Despite an unpromising (wet) forecast, six Challengers sailors travelled to Llyn Brenig Sailing Club for the Welsh Open Challenger Championship. They came from as far afield as Surrey in the south and Dumfries in the north.
Arriving at the club on Saturday morning there was a lively buzz as RYA training courses were also taking place. There was drizzle all day, sometimes heavier and sometimes lighter but definitely persistent. The wind was southerly(ish) F4 gusting F5 so the decision was taken for the original ARO (Richard Whitehill) to act as Race Officer and the original Race Officer (Peter Davies) to man an additional safety boat (accompanied by Will).
The day's racing was run from the pontoon with the course set around the club's fixed marks: rounding four to port and one to starboard.
After four races the discard had kicked in and the overnight standings showed Graham had a clear lead. However, with three races scheduled for Sunday his position was far from secure. Alex and Val were separated on countback with Alex taking second by virtue of his race win.
On Sunday morning it wasn't actually raining(!) and while there was a little drizzle at times the day remained predominantly fine. In addition to the Challengers and RYA courses there was also club racing. Llyn Brenig is more than big enough for all of us.
The wind had moderated slightly (F3 gusting F5) and was more consistently southerly which meant a committee boat start. The course was a figure of eight.
So all in all an excellent (if rather damp) weekend's sailing. Graham is the 2023 Welsh Challenger Champion with Val second. The last time someone other than these two won the championship was 2002. They should really allow someone else to take the trophy home! While Alex had the better Saturday, Duncan had the better Sunday and he took third place by a single point.
At the prize-giving all six sailors were presented with a miniature Llyn Brenig urn.
Peter Davies has been organising the championship for the last twenty years. Not unreasonably he has decided to retire from the role and next year he intends to race instead. In recognition of his support for the Challengers, Peter was awarded the David Prentice Memorial Trophy and presented with a bottle of whisky from the Challenger Class Association. He was also given the Challenger class flag to mark a significant birthday the following week.
Thanks are also due to the Race Officer, Richard Whitehill (Papercourt SC), and to the volunteers from the club, including Andy (Commodore), Will, Kevin and Selwyn, who manned the safety boats and helped onshore. Also to Paul Oliver for the unique Llyn Brenig urns.
Overall Results:
Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Pts
1st 270 Graham Hall Rutland SC ‑3 1 1 1 1 1 2 7
2nd 312 Val Millward Rutland SC 2 ‑3 2 3 2 2 1 12
3rd 280 Duncan Greenhalgh Bassenthwaite SC ‑4 4 3 2 3 3 3 18
4th 304 Alex Hovden Papercourt SC 1 2 ‑4 4 4 4 4 19
5th 238 Stephen Thomas Bate Annandale SC 6 (DNF) 5 5 5 5 5 31
6th 115 Lynn Steward WISH SC 5 5 (DNF) DNF 6 RET DNC 37
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