First ever RYA Volvo Dinghy Show SailX Championship winner crowned
Victory to Seb Baucutts and the 29er class...
Over the weekend of 3-4 March at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show 2012, the first ever RYA Volvo Dinghy Show SailX Championship came to an exciting climax when the first ever championship winner was unveiled during a nail biting live final.
With commentary provided by Paul Goodison (Laser Gold Medallist, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games), Hugh Styles (Skandia Team GBR Olympic Coach) and Mark Jardine (editor yachtsandyachting.com), the audience were witness to a unique event with some of the sports finest talking them through the action.
And the winner is...
Ultimately it was Seb Baucutts, a young and competitive 29er (and RS Feva) sailor from Stokes Bay in the UK that prevailed – taking the overall ‘Live Finals’ win – and the honour of being the very first holder of the new Virtual Endeavour Trophy as a result.
Along with his trophy Seb took home a fantastic haul of prizes – a long-weekends use of a Volvo XC90, a beautiful pair of Bollé sunglasses, a 12-month subscription to Yachts & Yachting magazine and a Tactic Microcompass from Raymarine – the ultimate racers tool.
And if this was not enough, as a result of Seb’s win and strong performances from three other fellow 29er sailors, the 29er class took the overall class prize and the first ‘RYA Volvo Dinghy Show SailX Championship Trophy’.
Ready to defend the title
In post regatta interviews a proud and excited group of young 29er sailors said they would be back to defend this class win ‘with their lives’ – for sure it’s going to be a fight to take it off them in 2013!
In the lead up to the live final on the Volvo Main Stage, the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show SailX Championship had been running 24/7 for the previous seven weeks. In total 652 individual competitors entered the Championships, representing 69 classes and 51 nationalities. Over these seven weeks, SailX, the free online racing and training game, hosted 1,071 highly-competitive Championship races involving just under 7,600 boat finishes and a total of 1,850 hours of user racing time, or 77 days, solid!
From Austrailia to USA
The finals comprised of two fleet race regattas with ten competitors racing live at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show and twenty competitors connecting in from all over the world. In total 50 competitors took part in the two regattas from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Spain, UK and USA.
To add to the pressure, racing was shown on the big Volvo Main Stage screen - with six competitors sitting on the stage itself and four in the audience.
Big thanks to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club and, to sponsors, Volvo, Bollé, Yachts & Yachting and Raymarine / Tactick.
Find out more
SailX website: www.SailX.com
For images and video of the Live Finals: www.facebook.com/SailX.Inshore.Racing.Game
Race as a guest FOR FREE at SailX.com: www.sailx.com/racenow
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SailX.Inshore.Racing.Game
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/SailXRacing
Follow SailX on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/sailx
Results and Statistics
Live Finals Results (mixed in-person at the Show & online)
Top-3 Individuals (only those present at the Show were scored)
- baucutts (UK / 29er)
- K11 (UK / RS200)
- George377 (UK / RS200)
Top-3 Classes (only those present at the Show were scored)
- 29er
- Fireball
- 18ft Skiff
For a more detailed overview of results see www.sailx.com/rvds-scoring
Championship Statistics:
- Individuals entered: 652
- Classes entered: 69
- Countries represented: 51
- Races started: 1.071
- Boat race finishes: 7,600
- User racing time: 1.850hrs or 77 days