Durban North sailors win Mirror nationals
Overall, Paul and Polly Changuions' registered five first place finishes, three seconds and a fourth over 11 races.
DURBAN North sailors, Paul (52) and Polly (18) Changuion, were crowned the winners at the Mirror Nationals hosted by Point Yacht Club offshore of Durban from March 21-23.
The father and daughter team were late entries into the competition and surprised a highly competitive fleet that saw sailors take on 11 races
“We’ve always wanted to sail the Mirror Nationals to use as preparation for the Marriott Mirror Worlds in mid-April. I must admit we were actually surprised with the win as we were a little under prepared going into the race. We worked hard during the event and we got better with each race.
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“We now have the African champs before the World Champs where we hope to fine-tune our race strategies,” said Paul.
Overall, the Changuions’ scorecard registered five first place finishes, three seconds and a fourth, giving them a nett total of 15 points.
They will take part in their second Mirror World Champs after competing in the UK in 2017.
Easily recognisable with its red sails, the Mirror sailboat is responsible for introducing more people to sailing than any other design and appeals to all ages and abilities.
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“The mirror sailboat has always been a popular class, because it is considered more affordable and buildable. I’ve built two myself and the one we used in the nationals was made of wood, rather than some of the fibreglass hulls. There are a lot more serious classes for sailing but I feel you’ve seen more people and their children compete in the mirror sailing class,” he said.
Less than a week remains until the Marriott Mirror Worlds gets underway with the Pre-Worlds / African Champs beginning on April 9, followed by the crème-de-la-crème Mirror World Championships regatta on April 13.
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