Michael Hayles of Aldeburgh Yacht Club won the only race completed on the second and final day of the Dragon South West Area Championship in Torbay.

Following two days of frustration, this was the only race of the event, which was not enough to qualify as a valid championship. Therefore the fleet will go straight into the Edinburgh Cup (national championship) today.

Hayles, sailing Kraken, made the best of very difficult conditions to take the race from Solent sailor Eric Williams sailing Ecstatic, with Burnham’s Rob Campbell in Quicksilver II third.

The Royal Torbay Yacht Club’s race team started the race in an unreliable south-easterly breeze, which held on roughly constant in strength and direction for the first windward leg, before becoming capricious.

One of the top sailors in the Dragon class this season, Julia Bailey sailing Aimee said: “It was a case of looking for the wind, rather than the shift, it was very streaky, and if you got into a band a breeze you had to stay with it.”

Bailey, who sails with the Solent fleet out of Cowes, finished sixth, having previously won the East Coast Championships and the Cowes 75th Anniversary regatta this year.

Another Burnham-based sailor, Colin Woodcock in his brand-new boat Leah was pleased with a fourth place finish, ahead of the Turkish entry Alaturca sailed by Azat Baykal.

The race committee made two attempts at getting a second race away, but had to abort one start when most of the fleet started early, and then another start was abandoned when the wind disappeared.

Overall Results

1. Kraken, Michael Hayles, Aldeburgh

2. Ecstatic, Eric Williams, Solent

3. Quicksilver II, Rob Campbell, Burnham

4. Leah, Colin Woodcock, Burnham

5. Alaturca, Azat Baykal, Turkey

6. Aimee, Julia Bailey, Solent