RYA Press Release - 9 September 2008 (www.rya.org.uk )

Charlotte Lawrence booked her place in the Grand Final of the 2008 RYA National Match Racing Championships next month as her crew finished runners-up at the penultimate qualifier of this year’s Series.

Irishman Andrew Deakin skippered his team of Darragh McCarthy, Dominic O’Sullivan and Gordon Spain to Qualifier Three victory at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) this weekend (6-7 September).

But it is young Volvo RYA Keelboat Squad member Lawrence who progresses through to the Series Grand Final at WPNSA on 10-12 October as the Irish team are not eligible to contest the National title.

The 21-year-old Lawrence from Lymington will be delighted to be in the mix for the National title having narrowly missed out on qualifying via the RYA Women’s Match Racing National Championships at the start of this month, as she came third behind Mary Rook and Lucy Macgregor.

With six Qualifier Three round robin races contested on Saturday and the remaining six fought on Sunday, Lawrence went into the final showdown against Deakin in pole position having won six out of her eight races including their round robin head-to-head against the Irish team.

But after the semi-finals were canned and the event went straight into the first-to-two-points final and petit final contests, it was Deakin’s turn to tighten the screw and he needed just the minimum two races to wrap up the event victory.

In the Petit Final, Andrew Shaw drew first blood in the first flight but Ed Green and his team of Chris Carden, Ian Robertson, Pete Sands and Hattie Marsden hit back to win the final two flights to clinch third place overall.

The fourth and final qualifier takes place at WPNSA on 4-5 October.

2008 RYA National Match Racing Series Qualifier Three results (by skipper):

1. Andrew Deakin
2. Charlotte Lawrence
3. Ed Green
4. Andrew Shaw
5. Robert Gullan
6. Tom Makey
7. Hannah Tattersal
8. Nick Phillips
9. John Mather