Haydn Griffiths RNLI Trophy Day
In 2022, we unfortunately lost one of our younger members in a tragic accident, pursuing the outdoor hobbies he loved the most. Haydn has been etched into Leigh & Lowton history by having this event renamed after him. A one minute silence was held before racing started on this inaugural Haydn Griffiths RNLI Open Trophy Day.
Members and visitors young and old gathered to make this such a special occasion. So many stories exchanged during the day and all the racing was held in great spirit despite the conditions testing sailors’ patience at times.
Although Haydn would have preferred a good blow for his sailing, his sister Megan, back in a Laser for the first time in years was more than happy to have a quieter reacquaintance with the Flash, finishing well up the fleet. She’s not lost any of her skills!
Ollie Blackburn (LLSC) was the pick of the sailors on the day, mastering the art of finding clear wind amongst a packed fleet of 50 boats. Two bullets were more than enough to secure overall victory with others being more inconsistent. Richard Catchpole and Gary Coop (LLSC) did enough in the final two races to clinch 2nd and Mark Dingsdale and Ness Evans (LLSC) triumphed in the last race to bring them home in 3rd. Our Vice Commodore and Paul Pritchard were 4th and the 1st visitors were Nick and Hugh Devreaux from Budworth.
OODs Gareth and Jen Williams, assisted by Andy Carter had a tough day on their hands with shifting winds and a couple of general recalls on the hectic mass starts, but did magnificently to complete all 3 races and get results out for the prizegiving. To add to that, Gareth had also hand-made the new spectacular and fitting trophy beforehand.
Ollie did a great winning speech marking the occasion and paying tribute to Haydn. A fantastic and new race for us all to enjoy in future years in his memory. Many hundreds of pounds were raised for the RNLI to go towards a new RIB for the Mersey area.
Photos taken by the Griffiths family.
Full results in the link below:
Sailwave results for Hadyn Griffiths RNLI Trophy Day 2023 at Leigh and Lowton SC 2023 (llsc.org.uk)