Please select your home edition
Edition
Savvy Navvy 2024

National 18 UK and Ireland Championships at Royal Findhorn Yacht Club

by Colin Chapman 13 Aug 08:20 UTC 4-8 August 2024
National 18 UK and Ireland Championships at Royal Findhorn © Iona Cornish

The National 18 fleet descended on the village of Findhorn in Scotland for their eagerly awaited class championships this August. Findhorn is a beautiful place with hospitality and a social calendar to match, everything was in place for a fantastic N18 week at the Royal Findhorn Yacht Club.

With a twelve race series planned over five days all eyes were on the forecast to see if the weather would comply. Racing kicked off on Sunday 4th with two romping races which saw Aquabatics (Chapman, O'Keeffe, Lane) and Peaky Blinders (Walsh, Brownlow, Rice) both from the Royal Cork YC land the bullets with Kokomo (Henderson-White, Newman Brightlingsea SC), Two and a Half Men (Urquhart's, Goodman, RFYC) and the rest of the fleet in hot pursuit.

Sunday evening was the opening ceremony with a traditional Scottish pipe band followed by the usual N18 revelry.

Monday racing was a different story with stronger SE winds presenting very shifty and gusty conditions for the three scheduled races. Race three saw a very strong gust capsize several boats. Conditions moderated as the day progressed with the race wins taken by Puss 'n Boot (O'Donovan, Lester, O'Boyle. RCYC) and two for Peaky Blinders establishing Peaky as the championship leaders. The win for Puss 'n Boot was a popular one and a maiden victory for the team.

A raucous Monday evening session of "Gladiators" saw contenders doing battle for the prize, Mary Henderson-White ultimately prevailing.

Tuesday brought more great sailing conditions, Kokomo and Peaky Blinders shared the wins establishing them as the main contenders for the title with Two and a Half Men chasing in third place.

With an adverse forecast for Wednesday an attempt was made to slot in a third race but this was ultimately unsuccessful and the fleet headed home for the class dinner and traditional ceilidh keeping us all well entertained.

True to predictions Wednesdays racing was cancelled for the day leaving everyone with a day off to explore the local area but under strict instructions to return to the RFYC by 18:30 for Burns Night...

That left racing on Thurs to attempt to fit in three races to enable the second discard. Peaky Blinders had a strong lead built but it was still all to play for with Kokomo's worst result so far in the champs being a third place.

Aquabatics landed the first race win of the day but behind them Peaky Blinders was again scoring strongly to edge closer to the title. As the wind died and became much more unpredictable the final two races were challenging. Peaky Blinders took a second place in race 9 ultimately sealing the title with a race to spare however it was the day of the English with The Shadow (Berney's, Saints, Blackwater Sailing Club) and Optimus Prime (Jones, Yargici, Valentine, Tamesis) taking the two remaining race wins, both maiden victories for these teams.

A very strong day for The Shadow (2, 1, 3) was good enough to promote them to third overall in the championships and a very delighted team threatening to buy a new boat.

So overall, congratulations to the Peaky Blinders team of Nick, Rob and Eddie from the RCYC taking the 2024 championships with a very strong performance over the week. Second place went to Kokomo, Rupert, Mary and Ollie with The Shadow, Jess, Jordan and Hugo picking up third place. Fourth went to Two and a Half Men, Stuart, Richard and Tom from the host club.

Overall it was great to see five different race winners over the series, three of them being maiden victories for those teams demonstrating the strength in depth across the class. The final night of entertainment lived up to usual expectations with much singing and entertainment capping off what was a magnificent event and a badly needed reunion of the class and our friends in Findhorn.

Many thanks to the RFYC and all the people that made a great event happen. A special thanks to the sponsors Speyside Brewery, Pinnell & Bax, and Frasers Auctioneers.

2025 will be hosted by Brightlingsea SC in the town where our boats are built by White Formula Ltd. Joining forces with the N12s for the regatta is an exciting development and we hope to see a large travelling fleet supporting the event.

Overall Results:

PosBoatSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10Pts
1stPeaky Blinders428N WalshR Brownlow, E RiceRCYC21‑5114132‑515
2ndKokomo429R HendersonM Henderson-White, O NewmanB3233212‑66‑922
3rdThe Shadow412J Berney WilliamH Berney, J SaintsBSC‑554435‑621327
4thTwo & A Half Men420S UrquhartR Urquhart, T GoodmanRFYC44224335‑8‑627
5thAquabatic431C ChapmanE O'Keeffe, D LaneRCYC13(DNF)(DNC)DNC2415734
6thAce424O HousemanJ Vines, S WattonCVLSC‑96‑7657544239
7thOptimuns Prime421M JonesK Yargici, M ValentineTC7‑10676888‑9151
8thBall n' Chain426D O'ConnellA Coole, L TassieMBSC RCYC87(RET)57‑101073855
9thPuss n Boot402P O'DonovanR Lester, F O'BoyleRCYC681(DNF)(DNC)671010RET59
10thHighland Fling413K DavidsonC Laurie, S LaurieRFYC109(DNC)(DNC)DNC9997468

Related Articles

National 18 Inlands at Tamesis
Six National 18s of various generations raced on Sunday Six National 18s of various generations descended on the club on Sunday 1st September 2024 to take part in the annual Inland Championship. The turnout included two Ultras, two Ultimates and two Penultimates. Posted on 7 Sep
2024 Bosham Regatta
107 boats racing on Saturday 24th August Bosham Regatta shines despite the tail end of Storm Lillian. On Saturday the 24th of August, Bosham Sailing Club hosted the 2024 Bosham Regatta. Posted on 29 Aug
Queen Adelaide and Tamesis Anchor at Tamesis
Zephyr, Snowgoose and Antedote battle it out Tamesis Club hosted the internal only Queen Adelaide and Tamesis Anchor for National 18s on Saturday 8th June 2024. Owing to variety of factors, several usual 18 helms and boats were unavailable for this event. Posted on 11 Jun
Book review: Uffa
Yachting's eccentric genius I wasn't expecting to be particularly interested in a biography just because it covered the designer of famous dinghies. But one of the delights of reviewing books is the unexpected gem that grips you. This is one such book! Posted on 3 Mar
Oldest videos of sailing in National 18 dinghies
A look back into our video archive We delve into the past, and round-up all videos which show sailing in the National 18 dinghy. Posted on 1 Dec 2023
Bosham Regatta 2023
A perfect day on the water for the 140 boats and 250 sailors Last Saturday 140 boats and 250 sailors took part in the annual Bosham Regatta. Champagne conditions, canon finishes, and a superb regatta tea meant it was the perfect day on the water. Posted on 7 Sep 2023
National 18 & Chichester Harbour 18 English Champs
Held over the weeken of 19th & 20th August at Bosham SC The National 18 & Chichester Harbour 18 English Championships were held over the weekend of 19th & 20th August 2023 at Bosham Sailing Club. Posted on 28 Aug 2023
Adelaide Trophy and Tamesis Anchor 2023 at Tamesis
Competitors greeted with sun, wind, and river traffic to contend with A fleet of four National 18s turned up on Saturday 10 June 2023 to compete for the internal only Adelaide Cup and Tamesis Anchor at Tamesis Club, located near to Teddington, London. Posted on 13 Jun 2023
National 18 Inlands 2022 at Tamesis
Ace gets the better of Optimus Prime Five National 18s attended Tamesis Club on Sunday 4 September to take part in the annual N18 Inland Championship. The fleet saw a mixture of different generations of 18s. Posted on 6 Sep 2022
UF50 Celebration attracts over 1000 visitors
With over 80 Uffa Fox-designed boats visiting Cowes over the weekend The Uffa Fox celebration, marking fifty years since the death of yachting hero, has been acclaimed as a huge success, with over 80 Uffa Fox-designed boats visiting Cowes over the weekend. Posted on 24 Aug 2022
Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERSavvy Navvy 2024