The 49th Volvo Musto Optimist British National and Open Championship has come to a close after a week of great conditions and lots of fun for the sailors involved.

For the Welsh Team of Sailors (Pictured) Matt Whitfield and Dan Whitely demonstrated their progress and sailed some excellent races under pressure toward the end of the week with a host of “very fast” foreign sailors to contend with and secured an excellent 3rd British Senior and Junior Sailor! Well Done!! 

Team Coach Nick Sawyer and Ben Pym commented “it’s been great to see the Welsh do so well this week, it’s not just a British Nationals but a true international event with some excellent foreign team sailors here.  Also huge credit to the guys at their 1st national championship who progressed up the silver fleet all week! Everyone should be proud of themselves this week.
After twelve races 14 year old Silvia Mas Depares from Barcelona has been crowned the Volvo Musto Optimist Open Champion after five days of stunning performances at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. With six race wins in the senior regatta, Silvia said she has really enjoyed sailing in Britain. “It was very difficult today, but I have had a great week. I love seeing other countries and I feel very good to be first at such a big event.”

The Volvo Musto Optimist British National Champion is 15 year old West Ruther Sailor Callum Airlie, who has successfully defended the Championship he won in Largs last year. Callum, who sails at East Lothian Yacht Club, which is a Volvo RYA Champion Club in recognition for its work in developing junior and youth racing, is delighted he finished his Optimist career on a high. “It was quite strange to cross the finish line for the last time in an Oppie, but I have really enjoyed the entire week, it’s mostly been great conditions and it’s just been brilliant.”

Callum went on to say, “The atmosphere here has been great, I would say to anyone starting out that if you learn the basics, you can really enjoy sailing in an Oppie and coming to events like this is just so much fun.”

Callum added “The Optimist class has been such a great experience for me, sailing is really the best sport and I doubt you can find a better feeling then when you are sailing well. Seeing Ben Ainslie and meeting Sarah and Saskia was a real treat and great fun"

The winner of the Regatta fleet was 10 year old Hayling Island sailor Piers Nicholls, with Chipstead Sailing Club’s Daniel Thorne Large, also 10 years old, in second place. 12 year old Emily Walters from Royal Southern Yacht Club finished as the top placed British girl in the Regatta Racing fleet.

12 year old Freddie Grogono from St. Mawes Sailing Club never finished outside the top five to secure the Optimist Junior National Championship title. He is hoping to use this win to push his case for a place in the Optimist squad for next year’s World Championships. “The Worlds are going to be held in New Zealand, and I would love to go, so I am really happy to have done so well here.” Close behind Freddie was 12 year old Jack Parkin, who sails at Hayling Island. The top British Junior girl was Warsash Sailing Club’s 12 year old Jenny Cropley.

This week’s Volvo Musto Optimist British Open and National Championships has seen a record number of entries, with 497 young sailors taking to the waters of the 2012 Olympic venue. It has seen a host of sailing superstars visit the dinghy park, Triple Olympic gold medallist and former Optimist sailor Ben Ainslie was unable to resist sailing out with the Optimist fleet on Tuesday.

Freddie added that seeing Ben was a personal highlight of a week of great fun. “I saw Ben Ainslie sailing on the water which was amazing and he later signed my vest which was great. I have had lots of fun with my friends and sailing here at the Olympic venue has been really inspiring,” Double gold medallist Sarah Ayton and top 470 crew Saskia Clark also took time out of their busy training schedules to visit and give an inspirational talk to the young sailors. This gave a fascinating insight into their journey from sailing at their local clubs all the way to performing on the ultimate stage at the Olympics. The pair also went out on the water on Thursday to talk to the sailors in between their races, and pass on some of their vast sailing experience on to the thrilled youngsters.

Sarah Ayton, who won gold in Athens and Beijing said “The level of commitment and skill we have seen here this week has been amazing, all the sailors are having such a great time and are so enthusiastic. Me and Saskia really enjoyed giving a talk to the kids and their parents, if we can help inspire some of them to keep on sailing and most importantly keep on enjoying it as much as they are now, It’ll be a real treat for us both.”
Saskia, a former Optimist sailor herself, has been pleasantly surprised with just how big this event has become. “ When I was sailing Oppies, the British Nationals had around 200 to 250 entries, so it’s doubled in size now! It really is such a great boat to learn to sail in and all these guys and girls seem to be having such a great time.”

As if the visit of Olympic champions wasn’t enough, on Thursday evening the young sailors and their parents were also treated to a breathtaking display of BMX skills by professional thrill seekers Team Extreme, who stunned the crowd with their acrobatics including back-flipping over a Volvo C70!

The International Optimist Class Association UK Chairman Neil Mackley paid tribute to a wonderful week of fun yet competitive racing.
“An amazing week with great competition and well deserved winners. A special thanks must go to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, and also to our sponsors Volvo Car UK and Musto. This week has been such a joy to be a part of and I want to thank all the competitors for coming.”

More information on www.optimistsailing.org.uk . Plus you can see lots more images on www.facebook.com/volvocarssailing