THE 145th Cardigan Bay Regatta at New Quay – one of the oldest sailing events in the country – served up superb sailing and family fun in perfect weather conditions.

President Phillip Thomas and his wife Carol presided over a successful and memorable regatta, where sailing of the highest standard was on show over the three days.

The shore activity programme attracted children from near and far. More than 70 children took part in the sand building competition which opened the inshore events and was held on the main beach on the first day.

The swimming and rowing events were a brilliant sight and a total of 33 events were raced to screams of encouragement from the pier.

Thanks went to the inshore lifeboat and the beach lifeguards who supported the event and helped to make it a success. The Cardigan Bay Watersports centre also assisted with the use of six paddle boards and kayaks.

The regatta is run entirely by a small, dedicated band of local volunteers and all events were funded through sponsorship, the support of local businesses plus the kind donations from the public.

The sailing race from Aberystwyth was won by Christine Willis in Rodmar, second was Mark Willis in Katabatic and third, Nigel Howes in Moonrise.

Overall, the light winds favoured the smaller boats and once again sailors had the company of a large family of dolphins as spectators.

In the dinghy fleet, Best Junior (Under 21) was won by Duncan Lloyd-Evans; the Best Lady Helm was Catherine Gray (Laser Radial, NQYC) and Most Improved U21 was her brother, Morgan Gray (RS Feva XL, NQYC).

OVERALL RESULTS

Cruisers: 1 Katabtic (Mark Willis, Sam Coles, Rachel Malcove, Doug Lloyd-Haynes, James Willis, Ceri Knapgate) 4pts; 2 Brainstorm (Chris Seal, Andy Lowe, Simon Earle, Ben Davies, Steffan Seal) 8pts; 3 Bobble (Steve Berry, Peter Heard, Steffan and Llinos Williams) 19pts; 4 Sprite (Crawford McLeary, Steve Wood, Kat Dawes) 20pts; 5 Gelert (Carl Rich, David Stubbs and Joe Litten) 21pts.

Dinghies: 1 Ian Willis (NQYX/South Staffs) 5pts; 2 Christian Smart (Pembrokeshire YC) 11pts; 3 Duncan Lloyd Evans (NQYC) 5pts; 4 Eliot Rose (Bartley Green SC) 23; 5 Simon Turnbull (Pembrokeshire YC) 25 pts.

Next year’s event takes place from August 23-25.