Close competition for the final of the 2024 British Keelboat League saw the Waldringfield Wasps claiming victory after the results went down to the wire.
Twelve teams battled it out hosted by the Royal Southern YC, racing the club's fleet of J70 keelboats on the central Solent over the weekend (27-29 September).
Having qualified for the final at events across the country, the competition did not disappoint, with different teams topping the leaderboard across the three days.
Day one on the Friday provided a blustery and challenging day but the top-level teams managed to tame the conditions to kick off the championship with six races.
While the spinnakers only came out of the bag for one of these races, they were then flying all day on the Saturday, with sunshine and lighter but shifty winds allowing for a busy day on the water off Warsash.
The Solent was buzzing with activity and the race committee did a fantastic job led by RO Imogen Gibb, fitting in as much action as possible for the teams and 17 more races ahead of a big breeze forecast.
With an eye on the weather stations along the south coast, it was decided to launch the fleet half an hour earlier than planned on the Sunday.
Overnight it had been Burnham SC in the lead but right down to sixth it could all still change and there would be more shuffling of the pack.
At one point on the Sunday, Ryde School's team of under-18s were winning overall, then with a third and final race fitted in, it was all change again at the top.
The Waldringfield Wasps team of Archie Penn, Cameron Harris, Connor Line, Hattie Collingridge and Matt Taylor took the last bullet and with it the British Keelboat League 2024 title. Second and third in the last race - Royal Thames YC Academy and Marconi SC respectively - likewise reflected the final overall placings.
BKL Final Results:
1st Waldringfield Wasps
2nd Royal Thames YC Academy
3rd Marconi SC
4th Solent University
5th Burnham SC
6th Ryde School (1st school team)
7th Lymington Town SC (1st women's team)
No comments:
Post a Comment