Venue                                   Marconi     Filey      Rutland      Carsington     Grafham            Total

 

GARETH EDE             1st                  1,1,1,1        1                                     1,1,1,1,1       10 Points

 

CLIFF ANTILL           2nd                    2,2,2       1, 2,2             2,2                 2,3               20 Points

 

PAUL ELLIS               3rd       1                                2                1,1,1         2,2, 3,3, 5       21 Points

 

STUART EDE             4th                 2,2, 3,3      1,1, 3                                  2,2,2            21 points

 

ALASTAIR FORREST 5th      2                             2, 3              1, 2,2            3, 4,4,4        27 Points

 

NIGEL HARRISON    6th               3, 5, 6,6      3, 4,4             6,6, 7                                 50 Points

 

JOHN PEPERELL      7th                 3, 4,4,4     4, 5,5                                     5, 8,8           50 Point

 

 Best 10 results to count 

 

Gareth Ede 2008 TT champion receives the JM trophy from Dad.  

 

 

Perfect scoreline: Gareth Ede takes the 2008 Travellers’ Trophy in style

 

 

This year there were 10 races to count from the 5 events (20 races). The series was down on previous years with the Netley TT not materializing. GARETH EDE scored 10 first places to give him a perfect score line. Victories don’t come much more emphatic than that!

 

He put his stamp on the Series at his first event on his home turf of Filey by winning all 5 races, putting him in the enviable position of discarding a first place. He looked set to continue the run with a win in the first race at Rutland, but then he crashed out there - literally! The last event of the season at Grafham Water brought strong winds, and lightweight GARETH should have been at a disadvantage, but his mastery on the trapeze meant he was able to seal the Series with yet another perfect score line of 6 wins from 6 races, again discarding a first place.

 

So it was a deserving winner who stepped forward to collect the fine glass loving cup trophy that will be his to keep. And, of course, the JON MONTGOMERY Trophy itself will stay in his possession for another year after he won it for the first time last year in his first full season with the Catapult fleet.

 

Next up to the podium was CLIFF ANTILL, whose name appears on the Trophy many times. The high spots of CLIFF’s season were a second place at Rutland, just missing out on first place through a tie break with STUART EDE, a third at Filey against a strong home fleet and a second at Grafham.

 

PAUL ELLIS came third in the Series, only one point behind CLIFF. He must wonder what might have been, if he hadn’t been the victim of GARETH’s crashing out at Rutland! PAUL had event wins at Marconi and at Carsington where he claimed victory in style with 4 wins from 4 races. Then he finished off the season by a third at Grafham.

 

In all 17 sailors took part in the 2008 Series, of whom 7 qualified for a result having competed in two or more events. There was a range of conditions from strong winds at Marconi and Grafham to light airs at Rutland and Carsington, so there was something for everyone, making for a thoroughly enjoyable season.

More: Click below

 

Long Distance Open Race Reports 2008: Marconi (Colne Point) and Sheppey