Dinghyshack / Pinnell & Bax Graduate Nationals at Northampton Sailing Club - Overall

Overnight results were tight, and as Sunday dawned it looked like it was going to be another light wind day, with Pitsford reservoir looking distinctly holey!

After plenty of full english breakfasts were guzzled by both the Phantom & Grad sailors, an earlier start of 10:30am meant we were quickly on the water and testing out which side of the beat was going to pay while waiting for the breeze to fill in.

5,4,1,GO and Sunday's racing - sponsored by Pinnell & Bax - was off!

With the top 3 boats tied on points the first race of the day was going to be crucial, John Clementson & Guy Marks took an early lead, with Chris & Chloe Parker and Brynster Abendstern & Emma Hull chasing them down, On the reaches, Fresh Abendstern & Ross Southwell worked hard to pull back a couple of places after a tricky first beat, only to sail into a hole on the run and be overtaken by Ric Lewis & Sandra Jordan, Clare & Jane Thorpe, and Hannah Whitham & Emma Robertson.

Graduate Nationals Day 2 - photo © Carolyn Lewis

The next beat was a shifty one, John & Guy extended their lead, Chris & Chloe put themselves between Brynster & Emma and the windward mark, which allowed Fresh & Ross to utilise a couple of shifts to bounce from 6th to 2nd by the windward.

Sailing down the run, Brynster & Emma were in all sorts of bother, now being covered by 3 boats, by the leeward mark they had managed to hold off two boats, with Ric & Sandra sneaking through into 4th.

After a shortened course it was a quick beat to the finish line, John & Guy taking line honours, followed by Fresh & Ross who were unable to coax them into a tacking battle. 3rd place went to Chris & Chloe, then Ric & Sandra, and finally Brynster & Emma to round out the top 5.

Graduate Nationals Day 2 - photo © Carolyn Lewis

One championship race remained, and the top was still tight. Once again the fleet got away cleanly, and once again John & Guy rounded the windward in first, Fresh & Ross were hot on their heels, with Chris & Chloe and Brynster & Emma not far behind.

Heading onto the run, Fresh & Ross managed to sit on John & Guy and started to roll over the top, only to be luffed to windward. A tactical battle ensued, allowing Chris & Chloe to pounce and sail through into the lead, with Brynster & Emma snaffling 2nd position. At the leeward mark, Fresh & Ross managed to get the inside overlap on John & Guy, and started to push forwards to try and catch the leading two boats.

At what was to be the final windward mark, Chris & Chloe were still leading, followed by Brynster & Emma, Fresh & Ross, and John & Guy. Going downwind, the top three boats all sailed the same line, trying to cover each other and gain some boatspeed, while John & Guy sailed to the left to try and catch a gust. By the leeward mark, the gaps between boats had shrunk, but no positional changes. With a shortened course, it was a one tack beat to the finish, so we had our fourth different race winner of the championship, Chris & Chloe finishing on a high and winning the last race, followed by Brynster & Emma in 2nd, Fresh & Ross in 3rd, and John & Guy in 4th.

Graduate Nationals Day 2 - photo © Carolyn Lewis

This meant that the overall results were incredibly close. The top 2 boats finished on 10 points each, and the boat in 3rd was on 11.

With the championship being decided on countback, Fresh & Ross were going to have to settle for 2nd place, as this year's winners of the Graduate National Championships are John Clementson & Guy Marks!

Brynster & Emma sailed a fantastic event to take 2 race wins and 3rd place overall, with Chris & Chloe sailing their best nationals for a few years to take 1 race win, 4th overall, first family, and first junior prize.

Once the championship racing was over, we all played musical chairs, and swapped helms & crews for the Champagne Race, a bit of a fun way to finish the event where crews would take charge of the wiggly stick at the back of the boat and helms would pretend to know what strings to pull in the front.

Graduate Nationals Day 2 - photo © Carolyn Lewis

In what was probably the best wind of the weekend, the fleet got off to a flying start as the wind finally filled in to allow both helm & crew to be consistently hiking out. Unfortunately for Ross & Fresh, they were too keen which led to an exuberant OCS. Our 2023 National Champions got off to a flying start, with Guy & John leading the race from start to finish, and the rest of the fleet battling it out down the run, with Jane & Clare Thorpe taking 2nd place, followed by Lewis Coppinger & Richard Thorpe for 3rd place, and Jack Cammann & Meg Adams in 4th.

Racing over, all that was left was to hand out the silverware, and distribute a plethora of Pinnell & Bax spot prizes throughout the fleet. Huge thanks to Northampton SC for being fantastic hosts, the galley kept us fed and watered, Isaac Marsh and the rest of the race management team did a brilliant job juggling the fleets and shifting winds with minimal delays. Sunday sponsors Pinnell & Bax were incredibly generous with their support, giving so many spot prizes there were more than we knew what to do with, so please show your appreciation and shop with them when you next need anything from a suit of sails, to a replacement for that pesky lost split ring, to a brand new boat...

Our Saturday & early entry raffle sponsor, DinghyShack, were also amazing, so please give them a call or check out their website for even more chandlery and clothing goodies!

Overall Results:
If you finished in the top ten at the Graduate nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here