Company News
“Espada” winner of first Women’s Open Keelboat
Championship
|
An exciting brand new event took to the Solent over
the weekend of 7/8 June – the Women’s Open Keelboat
Championship. Louise Morton’s quarter tonner “Espada” won
6 out of 6 race races in her class also to take the overall
championship trophy.
150 women crewed at the inaugural
Women’s Open Keelboat Championship including Lucy Burn, Gemma
Farrell and Josie Gibson fresh from the ISAF Women’s Match
Racing World Championship as well as women from Commodore’s
Cup crews. |
Competitors were set imaginative and challenging courses, mainly windward
leeward, taking account of both wind and tide with the odd surprise
such as a starboard rounding. The conditions were perfect for the relatively
light crews with the wind not capping15 knots. A full programme of
three races per day was completed with repeated head to head battles, often
no more than two or three lengths apart, in the SBR fleet between Marie-Claude
Heys on “Jenga IV” and Caroline Cooper on “Just Do It” with
an RYA Keelboat Programme team member on the helm.
Finally “Just Do It” (J/80) took the SBR class by two points
from “Jenga IV” (J/80) whilst in IRC 1 “Jump” (J/133) – Becky
Walford and Katy Ware - came above Kirsty Apthorp’s “J-Dream” helmed
by Lucy Burn by 2.5 points. Behind the fine performance in IRC Class
2 of “Espada”, came “Elusive” (Elan 333) fresh
from a class win success at the 2008 Raymarine Warsash Spring Series.
Jody Slater, one of the event organisers, said, “It was so good
to see so many top female sailors competing at this event. Equally
we have been glad to give many women the chance to take up new roles on
board and we have all had so much good fun afloat and ashore at the Royal
Southern Yacht Club. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on
the weekend of the 4/5 July for the Women’s Open Keelboat Championship
2009.”
www.wokc.co.uk
CW Fellowes limited were proud to be associated and one of the sponsors
for this fantastic event.
