Six out of six

Louise Morton took the overall trophy at the inaugural Women's Open Keelboat Championship this week

An exciting brand new event took to the Solent over this last weekend - the Women’s Open Keelboat Championship, where Louise Morton’s Quarter Tonner Espada won six out of six races in her class taking 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 Rolex Commodores' Cup crews.

Competitors were set imaginative and challenging courses, mainly windward-leeward, taking into 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 the J/80 Just Do It took the SBR class by two points from another J/80 Jenga IV while in IRC 1 Jump, the J/133 of 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 the Elan 333 Elusive fresh from a class win success at the 2008 Raymarine Warsash Spring Series.

Jody Slater, one of the event organisers at the Royal Southern Yacht Club (along with Emma Beagley, Stephanie Danby and Vicky Lincoln), 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.”

The Women’s Open Keelboat Championship is grateful to its sponsors Coffin Mew LLP, Dubarry of Ireland, CW Fellowes, Marina Projects, Harken, Raymarine, Kingfisher Ropes, Elvstrom Sobstad, Rule 26 and Ingrid Abery at Hot Capers.

More of Ingrid's pics over the next few pages...