National 12s at Yeadon

7th October 2007
 
Light and changeable winds greeted a sizeable fleet of National 12s gathered at Yeadon Tarn to sail for the Tarn Trophy.
 

Ghosting down the reach (Photo - Sarah Chadwick)

Race 1: Philip and Helen David, in their Baggy Trousers design, quickly established a substantial lead. A widely spread fleet closed up on them on the final run but they held on to the finish. Ex-Mirror youth sailor Philip Benn (Final Chapter), sailed exceptionally well to finish 2nd, just ahead of Bernard Clark in his Sparklet.
 
Race 2: The Davids, squeezed out at the pin end, took penalty turns allowing Chadwick and Clark to draw ahead, hotly pursued by the rest of the fleet. Team David staged a brilliant fightback, eventually regaining the lead to take the gun and the Tarn Trophy.
 
Race 3: Philip Benn worked his way to the front but then sailed the wrong course. Neil and Yvonne McInnes (Baggy Trousers) held 2nd place for much of the race under increasing pressure from Andrew and Trudie Wilkinson (Feeling Foolish). On the final lap, Chadwick took the lead only to be passed at the last minute by the Wilkinsons who recorded their first win of the day.
 
At the prizegiving, Howard Chadwick was also awarded the Witchcraft Bailer Trophy for his overall win in the 2007 Vintage Series and Tim Gatti was presented with the National 12 Ribbed Boat Trophy for his immaculate restoration of N341, an Uffa King design built in 1938.
 

N341 under sail at Yeadon (Photo - Peter Slingsby)

Overall Results:
1st Philip and Helen David        N3217     Yorkshire Ouse SC
2nd Howard Chadwick and Helen Nicholson - N2256 - Yeadon SC
3rd  Philip Benn and Tom Britton - N3447 - Ripon SC
 
1st Vintage Howard Chadwick and Helen Nicholson