18ft Skiff National Championships at GJW Direct SailFest
by Steve Harrison 28 Aug 2014 02:56 NZST
23-25 August 2014
Simon Hiscox, Nick Murray & Pete Perera win the 18ft Skiff nationals at GJW Direct SailFest © SailRacer
A last minute change of venue had the 18ft Skiffs down at Calshot as part of GJW Direct SailFest 2014.
The weather in the morning on Saturday tempted the teams into going out with the No.1 big rigs for the day's racing. One lap into race 1 saw the breeze build to a gusty 20 knots, which resulted in every team being overpowered and made for some exciting racing. Racing was cancelled due to lack of wind on Sunday and again on Monday due to bed viability and a big forecast.
This meant the Nationals went down to 3 races.
The boys on Haier Appliances, skippered by Simon Hiscocks, middle man Nick Murray and bowman Pete Perera made the most of the challenging conditions securing a 2,1,1 in the three races and the National Champions title. Low Energy Design with Steve Mclean at the helm as well as Tom Bruton and Tom Hill scored a consistent 3,3,3 and Tom Kiddle, Matt Kiddle and Oscar Mead sailing Awlgrip came in 3rd with 1,2,7.
Calshot Activity Centre put on a great show and there was plenty to do including climbing and velodrome cycling on the days with no sailing.
Overall Results:
If you took part in the 18ft Skiff nationals then enter your Gear Guide information here
| Pos | Helm | Boat Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Simon Hiscox | Haier Appliances | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Steve McLean | Low Energy Design | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Tom Kiddle | Awlgrip | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Graham Bridle | Sail 4 Cancer | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| 5 | Alasdair York | Rockport | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 |
| 6 | Alex Lewin | Gnasher | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |