Sailing: Smith down but up again to win series

CARDIFF, better known for rugby and, most recently, boxing, added yacht racing to its bill of attractions over the weekend as the Vauxhall Ultra 30 Grand Prix wound up its 1994 season in Penarth, writes Stuart Alexander.

It took Glyn Charles less than five minutes of the first race to retire hurt, as the mast of BT Marine crumpled. The leader, Lawrie Smith in Frontera, then capsized.

The sharply gusting wind had the crews scurrying and the boats lurching, and mayhem being doled out in dollops. The second race was particularly unhappy for Pete Newlands, who capsized Roland Signmaker twice in the run-up to the start.

After all the spray had cleared, Smith easily won the regatta overall, as he had the previous three, and so the 1994 series was his.