Carnac open meeting
The National 12 Goes International
by Sophie Richards and Freya Lillywhite
The National 12 class took to international waters as a
fleet for the very first time over the May bank holiday
weekend at Carnac Yacht Club in Brittany, France. Remarkably
the fleet of 12s were joined by French sailors, Pauline and
Jean Marie Luthringer all the way from Paris, making the
fleet truly international.
On the water after an inter-class handicap event on the
Saturday (with some incredible reaches), the shifty
conditions on the Sunday left Graham and Zoe Camm with two
bullets after pulling back to lead from John Ibbotson and
Charlotte Stewart. As the breeze increased on the Monday,
John and son, Oliver Meadowcroft (who were sailing first
time on the sea together!) hiked out the beat to make it
first to the windward mark in both races, but once again the
Camms pulled their way back into pole position on the runs
to take the win.
It all looked wrapped up for the Camms on the final day, but
the battle was on for second with John and Oliver doing
everything they could to keep John and Charlotte behind
them. However, John and Charlotte led from the start of the
final race to take second.
A special well done goes to 12 crews Oliver Meadowcroft and
Freya Lillywhite who were the youngest competitors at the
event! Now let’s hear from Freya …
A crew’s view of the event … by Freya Lillywhite
(aged 10)
On Saturday 24th of May the Carnac Regatta started. The
classes which took part were Larks, Merlin rockets,
Enterprises, Scorpions and National 12s.The first race was
its fun handicap race which got everyone wet without
capsizing.
What I liked most about the Regatta was how friendly the
race team and staff were and the weather (as we heard
reports from England of bad weather). One of the social
events was the challenging three legged race which was funny
because adults would get a glass of wine at every stop and
children would get lemonade (5 stops in total).
After the race the prize giving started followed by a Super
Buffet! During the Super Buffet there was football match -
Meadowcrofts VS Stewarts and Lillywhites.
Meadowcrofts
9
Lillywhites and Stewarts
7
The food at the Yacht club was excellent! The super Buffet
included langoustines, salmon, sandwiches and cake. Things I
liked: the food, the staff and the race team, the course,
the social events, the weather.
A massive thanks from the National 12s goes to Tom Jeffcoate
for making the event a great success and the team at Carnac
Yacht Club along with sponsors GJW Direct.
Overall Results
1st Graham and Zoe Camm
2nd John Ibbotson and Charlotte Stewart
3rd John and Oliver Meadowcroft
First Admirals Cup: Neal and Freya Lillywhite
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