A record number of young Welsh sailors made it a bumper Junior Regatta, with the most ever competitors racing for the first time and with windsurfers making their debut in the event.
The record-breaking WYA Acorn Junior Regatta at Llangorse lake had around 150 sailors taking part, with a strong representation from clubs all over Wales.
It was the first Welsh Sailing event to include windsurfing, while the success of the OnBoard scheme to encourage new people into sailing was plain to see with record numbers taking part in the fleet designed for sailors taking part in their first event.
Welsh Sailing South Wales development officer Ben Smith said, “It proved to be a fantastic event with sailors between the ages of seven and 16 enjoying themselves in some great competition.
“For the first time in the event’s history there were windsurfers there to add an extra element, while the record numbers in the OnBoard regatta fleets said everything about the success of that scheme.”
Sports Council for Wales member Wyn Leyshon was on hand to present the prizes, with the home club Llangorse among those who enjoyed plenty of success.
There were some notable performances across the fleets and Llangorse Club competitors had a field day on home waters.
Martin Wrigley from Llangorse took the top spot in the Gold Optimist fleet, finishing first in six of his seven races, with Cardiff Bay’s Ciara Berry second and Sam Thomas from Mumbles third.
Emily Joss, from Pembridge, took the honours in the Bat Oppie races, having come first in four of her series of seven races despite being a relative newcomer to racing – beating off the challenge of Prema Patel from Cardiff Bay and Hannah Ross of Penarth.
The two handed Mirror fleet was dominated by Abergavenny pair of Megan Kirkpatrick crewed by Richard Taylor, who won all seven of their races, with the Llangorse pair of Bronnie Davies and Charlotte Guinan claiming second place.
In the highly competitive Topper advanced class, Robin Cox, from Port Dinorwic finished first, having won five of the series races, with Cardiff Bay’s Rebekka Thomas second and Charlie Orr, a Llangorse member from Breinton, claiming third place overall.
Dhynash Patel of Cardiff Bay won the OnBoard Topper Regatta, beating clubmate Kieran Richards and Llanishen’s Ronan Smith.
Josh Greenhaf of Llandegfedd T15 Reservoir Dogs won the windsurfing event, with clubmate Jack Thompsett third and BWA’s Ben Marshall second.
There was a tie for the Blackham Trophy, presented to the highest placed Llangorse sailor, with the trophy being shared between the Mirror partnership of Megan Kirkpatrick and Richard Taylor and Martin Wrigley, all of whom had put in outstanding performances over the two days of racing to finish in top spot in their respective series of races.
Full event results
For further media information:
Hamish Stuart,
RYA Wales regional communicator
Tel: 07914 873451
Email: Hamish@score-media.co.uk