Trophy isn't all plain sailing (From Barry And District News)

Trophy isn't all plain sailing

VALE sailors Jeff Dyer and Simon Cook are celebrating, after winning the UK Enter-prise Inland National Championships.

This time, they went one step better than their second place in the Enterprise Dinghy World Champion-ships in September.

Visitors to Penarth will be familiar with the blue-sailed Enterprise dinghy, which is sailed regularly off the sea front there.

The event, held over two days at Rutland Water in Leicestershire, attracted 67 entries.

Jeff and Simon set the standard for the rest of the fleet by winning both races in the steady breeze on Saturday.

And this was despite having to fit a new spar just minutes before the start of the racing, having damaged it at the previous weekend's Severnside Area Champion-ships in Bristol.

On the Sunday, the sun rose over a still stretch of water - a relief considering the effects of the noise from the late-night party in the nearby car park and the huge thunderstorm which passed slowly over the campsite at 3am!

A postponement to the start of racing meant the competitors had plenty of time to dust off any cobwebs and the race officer finally sent the fleet out for the start of the third race.

There was still everything to play for, as there were four competing boats who still had scores in the single figures.

The light and fickle conditions meant things were a little trickier, but Jeff and Simon managed to keep a fingerhold on the trophy with a solid third place.

The wind almost completely died off after this race and some competitors thought the rest of the event would be cancelled.

The race officer had other ideas, however, and to his credit, managed to start the fourth race after an hour's delay.

A decent result in the next race would clinch the championship for the Penarth Yacht Club pairing - and they sailed a little more conservatively in the shifty conditions to gain a fifth place and the Inland title.

Jeff and Simon did not have to sail the final race, but with an eye on the "full" National Championships to be held in Tenby in August, they started the final race for practice.

With the pressure off, they scored a good second place, enabling them to discard the earlier fifth.

Their final tally of just seven points showed the domination they had over the other boats at the event.