Bristol Sailing Club have convincingly won BUCS gold medals with a 100 per cent record at the Match Racing Championship Final.

Saturday 28th April saw good winds for the day’s racing. In all seven one-on-one races, the team – James Goss, Nicholas Wilkinson, Oliver Sloper, Elliott Parsons and Emma Lombard – sailed higher and faster than each other boat.

The winds built steadily all day, making racing more challenging, but with good tactics from Goss, the team led each race from the outset.

It was only in the penultimate encounter, against Portsmouth, that saw Bristol put under real pressure. After receiving a penalty, the team was forced to complete a 360 degree spin before the end of the race.

The spin was achieved just before rounding the final mark, at which point Portsmouth held us out of the mark. The manouvre was a deliberate rule infringement that put them in a controlling position, resulting in two penalties. This allowed Bristol to sail the final downwind leg at speed and win the race.

Sunday’s racing was unfortunately called off due to the excessive wind. Therefore, at the end of the round robin, Bristol were clear winners. This achievement proves they are a worthy team to be selected to represent BUCS and Great Britain at the FISU Match Racing Worlds this summer.

Bristol Sailing Club is now second in the UK for performance over all four disciplines, ahead of south coast rivals Portsmouth, Exeter and Plymouth, our best position to date. Southampton tops the tables and will be the team’s main rival next year.