Wilson and Hiscocks win

The F18 UK National Championships were held in Weymouth

The 2008 F18 Nationals were held at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy on 1 to 3 August 2008. 23 boats turned up to compete in what turned out to be a windy weekend.

The Friday saw winds ranging from 19 to 27 knots which was a recipe for some exciting sailing and proved to be too much for some. Following many capsizes and boat breakages, very few boats managed to finish the three races intact. The AGM was held in the evening after a BBQ at which Jon Worthington was elected as the new class Chairman.

On Saturday we awoke to almost no wind and very low visibility which meant the start was delayed by an hour. Despite this, the four scheduled races were completed in winds increasing from eight knots to 18 knots over the day.

The results going into the last day had Rob Wilson and Simon Hiscocks fighting Stuart Gummer and Ellen Forshaw for the lead, promising an exciting final day. Again the wind had been turned on with the wind averaging 18 knots gusting to 25. The breeze dropped for the second race which meant that many people powered up their boats, only to find the wind return with vengeance leading to an interesting last race.

Going into the final race Stuart and Ellen were leading by two points, but after some crafty sailing Rob and Simon managed to win the race whilst ensuring there was another boat between them and Stuart. The series was over with both first and second place having 22 points and the overall result being decided on count back.

Thanks go to all those involved in making sure the event was a success, in particular to Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy.

Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	Weight (kg)	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Tot	Net
1st	Rob Wilson	Simon Hiscocks	151.1	1	1	1	-8	3	7	(DNC)	3	5	1	54	22
2nd	Stuart Gummer	Ellen Forshaw	156	3	(24.0 OCS)	3	5	4	1	2	-6	1	3	52	22
3rd	Jonathan Worthington	Oli Egan	165.2	5	2	(DNC)	10	7	3	3	1	7	(DNC)	86	38
4th	Martin Chadder	Ricky The Gun	170.5	10	3	(DNC)	(24.0 OCS)	1	5	9	8	2	4	90	42
5th	Toby Orpin	Lewis Crawford	146.4	-8	7	6	2	5	8	5	5	8	-10	64	46
6th	John Payne	Matthew Hunt	150.7	7	4	8	7	8	-13	-11	7	4	11	80	56
7th	David Bartlett	Mark Robinson	157.7	-12	9	4	-12	11	4	6	10	6	7	81	57
8th	James Power	Mark Self	166.8	2	10	(DNC)	13	13	(DNC)	4	2	14	2	108	60
9th	Grant Piggott	Andrew Sinclair	142.1	-11	5	5	4	9	11	10	-13	9	8	85	61
10th	Will Sunnucks	Simon Farren	149.6	(DNC)	(DNC)	2	15	6	2	8	12	10	9	112	64
11th	Leo Farrow	Roby Jon	159	4	(24.0 OCS)	(DNC)	3	2	6	1	9	DNC	DNC	121	73
12th	David Allan	Hugo Bull	154.9	-14	6	7	14	-18	10	12	11	11	6	109	77
13th	Tim Neal	Bob Fry	155.9	6	(DNC)	(DNC)	16	14	9	7	14	12	12	138	90
14th	David White	Jon Sweet	144.5	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	6	DNC	DNC	13	4	3	5	151	103
15th	Luke Butler	Sam Rowles	143.5	9	(DNC)	(DNC)	11	15	15	14	16	16	15	159	111
16th	Abby Ledger	Roger Fermor	151	13	(DNC)	(DNC)	9	16	16	15	15	15	14	161	113
17th	Humphrey Carter	James Martin	166.6	(DNC)	8	10	17	12	14	16	(DNC)	21	17	163	115
18th	Peter Findlay	Jessica Findlay	171.1	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	1	10	12	18	17	20	16	166	118
19th	Sarah Younger	Adam Younger	154.1	(DNC)	11	9	-22	19	17	17	20	17	19	175	129
20th	Graham Eeles	Josh Hunt	151.4	15	(DNC)	(DNC)	18	21	DNC	DNC	18	13	13	194	146
21st	Ed Males	Willis Myles	144.5	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	19	17	18	20	19	19	DNC	208	160
22nd	Mark Sutcliffe	Tom Thackray	166	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	20	20	19	21	21	18	18	209	161
23rd	James O'leary	Tom O'leary	175	(DNC)	(DNC)	DNC	21	DNC	20	19	DNC	DNC	DNC	228	180