Pete Ramsdale in Sadiiqi lifted the J-24 national sailing championships over the weekend after a spectacular day of racing in the Great Sound.

With crew Shelagh Tasker, Becky Davies, Colleen Forestell and Walter Smith on board, Ramsdale clinched the title in a nailbiting final race.

In easterly winds of 12 to 18 knots, a fleet of 11 boats took part in the regatta.

A short start line with a pin bias kept the starts interesting and with the fleet evenly matched the mark roundings were hectic.

After three races some four or five boats were still in the hunt and the final two races went down to the wire.

While Simon Boden in Solaise slipped up in race three and Trevor Boyce and the New Wave team were solid after a shaky second race, it was Ramsdale who took a narrow one-point lead into the last race.

A wild broach nearly saw his hopes slip away but the team managed to recover quickly and finish just one place behind Boyce which earned them victory on a countback tiebreaker.

The trophy was presented by Rob Loxton, CEO of the sponsoring CCS Group.

And at the prize-giving ceremony it was announced that the Bermuda J24 Class Association would be using a financial contribution from the CCS Group to purchase an Optimist Dinghy for the Mid Atlantic Sailing Association, in a move aimed at further assisting junior sailing in Bermuda.