Tapper's crew claim national J 109 title (From Bournemouth Echo)

Tapper's crew claim national J 109 title

9:00am Friday 10th August 2012 in Afloat

STEVEN Tapper and his crew from Parkstone Yacht Club clinched the J 109 UK National Championships and the coveted J-Cup.

Team ‘Stalker’ have progressed up through the J 109 rankings over the past five years and now have a national title win in a 24-boat fleet to add to the CV.

The J-Cup is the most welcomed prize of the whole regatta, a relatively modest piece of silverware by comparison with some of the other beautiful trophies which are contested at the event, and is an annual event, which includes the J 109 championships.

It was hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club – home to a large percentage of the fleet.

While Tapper’s ‘Stalker’ had held the top spot for the duration of the regatta, they didn’t have it all their own way on the last day.

The top five boats in the fleet all had a monumental tussle on Saturday with three of them posting (and discarding) their worst results of the whole regatta.

Never having to count a score outside the top-seven across the eight races sailed, ultimately it was the team on ‘Stalker’ who finished at the top of the podium and who were pronounced the new J 109 UK champions.