British Keelboat League final 2023 at Royal Southern Yacht Club

 

A Royal Thames Yacht Club Academy team emerged victorious at the 2023 British Keelboat League final after three full-on days of close-fought competition.

Twelve teams battled it out at Royal Southern YC in the club's fleet of J70 keelboats over the weekend (29 September / 1 October) in the central Solent.

BKL 2023 Coordinator Peter Ward said: "The starts were where races could be won or lost and it was noticeable that all the boats were coming to the line at the same time. This alone was a good indicator of the strength and depth of the competition and it just got closer and closer as the sailing went on over the three days.

"It was extremely competitive and any one of eight or nine teams potentially could have won overall, and by the end of the last day there was hardly any distance between the top five, with Royal Thames YC Academy on 90 points and Royal Northern & Clyde YC on 82 points in fifth.

All of the teams sailed 20 to 22 races each and with short courses and quick turnarounds, tide and tactical awareness backed up by sharp teamwork and communication on board were essential.

Second overall and first youth team was Solent University SC - Linus Rindsfuser, Tom Chapman, Szymon Matyjaszczuk, Jesper van der Harst - with Marconi SC's David Nickalls, Dan Nickalls, Hannah Bard and Jack Wardell clinching the third spot on the podium.

At the prize-giving, Royal Southern YC Rear Commodore Fred Ward presented the trophies and announced the teams which have now qualified to compete in Europe with the 2024 SAILING Champions League.

Confirmed teams looking forward to representing their clubs in Europe are Royal Thames YC Academy, Solent University SC, Marconi SC and the Royal Northern & Clyde YC team of Hamish Taylor, Alison Morrish, Daka Fadipe and Ewan Wilson.

Additionally, the Lymington Town SC Ladies team - George Havers, Shelley McCafferty, Frances Daubeny, Sarah Jarman, Jo Styles, Katherine van Someren - will be competing at the SAILING Champions League women's event in Berlin at the end of May 2024.