidly changing odds. With a forecast of 2 days in medium breeze and then 2 days in light breeze, the expectation centred on those with less winter coat in reserve or those who can handle multiple conditions.

The top boats were a mix, as has become standard, with Hartley picking up another win and having 5 boats inside the top ten, joined by 3 wooden Bonezzis and 2 15+ year old Bob Hoare boats showing just how competitive these long lasting yots still are.

Massive thanks also go to our headline sponsors North sails who not only provided fantastic prizes but are now becoming a strong presence in the fleet. Other sponsors also provided support that allowed us to have great socials and hand out lots of gizits, Thanks to Kingfisher ropes, Hartley boats, BDS-UK, Essex Rigging, Noble Consultancy and Bluewood interiors.

The enthusiasm within the class is as high as ever so please make sure to put next year's nationals in your diary, it will be held 2nd-5th June at Brightlingsea SC.

Overall Results:

Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Pts

1st 2713 Sam Barker 1 5 7 3 1 2 ‑17 2 21

2nd 695 Graeme Willcox 2 1 2 6 2 1 8 ‑12 22

3rd 2706 Stuart Jones 6 2 ‑18 1 9 12 1 3 34

4th 716 Richard Franks 8 3 1 ‑18 6 6 5 9 38

5th 2449 Rob Smith 5 4 ‑10 10 10 9 2 4 44

6th 678 Thomas Hooton 4 7 15 11 8 ‑29 3 16 64

7th 2383 David Davies ‑23 23 6 2 5 7 14 10 67

8th 2730 Adrian Smith 19 6 12 ‑20 18 8 7 1 71

9th 2704 Eden Hyland 9 9 8 8 21 17 ‑23 11 83

10th 2708 Ed Presley 10 (BFD) 17 7 3 28 11 8 84