Hill soars to top spot in Catamaran Class

Michael Hill won the Catamaran Class race on the concluding day of the four-day 30th National Day regatta here on Friday afternoon.

In a competition in which Sheikh Khaled bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan as well as Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi also took part, Hill won three of the four races and came second once to emerge overall winner. Following Hill in second place was Glyn Kilsby and in third place was Sheikh Khaled.

In fact this was Sheikh Khaled's first competition and he finished third in the second race and fourth in the fourth race to emerge overall third.

"Sheikh Khaled showed a lot of promise and despite participating in a two-day 200km endurance ride simultaneously, he came off with a creditable performance," said Mohammed Abdullah Al Obaidly of the Emirates Sailing School.

Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi finished fifth in the same Catamaran Class.

Other winners on the final day were Francois Dupleix in the Cruiser Class and Cameron Miller in the Open Dinghy Class.

Later on Friday evening, Sheikh Hazza bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Khaled bin Sultan attended an impressive prize distribution ceremony. Sheikh Hazza gave away the trophies to winners of all boat races, both traditional as well as modern, during the four-day extravaganza.

The National Day Regatta, which is an annual event, was organised by the Emirates Heritage Club and the Emirates Sailing School under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister.

The results:
Catamaran Class: 1. Michael Hill, 2. Glyn Kilsby, 3. Sheikh Khaled bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Cruiser Class: 1. Francois Dupleix, 2. Egill Sten Karlsen, 3. Philip Loates.
Kestrel Class: 1. Iain Donald McGregor, 2. Peter David Melville, 3. James Malcolm Milne.
Open Dinghy Class: 1. Cameron Miller, 2. Khalid Al Rumaithy, 3. Ahmed Sultan Al Rumaithy.
Laser 1 Class: 1. Yousuf Ahmed Mohammed, 2. Ronald Peter Downs, 3. Amer Hamza Nasser.
Laser Radial Class: 1. Chris Graham, 2. Daniel Kilsby, 3. Calia Scott.
Laser Class 4.7: 1. Ahmed Hareb Mohammed, 2. Abdullah Sabah Mohammed; 3. Yousuf Khalid Mohammed.
Topper Class:1. Ben Kilsby, 2. Benjamin Butler, 3. Saif Ahmed Al Rumaithy.
Optimist Class (Above 12): 1. Omar Shahein Bloushi, 2. Khalifa Juma Mohammed, 3. Ali Hareb Mohammed.
Optimist Class (Below 11): 1. Ali Abdullah Abdulsalam; 2. Abdulaziz Abdullah, 3. Abdul Hakim bin Dasmal.