The 505 nationals 2024 were a major success. Racing started off on Saturday with the Vaaldam area experiencing a maximum temperature of 2-4 degrees Celsius. Massive snowfall in the Free State and KZN disrupted higways and travel but luckily all competitors were at the venue and racing could get underway. 3 races were sailed in strong wind and near freezing temperatures. The Funkes dominated the races scoring three bullets followed by Yon/Hutton-Squire in second.
Sunday dawned with a mild 13 degrees. Racing got underway early and with a dropping forecast, races were run in quick succession to get the maximum in. RO Brian Sutherland did well and got 6 races in. After day 2, The Funkes were still ahead, consistently in the top 2 behind Diesel/Ham with Klaas/von Gruenewaldt and Yon/Hutton-Squire also knocking on the door.
On day three, racing got underway in light conditions. Brian did well to get three races in near drifter conditions. Again the racing was very tight and with the wind dropping to nothing, races had to be quick. Klaas/von Gruenewaldt, Yon/Hutton-squire and the Funkes battled it out for race wins. In the end the Funkes managed to defend their title winning with a 14 point margin, followed by Yon/Hutton-squire in second and Klaas/von Gruenewaldt in third.
Well done to all and a big thank you to the sponsors North Sails, Sail quip, Oceanic Salt and Patel's hardware.