Ely’s Copsey still in the hunt after strong showing
Nick Copsey, standing, with crew Lewis Bowen - Credit: Archant
Sailing Ely sailor Nick Copsey remains on course for a top 10 finish in the Sailjuice series after a strong showing at Pitsford Reservoir in Northampton on Saturday.
Some 150 boats took part in the event, including many national and world champions.
Sailing in the double-handed fleet, Nick, with local crew Lewis Bowen, had a fantastic first race and despite having a smaller and slower boat than most of the fleet, managed to beat many of the faster boats on the water.
On handicap he ended the race in third place, just behind Fireball national champion Chritian Birrell and just ahead of Steve Cockerill, winner of multiple national titles.
The second race was to prove much more difficult, however, with a building breeze resulting in many capsized boats and a broken mast.
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Despite sailing with a young crew who had only been in the boat once before, in a boat which is notoriously unstable, Nick, 18, was determined not to let his good work from the first race go to waste.
Battling against the odds, he came home in 19th place.
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With only a couple of boats achieving any consistency, the finish was enough to give him fifth overall in the double-handed fleet.
With just one event to go in this prestigious series, Nick is lying eighth overall.
More than 700 sailors have competed in at least one event with the finale at Rutland water this weekend.
