THIRTY-NINE 420s, the largest ever turnout locally, came from as far afield as Scotland for an open at Poole Yacht Club.

Three races were scheduled for the Saturday, but unfortunately a lack of wind meant that only two could be completed.

The first got underway, on the second attempt, as OOD Bill Frewing had called the fleet back first time on a general recall.

Once away, the lighter winds favoured the smaller crews, with James and Dan Ellis (RPCYC) taking an early lead and recording a comfortable win.

Charlotte Lawrence and Robbie Allam (Parkstone) took second after a closely fought battle with Royal Lymington's Sophie Weguelin and Lucy Cripps who finished third.

The second race eventually got underway on the sixth attempt, with the black flag being pulled out on the fifth, which saw four boats, disqualified.

This was won by Robbie Claridge and Jasmine Husbands (Royal Lymington) with Henry Maxfield and Gareth Evans (HISC) finishing a very close second.

In third place were Joanne McDonald and Laurie Marsden, on their way to an eventual overall victory.

Sunday morning saw the arrival of a solid wind of force three to four, which slowly built in strength throughout the day.

The first race got away first time with James and Dan continuing their winning ways by taking an early lead and holding it to the finish, recording their second win.

Joanne and Laurie piled the pressure on coming second, with new faces in the top three, Olly Dix and Sam Maxfield (HISC) taking third.

Race four turned out to be the most eventful of the races, with James Goss and Elliott Parsons (Royal Lymington) taking an early lead of a quarter of a leg by the end of the first lap.

However, this proved to be of little help as they decided to go for the finish line with one lap left to complete.

This gave an opportunity to McDonald and Marsden who were able to gain positions in the final lap and winning the race, moving them into second overall behind the Ellis's who finished third in that race.

Rachel Wigmore and Ian Millard (HISC/Poole) took second in this race, their best finish in the competition.

The fight for the Poole Championships was left to be decided in the final race, everything between James Ellis and Joanne McDonald.

Both achieved very good starts at different ends of the line and once they met on the course, a fierce taking match took place up the first beat.

McDonald and Marsden came out on top pulling clear at the windward mark and rounding in first place, leaving James and Dan Ellis with work to do in sixth position.

The leading duo held their lead and won the race, securing them first position overall.

The Ellis brothers clawed back up to fourth, which was good enough to lay claim to second place overall.

Ed Powys and Will Morgan (Restronguet) made a late charge to seize second place from Wigmore and Millard who came a close third in the final race.

Event organiser, Poole's James Whitehead, said: "This is the most successful 420 open Poole has witnessed in the past 10 years, it was great for me to see so many visitors having such a good time.

"The level of sailing was truly excellent."

Final results: 1 Joanne McDonald/Laurie Marsden (RNCYC) 7pts. 2 James/Dan Ellis (RPCYC) 9pts. 3 Robbie Claridge/Jasmine Husbands (RLYC) 20pts.