The ladies event was particularly close throughout. In the first race, Liz Crouch and Anne Gregory were adjudged over the line and this enabled Debbie Love and Diana Gregory to open up a lead which they held to the finish. Crouch took advantage of a poor start from Sue Antonelli and Jo Lloyd and held her off to take second.
Antonelli's performances steadily improved but in the second race she could do nothing about Love's upwind speed. She fended off Crouch's challenge to take second, and Janet Hoy and Dawn Stevens closed in to take fourth. The positions remained the same for the third race, but in the fourth, Antonelli finally got to grips with her borrowed boat to power to the gun. Love and Gregory's second was enough to secure their first Snipe Ladies Nationals title.
In the Junior event, new pairing Philip Marshall and Duncan Read warmed up nicely for their impending trip to Spain for the Junior Worlds next month with four straight wins. Nick Lett and Phil Shepherd got close in the third race but Marshall had too much upwind speed. Further back their were promising performances from Chris Rebbeck and Brandon Hawkes of Broadstairs SC, but they couldn't find a way past Alex Francis and Dean Munday in mid fleet. Graham Hoy and James Denniss showed plenty of promise in their first ever Junior Nationals and will be a force in years to come. Each helm received a brand new tiller extension and every competitor was presented with a sports drink bottle courtesy of Devoti Sailing Ltd.
--Richard Lambert
Overall Ladies Results: 1st GBR 27098 Debbie Love and Diana Gregory (Budworth SC) 2.25 2nd GBR 28384 Sue Antonelli and Jo Lloyd (Littleton SC) 4.75 3rd GBR 20557 Liz Crouch and Anne Gregory (Blue Circle SC) 8.00 4th GBR 29408 Janet Hoy and Dawn Stevens (Maldon YC) 12.00 Overall Junior Results: 1st GBR 29501 Phil Marshall and Duncan Read (Maldon YC) 2.25 2nd GBR 23980 Nick Lett and Phil Shepherd (Blue Circle SC) 6.00 3rd GBR 24705 Alex Francis and Dean Munday (Blue Circle SC) 8.00 4th GBR 27330 Chris Rebbeck and Brandon Hawkes (Broadstairs SC) 12.00 5th GBR 22471 Graham Hoy and James Denniss (Maldon YC) 14.00