Day 5 Races 6 & 7
3 July 2003

The 2003 NCS Regatta ended today in the same fashion that it started with the fleet enjoying the final two races in near perfect conditions.

A light southerly breeze that peaked at around 12 knots although was never very steady in direction, combined with a large swell left over from yesterdays strong winds, made for tricky racing conditions. Today was all about keeping the boat going fast and making the most of the wind shifts. Some did this better than others.

Once again it was the L26 fleet in which the closest racing took place although it was not without incident. Only ten of the 33-boat fleet were recorded as finishers in the sixth race of the regatta. This after all but five crossed the start line prematurely. Of those over early five returned and restarted with the rest simply sailing on, unaware of their error. This handed an unlikely win to Nigel Miln's Dockleveller Supplies. Race seven went more according to plan though, especially for Ian Ainslie on MSC Donna Mia. Ainslie chose the last race of the regatta to hit top gear and did so in fine style, winning by a huge margin. Second place in this race went to Dave Hudson on Greenlight with Mark Sadler's Daly's Insurance managing only a fourth place. This was however enough to secure Sadler's team a comfortable overall victory.

Rob DeVlieg on Stadtistic rounded off a good regatta with two comfortable wins on the final day to secure overall victory. Early regatta leader Peter Lee on Staggerlee finished fifth and ninth in the two races sailed today to find himself slipping to fourth overall behind Rob Samways Elfstoy. Samways, like DeVleig, improved both in results and consistencty as the regatta went on and was a deserving runner up.

With two wins in today's races John Martin's Fasciantion of Power finished off the regatta with a convincing win in the IRC Class. With only two second places to blemish a near perfect scorecard Martin was fairly dominant in this fleet. The 42 foot Fascination of Power was the biggest boat in the fleet and immaculately sailed at all times.

In PHRF Class two the overall standings were turned on their head on the final day. Mike Robinson on Lorrigray 3 ended the regatta on a high note with two firsts and a second in the final three races. Going into the final day Lorrigray had been in third place overall in this class but her good results, combined with a slight slip in the form of the regatta leaders, saw Robinson sneak into first place.

Once again Durban provided the best possible conditions for the NCS Regatta, an event that has cemented itself as the premier sailing event on the South African Sailing calendar. Certainly all who took part in this years regatta will be back for more at the same time next year.

The prize giving for the NCS Regatta will take place tomorrow, Friday, night at the Point Yacht Club.

The final overall standings in each of the five classes, after seven races, area as follows:

L26
1st Dalys Insurance Mark Sadler 10 Points
2nd Greenlight Dave Hudson 15
3rd MSC Donna Mia Ian Ainslie 16

Stadt 23
1st Stadistic Rob De Vlieg 9
2nd Elfstoy Rob Samways 13
3rd Staggerlee Peter Lee 16 Points

IRC
1st Fascination of Power John Martin 7 Points
2nd Close Again Jonathan Heathcote 15
3rd Skitso Craig Middleton 17

Micro Multi Hull
1st Bandit Peter Latter 5 Points
2nd Magic Dragon Bill Ellens 8
3rd Take One Peter Bernd 12

PHRF Class 2
1st Lorrigray Mike Robinson 17 Points
2nd No Compromise CJ Phillips 17
3rd Mr Bojangles David Scorey 18