FOUR Guernsey-based Optimist sailors competed in the Poole Junior and Youth Regatta hosted by the Poole Yacht Club. Well over 200 boats of different classes raced, with 116 Optimists in the main fleet and 45 in the regatta section.
Good sailing conditions met the sailors on the opening day - a combination of fresh winds with big gusts and the biggest tides for more than 10 years.
Zoe Parkinson, George Thompson and Abigail Tanguy sailed in the very competitive main fleet in the open area of Poole Harbour and they acquitted themselves well, although Parkinson and Tanguy were somewhat frustrated with their positions at the end of day one.
Thompson was lying in the first half of the fleet, having had a good first day.
David Sidebottom in the regatta fleet, racing closer inshore, was lying seventh overall at the end of the day.
Early on day two there was very little wind and the start of racing was delayed by one hour. However the wind filled in as forecast and the first races took place soon after 11am.
The lower wind strength made the tidal flow a more important element and Parkinson recorded a 15th and 16th and Tanguy a 32nd, both performing much better than on the previous day.
Thompson, having produced a consistent 44th in the first race, finished disappointingly further down the fleet in the last two races of the day.
All produced respectable overall results by the end of the regatta, with Parkinson in 34th position, Thompson in 64th and Tanguy 65th.
In the regatta fleet, Sidebottom, having made some errors in the early races on day two, ended the competition with a first in the final one to finish the regatta in the prizes at fifth overall.
This was the best result any Guernsey sailor has achieved in his or her first attendance at this event.
Article posted on 6th October, 2006 - 12.00am
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