Nationals '09

Saundersfoot was apocalyptic. Monsoon conditions hit Wales testing ponchos & patience. Ninja, Prowler, Mach2, Bladerider shows it was about the sailors not the kit, though Mike C seems to have secret pace that’s hard to match. The waves on the last day tested everyone’s nerve - short, tall and nasty enough to make Andrew Friend take up self harm - using a shroud as the weapon of choice. Despite the frankly nasty conditions we only lost one day due to wind, but took advantage of it to go Karting - Rod was fastest, followed by Helen who showed the boys how to do it. Ace.

Apple and blackberry cake & fish and chips were the food of choice, although bring your own booze curries had a certain je ne sais quoi, and took their toll on certain sailors the next morning..

I was 13th, bloody happy with that, finished every race and no gear failure to speak of which must be a first for me - so much so that I won a prize for it! I'm convinced in those conditions I had the pace to be top 10, but bad layline calls (in fact, the whole fleet could work on that) and one or two extra swims in the waves, and the odd fluffed manoeuvre let me down. At least I've got things to work on! The North felt ace, the boat solid and very in control and in the breeze I had height and speed upwind on all comers, at least until I body slammed the next wave. Congratulations to James Phare who beat me into submission after our epic final day shootout. You’ve just got to work on your walk now mate..

Final results:
Cookie - Ninja/Hyde
Rodders - Prowler Zero/KA
Fivestar - Mach 2/Hyde
Paul Hignett - Bladerider/KA

Only 2 points separated the top 3, which is pretty amazing in my book, and the racing continued all the way down the fleet. A special mention has to go to Paul Hignett for bashing out a huge bullet on the last day. Boom!

Mike C is a worthy winner, and could be found working till late fixing everyone else’s kit without a word of complaint. Its testament to him, and the fleet that despite broken foils, masts (and people) in the big conditions on Sunday, everyone was back ready to race the next day. Rodders was a brilliant second, with results so close no-one knew the final positions till we were onshore and derigged - but all the potential candidates were celebrating and congratulating each other regardless. I imagine Tilly got a hard work out later that night.

Katherine Knight is the new UK president, and Helen is on the committee too now, so we are officially an equal opportunities fleet. Katherine gets my respect for being the most hardcore person you will ever meet - finishing 2 races on the biggest day. She's not the type to be stopped by a little thing like a broken shroud either - when it snapped going upwind she actually caught it, and held the rig up whilst continuing to sail - for a bit. Serious Spider skills!!
A brilliant event, thanks to everyone involved. The mix of team spirit and competitiveness in the class never ceases to amaze me, and the standard continues to rise in leaps and bounds..

P.S. I just found this on Y&Y - the event report from the last Saundersfoot nationals..