General

The Manx sailors have a great weekend of racing with some very strong performances at the top of the fleet and some promising racers coming through the middle of the fleet.

Greg Kelly really did have a tough weekend with constant battles for the top spots. He series was so consistent that he finished in the top five in every race. Greg was disappointed not to have won a race, but to demonstrate such consistency at the top of a national fleet is an outstanding achievement.

Ffinlo Wright sailed like a rocket in several races clawing back places through the fleet after some poor starts. Again another fine demonstration of consistency, he finished in the top 10 in every race.

Matthew Petts showed a huge improvement on last years results moving comfortably into the top third of the national fleet. His best result during the series was a 10th place.

Ben Batchelor again showed huge improvement on last year. His goal was to finish in the top 20, he scored 9th place in two races yesterday and today he worked really hard in the breeze finishing all races in the top third of the fleet.

In the Pro fleet Amie Shute demonstrated some superb starts and looked really strong in the breeze today. Tony Pitt looked confident with the Pro rig in both lighter and stronger winds, he too had some excellent starts and was flying on the reaches.

Overall Results:
Sport Fleet

Greg Kelly 4th
Ffinlo Wright 6th
Matthew Petts 14th
Ben Batchelor 18th

Pro
Amie Shute 13th
Tony Pitt 26th

Greg Kelly made an excellent start to this race and was first around the windward mark. Again there were frequent changes at the top of the fleet, including Ffinlo there in third place for a while!

Amie had another excellent start, but incurred a 720 penalty at the leeward mark. Tony Pitt was back out on the water for this race and confidently sailing the Pro around the course.

Results:
Sport
Greg Kelly 4th
Ffinlo Wright 5th
Matthew Petts 15th
Ben Batchelor 22nd

Pro
Amie Shute 10th
Tony Pitt 24th

Greg Kelly and Matt Petts each got excellent starts in this race, both in the top five off the line in the Sport fleet and Amie Shute got away well in the Pro fleet. Ffinlo had a poor start but battled his way round the course to finish in 6th place.

Matt Petts and Ben Batchelor both held their own in this race to get some great results.

At the top of the fleet the competition was really tight with only 4 points separating the top four boats. Greg Kelly sailed another storming race, positions changed frequently between the top three with windshifts on the last beat being the deciding factor.

In the Pro fleet, Amie sailed her best race of the series enjoying the stronger breeze. Tony Pitt had an unfortunate capsize incident where another capsized boat got entangled with his. The rescue boat had to assist them so he retired from this race.

Sport:
Greg Kelly 3rd
Ffinlo Wright 6th
Matthew Petts 13th
Ben Batchelor 18th

Pro:
Amie Shute 6th
Tony Pitt RTD

There was plenty of wind for the racing today, which gave for some exciting sailing, fast planing reaches and a few capsizes!

Results:

Sport:
Greg Kelly 2nd
FFinlo Wright 9th
Matthew Petts 21st
Ben Batchelor 26th

Pro:
Amie Shute 17th
Tony Pitt 28th

Having completed five races today one discard has been allowed for in the overall standings, which moved Greg from equal first down to fifth place. Only 5 points separate the top five boats at the moment, so there could be some big changes after tomorrow’s three races. It is very tough racing at the top end of this fleet!

Sport Fleet:
Greg Kelly 5th
Ffinlo Wright 7th
Ben Batchelor 13th
Matthew Petts 20th

Pro Fleet:
Amie Shute 13th
Tony Pitt 27th

Sport Fleet:

Greg Kelly 4th
Ffinlo Wright 7th
Ben Batchelor 9th
Matthew Petts 10th

Matthew and Ben both had a great race after getting off the start well at the favoured committee boat end. They held their positions well and provided a tough battle for Ffinlo who chased them round the course catching Matthew on the run and reeling Ben in on the final beat!

Pro Fleet:
Amie Shute 16th
Tony Pitt DNC

Sport Fleet:
Greg Kelly 3rd
Ffinlo Wright 6th
Matthew Petts 11th
Ben Batchelor 31st

Pro Fleet:
Amie Shute 9th
Tony Pitt RTD

The wind picked up considerably just in time for the run on this race, causing a few capsizes – Tony included! This was the end of his day’s racing, but to his credit he sailed superbly given that this is his first experience of UK competition and only his second time sailing with the Pro rig. He had some really excellent starts and showed promise up the beats. In Race 2 he finished 15th in a fleet of 30 boats – an excellent effort in a very competitive fleet.

Sport Fleet:

Greg Kelly 4th
Ffinlo Wright 8th
Ben Batchelor 22nd
Matthew Petts 23rd

Pro Fleet:
Amie Shute 11th
Tony Pitt 25th

Sport Fleet:
Greg Kelly 5th
Ffinlo Wright 10th
Ben Batchelor 15th
Matthew Petts 23rd

Pro Fleet:
Tony Pitt 15th
Amie Shute 16th

Results for Manx Youth Sailing Squad Sailors, Race 1:

Sport Fleet

Greg Kelly 3rd
Ffinlo Wright 5th
Ben Batchelor 9th
Matthew Petts 22nd

Pro Fleet:
Amie Shute 20th

Tony Pitt 23rd