Its a win for the South in the RYA Winter Club Championships
It was a win for the south as Mike O’Donovan, representing the Stokes Bay Sailing Club, sailed his way to the top of the leader board claiming the title of RYA eSailing Winter Club Championship champion.
Competing against the ten other eSailing regional and home countries champions, Mike, sailing under the sail name of VIT-Ronstan Déjà Vu, battled it out against his fellow racers on the virtual waters, in a series of six races with just one discard in a live showdown broadcast from the virtual RYA Dinghy Show.
On his win Mike said: “It was some really great racing and really close all the way through the event, in the southern regionals and the finals. There was stiff competition in both and in the end it came down to just a point between myself and 2nd placed, Cavan Fyans, in the finals. It's really great to see so much competition in eSailing in the UK and hopefully we can carry that competition forward into more events throughout the year”.
Mark Jardine, from yachtsandyachting.com was joined by Olympic medallist and Team GB sailor Stuart Bithell to provide live commentary for the final.
Stuart Bithell commented “We saw some awesome sailing from Mike! Despite his disconnect he kept plugging away. We see this a lot in real life and it’s fantastic when it all comes good!”
Mark Jardine added: “It was great to get back onto the virtual racecourse for the RYA eSailing Winter Championship final. The standard was superb and it’s always great to chat with Stu and gain his insights of the racing. He’s a seasoned eSailor, as well as his known exploits on the water, and regularly picked the best places to be on the course. Huge congratulations to Mike O’Donovan, it must have been so hard to come back after his broadband disaster in race 2, knowing his discard was gone, but he clinched it with those two race wins at the end of the event.”
Don’t worry if you missed the action, you can still watch it on the RYA YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/TqNURk9ehPc
All our finalists will receive a Helly Hansen goodie bag, plus an RYA prize bundle for Mike.
The Results
| Rank | Region | Club | Helm |
| 1st | South | Stokes Bay Sailing Club | Mike O’Donovan |
| 2nd | Northern Ireland | Ballyholme Yacht Club | Cavan Fyans |
| 3rd | Scotland | St Andrews Sailing Club | Paul McCobie |
| 4th | North West | Budworth Sailing Club | Chris Smallwood |
| 5th | Wales | Llandegfedd Sailing Club | James Adams |
| 6th | North East | Tynemouth SC | Justin Smith |
| 7th | East | Woolverstone Project | Rik Codling |
| 8th | South West | Exe Sailing Club | Mike Way |
| 9th | London and South East | Maidenhead Sailing Club | Gary Bullock |
| 10th | Midlands | Ogston Sailing Club | Wil Hitchman |
| 11th | National | Royal Air Force Sailing Association | Thomas Goodman |
A total of 780 sailors, from 71 different clubs from across the RYA regions and the home countries took part in the RYA eSailing Winter Club Championship, competing in club and regional championships, before whittling it down to just 11 finalists.
“Once again the racing has been phenomenal, and the skill and quality of racing in the final is testament to that” commented RYA Shows and Promotions Manager Celia Edgington.
“eSailing has really taken over the last year, while we’ve been unable to get out on the water and we’re delighted that so many racers and clubs got involved in the championship, helping not only sailors to continue practicing and honing their race skills, but also as a means of keeping the racing community engaged and in touch with each other.”
If you want to find out more about eSailing or want to pick up some eSailing top tips then visit www.rya.org.uk/go/esailing for more information.
For all the latest news and information visit www.dinghyshow.org.uk or follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ryadinghyshow or on Twitter @dinghyshow. Join in: #DinghyShow.