In spite of a very unpromising look to the wind forecast last Sunday morning, eight National 12 teams tuned up at Ranelagh SC to compete for the very beautiful trophy – a silver National 12 first sailed for in 1937.

The majority of the fleet were decidedly line shy, all being nervous of being carried too far, too soon by the strong tide. The downwind leg to the first mark saw much place changing as boats fell into or avoided the numerous holes in the wind.

Fran Gifford crewed by Clare Hunter was first of the still fairly tightly bunched fleet to round the mark. Places were gained and lost throughout the fleet through getting right or wrong the fine balance between sticking on the bank in less tide or stemming the tide and enjoying the freer and stronger wind further out into the river.

The long beat back to the club saw the leaders deciding to opt for a course nearer the bank whilst David Wilkins and Adele Cameron favoured the ‘offshore’ route and managed to close the gap. As the leaders had the finish line in their sights, Wilkins and Cameron managed to second guess the zephyrs and overhaul the leaders to take first.

Overall Results
1st 3481 Cooked to Perfection, David Wilkins / Adele Cameron Spinnaker Club

2nd 3494 Monkey Business,, Jon Ibbotson / Charlotte Stewart Royal Harwich Yacht Club

3rd 3431 Zippy, Fran Gifford / Clare Hunter Aldeburgh YC