PARKSTONE Yacht Club duo Phil Cotton and Duncan McCarthy were crowned national champions at the biennial International Paint Poole Regatta last weekend.

Cotton became MOCRA Multihull national champion having sailed his Seacart 30 Buzz into the top three in all eight races in his category, securing three victories along the way.

He was chased down by Nick Wood (Royal Burnham YC) in Origami, who himself secured top-four finishes in all but one of his races. Christchurch Sailing Club’s Paul Butler twice tasted success and finished fourth overall in his F-32RX.

Poole-based McCarthy was in dominant form throughout the J24 class aboard Madeline, finishing in the first two in six out of 10 races to trump Weymouth- based Bob Turner (Castle Cove SC) by 13 points.

Parkstone member Nick Phillips came third in Chaotic, while clubmate Roger Morris secured fifth in his vessel Jolly Roger.

The final day of the regatta was heading for a flat end with four knots of breeze forecast but six to nine knots eventually swept through, which gave everyone a chance to attack or consolidate in their respective classes.

Ian Atkins in Boats.com did not need to sail the last race having already done enough to win the regatta overall and become J70 national champion.

In the J80 class, Patrick Liardet in Aqua J took first place from Phil Taylor in J.A.T. after the count back was taken into consideration.

Both were one point ahead of Poole’s Dave Evans in Last Chance.

Jim Macgregor, a harbour pilot and member of Poole and Parkstone Yacht Clubs, sailed Premier Flair to success in the J80 class, finishing six points clear of Jackie and Rob Dobson in Jeronimo J133.

Results were turned on their head by Stephen Tiernan in the IRC2 class, who was loaned Dehler 33 Ruthless by chairman of the organising committee Martin Pearson, as he scored two firsts to win the class. In second place was Enigma, sailed by Ian Braham. Richard Freemantle won the IRC3 in his Dehler 29.

Meanwhile, Megan Pascoe won the six races she competed in but that was not enough to take the Tidal National Trophy from Simon Hill (Frensham Pond SC), who sailed in all eight rounds and sealed the crown by a solitary point.

On the event, Pearson said: “It has been an exciting and successful regatta with a record number of 181 entries this year.

“We would like to thank sponsors International Paint, who have confirmed their support for the 2016 event in conjunction with Haven Insurance.

“A big thanks must go to all those involved in helping out with organisation and management of the event from Parkstone Yacht Club, Poole Yacht Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club.”

  • HIGHCLIFFE Sailing Club is hopeful that more female members will take to the waves competitively following their first Ladies that Launch session last Friday.

Introduced by popular demand, the training sessions are for ladies only with 14 of the club’s members taking to the water after some heavy rain and windy conditions relented in time for the start.

The remit undertaken by instructors Ken Fowler and Richard Brooks is to help build confidence and encourage more female members to compete in club racing.

The first two-hour session was a resounding success, with concentration focused on revisiting basic manoeuvres, correcting bad habits and teaching sailors how to achieve smoother tacks.

  • Simon Mussell and Gary Langdown shared the overall honours in Highcliffe’s Sea Spring Points Series over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The two-day event kicked off on Sunday with brisk, sunny southerly winds in excess of 20 knots. A choppy sea state resulted in multiple capsized boats.

Mussell took first in his Contender ahead of Langdown with youngster Jamie Perry third.

In calmer conditions, Gary Langdown won to reverse the result on Monday with Mussell second and Matt Langdown – Gary’s son – third.

The club now face the interesting dilemma of how to share the trophy after the duo finished level on points.