Top white facebook2x Top white youtube2x Top white instagram2x Top white phone2x 020 8748 3280 Top white email2x Email us Top white webcam2x Webcam Top white search2x Basket Login
Home / News / ​British Keelboat League – September 2017, Cowes
Home / News / ​British Keelboat League – September 2017, Cowes

​British Keelboat League – September 2017, Cowes

Published 10:31 on 19 Oct 2017


Following a fourth place result at the Scottish qualifier, London Corinthian's sailing team qualified for the British Keelboat League finals in Cowes, hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club.

For those unfamiliar with the British Sailing League, it is a new format of umpired short 15-minute fleet racing in matched keelboats. At this year's finals, we had 18 teams competing; 8 boats to a race as teams swap in and out from the motherships.

With supreme efficiency on behalf of the organisers the racing ran without a hitch. Changeovers were slick and the format dictates that 3 windward marks are always laid allowing the race officer to indicate which colour to go to at the start of each windward leg to ensure a square course always. Most importantly, the weather also played ball, with 10-15 knots and bright sunshine over the 3 days. All of this fed into what was a fantastic event - great racing, fierce competition and an atmosphere of excitement, nerves, drive and general satisfaction of a top-quality competition.


Our team, 50% of whom were new to both the J70 and the BKL format, worked well together, with lots of laughs, several mistakes but many great calls and manoeuvres. We improved as time went on with all top 3 results by the last day of racing, finally finishing in 12th place. The very well deserved winners were Itchenor Sailing Club who demonstrated impressive calm and consistency up at the front throughout the regatta. Their helm was Ben Saxton, the recent gold medal winner at the J70 World Championships and the Rio 2012 Nacra sailor.

This was the third British Keelboat League event London Corinthian has taken part in, and it is an absolutely fantastic format. We've already lined up a spot in next year qualifiers and it would be great to get two teams from the club to represent us and get stuck in with some of Britain's best sailors.

If you're interested, please drop me a note - annadobson@hotmail.co.uk.

Last updated 10:35 on 18 February 2024

© 2024 London Corinthian Sailing Club powered by Sailing Club Manager