Father and daughter sail to victory

FOUR days of sailing and nine races later Knysna Yacht Club's Blaine and Roxanne Dodds finally clinched the 2014 Boardwalk Hobie 16 Nationals.

The win was just reward for the father and daughter pair's perseverance as it is a title that has eluded them for the last three years of keen competition in Algoa Bay.

The three days of sailing presented a range of conditions, but Port Elizabeth saved the best for last.

A mid-morning start saw the support team dotted around the still bay in the windless conditions while the fleet waited for the call for the final race which came at 1.30pm.

As predicted the south, south-easter made its appearance over Cape Receife and settled into nine to 10 knots.

An over eager start saw the dreaded black flag being raised for the restart and the slow jostle for the line began – two boats were adjudged over at the start.

Andrew and Angela Ward, from Algoa Bay Yacht Club, and David and Rebecca Scott, of Dar Es Salaam Yacht Club, earned themselves an OCS (on course side) and maximum points of 31 points each.

The Dodds pair sailed a faultless and conservative race getting ahead of the second placed William and Lucinda Edwards and covering them the entire course.

Belinda and Ryan Hayward slipped in between the Edwards' and Dodds' boats to gain second place and a clear winner was apparent, with Blaine and Roxanne finishing the regatta on 13 points with the Edwards, two points behind and the Haywards trailing a further 20 points behind in third place.

Robert Archibald and daughter Alexa sailed the top Port Elizabeth based boat finishing in fourth place.

Despite two OCSs Andrew and Angela Ward sailed to seventh place in the 30 boat fleet.

The top three finishers overall:

1. Blaine and Roxanne Dodds – Knysna Yacht Club on 13 points

2. William and Lucinda Edwards – Knysna Yacht Club on 15 points

3. Belinda and Ryan Hayward – Fish Hoek Beach Sailing Club on 35 points.