(Poole, United Kingdom)- An enthusiastic and incredibly strong fleet of
twenty-one J/24 teams showed up at the Poole Regatta to sail for their
2018 U.K. National Championship. The crew at Poole YC did a magnificent
job of running nine races over the three days in absolutely stunning
weather conditions- sun and good breeze!The regatta went down to the wire for the duel that started right out of the gate on the first day. The two protagonists were Nick Phillips CHAOTIC and Duncan McCarthy’s MADELEINE, both hailing from the same Parkstone YC! McCarthy’s MADELEINE threw down the gauntlet first, winning the first race, with CHAOTIC taking 2nd. Then, as if sharpening their swords a bit more, CHAOTIC won the next two races in succession, with MADELEINE getting the short end of that stick with their two 2nds. Then, things got interesting between these dueling Parkstoners for the next few races. In the fourth race, McCarthy got black-flagged, then snapped back in ensuing races 5 to 8 with a 4-1-4-4 tally to be leading with 18 pts with a toss race (his BFD). Meanwhile, Phillips’ crew on CHAOTIC started sailing erratically and
chaotically,
posting a 4-9-7-2-5 for those same five races to drop to 2nd place with
22 pts (including tossing the 9th). As a result, the final race was
going to determine everything between these two teams, not the least
bragging rights back at the Parkstone YC bar afterwards! Both teams had
their daggers out for each other, with Phillips’ CHAOTIC crew rising to
the occasion to score an 11th (their toss race) versus McCarthy’s
MADELEINE getting DSQ’d (their earlier BFD/20 pts being their toss).
CHAOTIC won with 31 pts net to MADELEINE’s 32 pts net. Watching this duel with breathless anticipation was Jim Torr’s MAJIC team from Saltash Sailing Club, hoping the two regatta leaders would simply self-destruct. Amazingly, after getting only two podium finishes, the MAJIC crew leapt onto the podium, happy as can be, with 43 pts net. Not loving that outcome was Giles Kuzyk’s crew on TEAM IMPACT U25, an under 25 yrs old youth team. They were fast, but quite erratic, posting a roller-coaster scoreline of 8-10-10-1-1-6-8-2-10 for 46 pts net- the last race knocking them out of contention for the podium, but having to settle for 4th place. Nevertheless, there’s clearly talent on their team and they have a bright future for their sailing this summer. Rounding out the top five was Shane Hewlett’s MOJOSI with 52 pts net. For more UK J/24 Nationals sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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