August 28: At the Helm

Contest too strong

Contest III won two of the three races in the latest round of the Fitted Dinghy series at Granaway Deep this past weekend.

Peter Miller, sailing Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s Contest, surged to victory in the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club Cup.

Elizabeth II, the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club’s entry helmed by  Jon Nicholls finished second, while Mark Soares sailed St. George’s Dinghy and Sports Club’s Victory IV to a third-place spot.

Challenger II did not start.

Nicholls then sailed Elizabeth II to victory in the Whitney Cup race, with Contest III runner-up, Victory IV third and Challenger II fourth.

Finally, the 400th Anniversary Cup race was sailed between Contest III and Challenger II, with the RBYC boat defeating the Sandys Boat Club’s entry.

Our San Fran heroes

Mikey Wollmann and Peter Dill completed a sensational one-two at the O’Pen BIC Hi-Wind Slalom in San Franciso.

After the second AC72 Challenger Finals races were postponed on Saturday and Sunday because of “too much wind”, 25 youth sailors in O’Pen BICs hit the water at the America’s Cup Village Marina Green. 

The sailors, aged 9-15, entertained the crowd with reaching starts, hi-speed jibes, and required boat handling moves. The selected junior sailors represented Team New Zealand, Artemis, and USA, but it was the Bermuda whizz kids who led the way. Both Wollmann and Dill were fresh off top-10 finishes at the O’Pen BIC Worlds in Lake Garda, Italy.