2011 Dinghy Champs
Russell and June Collister collected the Manx Yachting Association Cup for the tenth time after an unbeatable performance at the 2011 Isle of Man Dinghy Championship.
23 dinghies from around the Island contested the six race series, hosted by the Isle of Man Yacht Club in Port st Mary last weekend.
Two boats dominated the leaderboard on Saturday: Russell and June in their RS200 and Antony Ellis, Mike Wilson and Nigel Collins sailing National 18 ‘Crossfire’ took either first or second place in every race. Russell and June led by a single point after three races in light breezes and glorious sunshine.
The westerly breeze increased to 25 knots during Sunday’s racing, causing many capsizes and retirements in the fleet: only ten of the 18 boats that started Race 4 would complete all three of the day’s races.
The biggest casualty was ‘Crossfire’, suffering a broken rudder after capsizing in a squall during Race 5, ending their Championship campaign as Ellis and crew were forced to return to shore.
With consistently excellent starts and barely making a mistake all weekend, defending champions Russell and June proved themselves capable of winning in any weather. They battled on to win Races 4 and 5 and secure the 2011 Championship with a race to spare.
Their worst result was fourth after capsizing during Race 6, which they were able to discard after six races had been sailed. This left them with four wins and a second to count towards the overall result, putting them fourteen points ahead of their nearest rival in the final standings.
In a superb effort junior sailors Greg Kelly and Ffinlo Wright completed all six races of the series in their RS Tera Sport dinghies, taking Sunday’s punishing conditions in their stride. Greg took third in Races 4 and 5 and won Race 6 to secure second place in the Championship, relegating Andrew Dean and Katie Kneale in their RS200 to third place overall.
This is the tenth time Russell and June have won the Isle of Man Dinghy Championship and the MYA Cup, which has been out of their hands only once since 2002. Their latest win puts them only one Championship victory away from equalling Mick Kneale’s record of eleven wins.
Images from Sunday can be viewed here.
| Class | Helm | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Total | Disc | Nett | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS 200 | R Collister | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| RS Tera Sport | G Kelly | 7 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 12 | 20 | 2 |
| RS 200 | A Dean | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 9 | 22 | 3 |
| Laser | S Pressly | 5 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 23 | 4 |
| Laser | R Kee | 10 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 39 | 11 | 28 | 5 |
| Nat 18 | A Ellis | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 24 | 54 | 24 | 30 | 6 |
| RS Tera Sport | F Wright | 9 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 58 | 13 | 45 | 7 |
| Laser 2000 | A Williams | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 24 | 71 | 24 | 47 | 8 |
| RS 200 | R Cowell | 3 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 4 | 23 | 71 | 23 | 48 | 9 |
| Nat 18 | P Barlow | 12 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 24 | 84 | 24 | 60 | 10 |
| Laser Radial | H Howitt | 13 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 81 | 18 | 63 | 11 |
| Laser Stratos | R Cave | 21 | 23 | 21 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 90 | 23 | 67 | 12 |
| Laser 4.7 | M Moore | 23 | 22 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 95 | 23 | 72 | 13 |
| OK | B Quayle | 8 | 14 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 99 | 24 | 75 | 14 |
| Laser 2000 | P Hansford | 19 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 101 | 24 | 77 | 15 |
| Laser 2000 | G Sharpe | 11 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 101 | 24 | 77 | 16 |
| Laser Radial | J Kelly | 14 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 23 | 24 | 105 | 24 | 81 | 17 |
| Laser Radial | I Sharpe | 24 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 108 | 24 | 84 | 18 |
| 505 | J Colman | 20 | 21 | 19 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 108 | 24 | 84 | 19 |
| RS 600 | A Jolly | 16 | 12 | 14 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 113 | 24 | 89 | 20 |
| RS Tera Sport | T Pitt | 18 | 19 | 22 | 10 | 24 | 24 | 117 | 24 | 93 | 21 |
| RS Tera Sport | M Petts | 17 | 18 | 15 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 121 | 24 | 97 | 22 |
| Laser 4.7 | K Hill | 15 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 124 | 24 | 100 | 23 |
