Team Styles & Peel Win F18 UK Nationals
The bank holiday weekend saw the Formula 18 and Hobie cat nationals held under the burgee of Pwheli sailing club, Hugh Styles and Tom Peel reeled in a series of race wins on route to securing championship victory with a day to spare. The regatta was sailed in predominantly offshore breezes, which made for tough tactical calls in the gusty and shifty conditions.
Commenting after the teams commanding performance on day two Tom said ³The racing was really close but in today¹s wind conditions we felt like it all just slotted together. We won all three races, which has ensured us the overall title, this is the first national championship victory we have had as a team and it¹s a great way to bring together the last six months of sailing together.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny with a fresh breeze form the northwest, and
37 other boats to contest the 2006 national championships. The first race was a battle to win the left side of the race course and saw Team Styles and Peel winning the pin end of the start hit the left hard and round first at the windward mark. Followed closely by Chris Rashley and Marcus Lynch, the battle went on for the subsequent 2 laps but Hugh and Tom held their nerve to secure the victory in the first race. Rashley and Lynch in second and Stuart Gummer and Ellen Fawshore finished third. Race two and three were similar in the way that the wind had shifted to the north and there were big holes in the pressure. The right hand side of the course was much more favoured in these two races, which is where and Tom Phipps and Jon Cook took two firsts and Sam Newton and Harry Blackie came from. Hugh and tom got a third in the second race and a fourth in the third.
Sundays breeze started off more form the west and gradually veered the south west through the course of the day with a wind strength of between 7 building to 14 knots. Race one saw Styles and Peel fire of the port end to lead round the windward mark and score their second victory of the championship. Race two saw a big wind sift to the left with a minute to go before the start, which meant the port end was massively favoured. Hugh and Tom and Ben Burns and Simon Kearns won the pin and tacked on to port immediately to virtually lay the windward mark, Tom Phipps and Jon Cook popped in a cheeky Port end flyer. Styles and Peel managed to squeeze in front to lead round the windward mark with Stuart And Ellen In second, which they held until the finish. The last race saw another left hand dominated beat which Styles and Peel won followed by Rashley and Lynch. This day was one of the best days racing this year from Hugh and Tom, no wonder they were grinning from ear to ear when they hit the beach.
Monday Dawned Windy again from the northwest the low-pressure system was moving in providing a windy days racing, It was again a left hand dominated day and Styles and Peel securing the pin end leading on in to the left where there was more pressure and went on to win the race form Rashly and lynch.
The second race James and Gillian Power fought hard for the left hand end of the start line and showed really good speed in their Capricorn to lead round the windward mark. Closely followed by Styles and Peel and then by Suart and Ellen. The final race Styles and Peel were again winners of the left hand side and lead round the windward mark. The second down wind saw a big hole in the breeze and Rashly and Lynch over took them. However on the final up wind Styles and Peel held out into the left a little more than Rashly and Lynch getting a big gust which took them back into a 150m lead by the windward mark which they maintained until the finish securing their national championship victory. Unfortunately Tom Peel had managed to slice a big cut on his leg and this was to put him out of action for the last days racing.
The Final day was again a windy start and built stronger through the day.
Tom was not able to sail and so Richard Glover current ISAF Youth Worlds Gold medallist, was called into action to sail with Hugh. The team sailed a great day although not 15 kg light for the day they posted a forth and a fifth in the final two races complimenting the results from the previous three days.
Many thanks to Pwhelli sailing club, and all the supporters for Team Styles and Peel. The team now have the Tornado nationals in 2 weekends time to focus on