Queen Mary Sailing Club hosts upcoming 2011 RYA National Match Racing Series Grand Final at Staines
One of the top sailing clubs in UK, Queen Mary Sailing Club, will be hosting the Series Grand Final of 2011 Royal Yachting Association (RYA) National Match Racing Championships on the upcoming weekend. The event will be staged from November 18-20 at Staines,
and will feature 11 qualified teams to sail on Staines waters in an attempt to secure the coveted championship title.
All 11 skippers along with their crews made it to the grand final stage after participating in five qualifying rounds. The other method of selection involved their ranks in the world rankings of ISAF Match Racing. The upcoming grand final stage will provide
all the teams with a chance to scoop the 2011 RYA National Match Racing Championship glory.
Southampton’s Nick Cherry will sail in the championship as defending champion. Cherry won the previous RYA National Match Racing Championship to add third match racing title to his account (he grabbed back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, respectively).
Just like before, Cherry is looking eager to repeat the performance he showed last year and finish up to the mark in this year’s event too.
On the other hand, top ISAF ranked British skipper, Poole’s Mark Lees, will also be sailing in the event for Team Echo along with his crew members, comprising of Peter Austin, Mark Yeabsley and Toby Yeabsley.
Lees’ team is ready to take any challenge in the grand final, as they have had a lot of practice in match racing for the past five consecutive weekends. The British skipper’s Team Echo participated in the International Geneva Match Race (ISAF Grade 3), the
Master Espana Match Race (ISAF Grade 2) and three other match racing events across Europe.
RYA’s Youth National Match Racing Champion, the 19-year-old James French will also be joining the party this year. The youngster grabbed the U-20 and U-25 titles held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy respectively, back in October. He will
be eyeing to put up a good show during the mega event.
Speaking to the media about his ambitions, French said, “We are really looking forward to the finals at the Queen Sailing Club where we will have the opportunity to race against some of the best match racers in the country.”
The young skipper added, “We are as prepared as we can be and are looking forward to competing against a lot of the older teams at the event. Having competed in the Governor’s Cup, I hope my experience will pay dividends and that we can get a good result
come the end of play on Sunday.”
The qualified teams for the grand final stage are listed below:
A. Mark Lees, ISAF Ranking 71
C. Robbie Allam, ISAF Ranking 84
D. James French, ISAF Ranking 99
E. Sam Pearson, ISAF Ranking 110
F. Lucy Macgregor, ISAF Ranking 115
G. Nick Cherry, ISAF Ranking 149
H. Rob Gullan, ISAF Ranking 263
J. Mark Campbell-James, ISAF Ranking 486
K. Tom Phipps, ISAF Ranking 538
L. Charlotte Lawernce, unranked
M. Griogair Whyte, unranked
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