The last day saw a further drop in the wind with 15 knots easing off to under 10 by the end of the day. Overnight leaders Ian and Zoe Walker found themselves in trouble in race 4 after fouling another boat and taking a 720 penalty on the first beat.
They recovered well but a 13th place finish opened the door for others and none more so than Milly and Nick Pugh who took first place to move into 2nd overall. Local girls Isabel Davies and Millie Moss from Itchenor were again consistent to grab 3rd place behind Eddie Grayson and Gemma Keers.
As the wind dropped it became very shifty and it was hard for teams to remain consistent. Ian and Zoe Walker quickly got in phase in race 5 to score a second race win but with Max and Finley 3rd and Milly and Nick 7th it meant that any of these 3 boats could still win the championship on the last race. Rosie and Helena Watkins also revelled in the lighter winds to score a 2nd place, their best race of the series whilst former expert International 14 sailor Bruce Grant and his son William were making the most decisive move up the fleet with a 6th place that kept all of their results in the top 10.
A huge windshift at the start of race 6 meant that it was Ian and Zoe Walker that got away clear chased by Nigel Thomas and Billy Vennisozanne with Milly and Nick Pugh close behind. The shift put paid to Max and Finley’s chances as they only managed a 17th place that they had to count after their DNC in race 3. Milly and Nick showed what a bright future they have ahead of them by overtaking both Ian and Nigel to win race 6 and claim 2nd overall. Isabel Davies and Millie Moss remained consistent with a 5th place that raised them to 3rd overall. Perhaps the unluckiest team of the day were Sarah Richards and Alexander Baird who were in 2nd place after the first day of racing but discovered a huge bend in their mast that left them short of pace for all of the last 3 races dropping them to 8th overall.
Ian and Zoe Walker’s 2nd place finish in race 6 meant a 5th Mirror National Title for the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race skipper and a first for his daughter Zoe. It was 23 years since Ian last sailed a Mirror and as he reminded everyone in his winning speech most of the fleet were not even born when he last sailed a Mirror. Ian praised the high standard of the young sailors in the fleet, the quality of the new boats and the excellent race management.
Full results were on the SailRacer Event site (click the "main" tab) but that seems to have disappeared, however they still appear on the normal SailRacer site here. There is also a full list of trophy winners.
Thanks to Ian Walker for the race report and Mary Pudney for taking, and allowing us to use, her photos. There are more on Mary Pudney's Picasa account.
