Mike Wigmore, Charles Hyatt and John Hodgart sailing Gwaihir are the 2024 Swallow Class National Champions.
Winning the first two races, and taking second in the final race Gwaihir finished with a five point advantage, ahead of James Hartley, Jeremy Sibthorp and Bruce Grant in Osprey who took a hat-trick of third place finishes.
Nigel Masding, Hugo Fisher and Paul Ward in Svala won the final race to move into third overall ahead of Marengo of Carolyn Brigg, David Sloper and Oliver Sloper.
With last year’s 75th Anniversary Championships lost due to strong winds, the National Swallow Fleet feared that the same might happen this year, but instead the 2024 Championships, hosted this year by Itchenor Sailing Club, will go down as one of the most memorable.
Saturday, the day of the RTI race, was a no-go for 26 foot keelboats however seaworthy they may be.
But on Sunday, a brave but slightly diminished fleet survived the wind against tide ebb at the entrance of Chichester Harbour to make it to Bracklesham Bay where conditions were only slightly more manageable but the decision was made to race.
PRO Peter Taylor and his team efficiently set up a windward leeward course and all was set for some very exciting racing.
In race one, the left paid up the first beat leaving Simon Slater’s Meridian and Mike Wigmore’s Gwaihir fighting for the lead which Meridian only relinquished on the run in to the final mark. Osprey (James Hartley) was third.
With conditions if anything now even wilder, race two saw Gwaihir again dominant but this time it was Carolyn Brigg’s Marengo with the second and Osprey in third.
The reduced programme meant that if only three races were sailed, all would count, so it was still all to play for.
This time it was the pre-event favourite Nigel Masding’s Svala that was first to the weather mark but most of the other contenders were caught out by the now flooding tide and we’re well into the pack at that point.
Gwaihir recovered to second to take the Championship, with the ever consistent Osprey holding off Marengo to take third, and along with that the runners up spot overall.
2024 National Swallow Championships – Final after 3 races
1st Gwaihir 93 Mike Wigmore and Charles Hyatt, John Hodgart 1 1 2 – – 4 pts
2nd Osprey 95 James Hartley and Jeremy Sibthorp, Bruce Grant 3 3 3 – – 9 pts
3rd Svala 89 Nigel Masding and Hugo Fisher, Paul Ward 4 5 1 – – 10 pts
4th Marengo 82 Carolyn Brigg and David Sloper, Oliver Sloper 5 2 4 – – 11 pts
5th Meridien 77 Simon Slater and Nick Warner, Richard Wheeler 2 4 12 – – 18 pts
6th Bluff 64 Austen Sculley and Peter Baron, Celia Hansell 7 6 5 – – 18 pts
7th Archon 74 Malcolm Green and Elizabeth Pattison, George Wright 9 7 6 – – 22 pts
8th Migrant 86 James Leaver and Ginny Fox, Iona Turner 6 12 12 – – 30 pts
9th Solitude 67 Andrew Reid and Roger Roberts, Diane Sherman 8 10 12 – – 30 pts
10th Ka Nyenga 90 Michael Lindsay and Charles Peacock, Lance Murray 11 8 12 – – 31 pts
11th Merlin 94 Julian Kinross and Robert Rusack, Jeremy Thompson 10 9 12 – – 31 pts
The Swallow, the 1948 Olympic keelboat, is now predominantly based at Itchenor Sailing Club with a fleet of thirty boats. The championships are always held on open water and usually away from home. For more information and photos see https://swallowclass.org
