Seven Marconi boats took part in the 2023 Dart 15 National Championships at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club. Scheduled as a nine race event over three days, the event attracted a total of forty-six entrants from around the country, including seven previous national champions.
Unfortunately, the weather had its own plans with 45 knot gusts cancelling racing on day one and 28 to 35 knot onshore winds caused second day of racing to be cancelled too. However, the fleet and the race management team were not to be defeated and a weather window on day three allowed five closely fought races to be completed across varied conditions.
Marconi’s David and John Ball (the fleet’s youngest competitor) were winners of the Two Up Cup, successfully defending the title they won last year. This involved close racing with Sophia (Youth Trophy Winner) and her dad Sean from Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
And, keeping it in the family, this year’s National Champion was Jenny Ball from Marconi with two race wins, a second and a fourth being enough to be at the top of the scoreboard. This is the second time a Marconi sailor has been Dart 15 National Champion – David Ball won the title in 2019. And with plenty of talent in the Marconi fleet, who can tell which of them might win the trophy in the future!
For more about the event, visit the Yachts and Yachting article online.
For some great pictures of the event – visit the Dart 15 website gallery.
Photo credits for above pictures: Nick Alston.
