Brits win Blind Match Racing Worlds 2018

The 2018 Blind Match Racing World Championship was held at Rhu, Helensburgh in Scotland. After a match racing clinic on September 28-30, the World Championships was held from September 3 to 7 in Sonar class keelboats.

Hosted for the first time in the UK, the title was won by Great Britain’s Sharon Grennan, a completely blind sailor, and her visually-impaired crew: Liam Cattermole and Lucy Hodges MBE.

Grennan’s GBR1 team remained undefeated in all of their 13 races over five days of close, competitive racing on the Clyde.

“We put a lot of work into preparing for the event and have gotten together for one weekend once a month to train,” shared Grennan. “We’ve worked a lot on teamwork and communication on the boat, dividing the roles on the boat and sailing in all weathers which has really helped us to perform when it matters.

“Obviously it’s a great feeling to win, but more importantly I’ve really enjoyed meeting sailors from all around the world who’ve come here to compete. On the water we are very competitive, but off the water there’s a lot of camaraderie and a lot we can learn from each other.”

“We were delighted to welcome teams from Australia, Canada, the United States and two from Great Britain to our Club and racing waters on the Clyde,” said Dr Craig Macdonald, Event Chairman. “I’ve been impressed by the close boat-on-boat racing throughout the last week, especially when you consider that the helm is completely blind and their crew is blind or visually-impaired.

“I’m very grateful to Blind Sailing International Chair Vicki Sheen and World Sailing’s Liz Baylis for helping to bring this event to the UK for the first time and deliver a high quality, major sailing regatta which completely surpassed all of my expectations.”

Results: https://www.matchracingresults.com/2018/blind-match-racing-world-championships/

Source: Andrew Watson