Cymraeg 
Team Pwllheli at the GBR Optimist Selectors- 2 Pwllheli sailors in European Championship Team!
Four young Pwllheli SC sailors (Christopher Jones, Gethin Llewelyn Owen, Huw Edwards and Iago Davies) travelled to Weymouth over the Bank Holiday weekend to compete in for places in GBR teams over the summer. The Selectors are an invitational event involving the 80 highest ranked Optimist sailors in Britain.
As a result the competition is intense with very competitive start lines.
The first 5 sailors by the end of the event form the GBR Worlsd team with the next 7 being selected for the European Championships. Further places are the awarded for a Development Team and a team to compete at Nieuport Week in Flanders.
15 races were scheduled over the 4 day event. The weather was fine and produced a mixture of sailing conditions. Sailors raced within Porland Harbour on days 1 and 2 before venturing out to Weymouth Bay on Sunday.
By the start of the final day, Huw and Iago sat within the Europeans team boundaries, in 8th and 11th place overall. Gethin was placed 27th and Christopher 41st. The sailors woke to a blanket of fog and light breeze. There then followed postponement, prepare to launch and a further postponement. The fleet was split between those desperate to go out and improve their positions and those keen to protect their team places. Just before 2pm sailors crowded around the coach’s radio to hear the PRO abandon racing.
The final results produced a Europeans Team that includes 4 Welsh sailors out of the total 7- comparisons with the Lions were made! Huw and Iago will travel to Lake Balaton in Hungary not once, but twice. Initially, in June, to prepare by competing at the Chocolate Cup and then to return for the European Championships in early July. A water temperature of 26 degrees is predicted- just like Pwllheli then!
Gethin’s performance gained him a place in the Development Team, which will compete in Bodrum, Turkey at the end of May.
Well done to all four sailors and a big DIOLCH YN FAWR! to Welsh squad coach, Kate Williams who has coached them over the winter and supported them on the water a the event.
