The battle for glory went all the way to the line in the
M & G Volvo Penta Summer Series. Coming in to the final day and the last two races in the series of 12, it was all up for grabs in both the Optimist and the RS Feva class and only after tight racing today could the podium places be decided.

Among the RS Fevas, all three boats recorded at least two bullets in the series but by capturing two race wins on the final day Abigail Tanguy and Malin Asplund secured overall victory only two points ahead of Adam Goddard and Hannah Rickards in second and a further three ahead of Matthew Beck and David Sidebottom in third.

“The racing has been really tight throughout the series and none of us has at any point been in a position to relax”, says Malin. “But we managed to pull ahead on the last day to take the overall victory.”

The series has offered a variety of conditions with anything from light and shifty conditions close to shore in Havelet Bay to demanding fresh to strong winds in Belgrave. “Yes there has been a good mix”, says Malin. “And at one point we also had very thick fog. The racing had to be postponed for half an hour as we could barely see the pin end of the start line from the committee boat!”

In the Optimist class that has seen a record 23 competitors, National Development Squad sailors Sam Crosby and Poppy Rickards have topped the table throughout the series. Leading into the final day Sam had a slight advantage but with an excellent finish with two second places and with Sam prioritising racing in Lymington, Poppy managed to turn that around to win by a single point overall. Tom Lees, who recently pulled together a fantastic performance at the Volvo Musto Optimist Inland Championship at Grafham Waters completed the podium in third.

The series has also seen a number of younger sailors showing the winter training has paid off and that they are ready to challenge their more experienced teammates. Eloise Tanguy in fourth, Stephen Reynolds in fifth, Freddy Moss in seventh and Brent Oldfield in eighth are only a few of those who have sailed well consistently with a number of race finishes in the top five and with Eloise even winning a race.

In the Oppie class, the very youngest sailors have gained a flavour of racing and the two race series saw Matthew Hubber-Richard take victory ahead of Adam Sparkes, Zak Peralia and Gabriel Haynes with only three points separating the four.

Over the coming two weekends, the juniors will again be competing on home waters, first in the Atlas Recruitment Trophy race this coming Sunday and then in the PKF Regatta over the last weekend in June. The PKF regatta will also incorporate the Admiral Robson Trophy.

“We are in an intense period of racing now”, says Guernsey Yacht Club junior co-ordinator Mike Higgins. “The M & G Volvo Penta Summer Series has been a great success and it is fantastic to see more and more youngsters coming out on the water. Let’s hope for equally good conditions and sailing over the coming weekends.”

On foreign waters and whilst teammates completed the final two races in the M & G Volvo Penta Summer Series, Clementine Thompson and Sam Crosby represented Guernsey at the Harken Lymington Optimist Open. In the 100-boat plus fleet and challenging Solent tides, Clementine finished a respectable 38th with Sam closely behind in 55th.

Photos (from the top): Tight racing in the RS Feva Class, Adam Goddard and Hannah Rickards (3098) finished second closely followed by Matthew Beck and David Sidebottom (3383) in third; Poppy Rickards (left) won the Optimist class and Abigail Tanguy (right) and Malin Asplund (centre) took the crown in the RS Feva class; Eloise Tanguy (GBR 5537), one of many young and coming sailors. Eloise won one race and finished fourth overall in the Optimist class.