The Team  

 

Credentials
Members of our team have been involved in numerous successful campaigns from Admirals Cup to Olympic class dinghies, winning titles at National and European Championship level.

Nigel Biggs (Helm) Nigel is the senior member of our Team, bringing with him a wealth of experience from both dinghies and keelboats.  He has competed in both the the Admiral's Cup and Commodore's Cup and has helmed boats to victory in many events including; The Scottish Series, Cork Week, IRC Nationals, ISORA Race Week, Round Ireland Race, Spi Ouest and the Primo Cup. Nigel has also campaigned a 470 dinghy, winning the Classes Inland Championships in both 1995 and 1996.

 

Pete Evans Two years with the UK Youth Squad provided an entry to top level competition for Pete. He has actively competed in many dinghy classes including Laser, GP14, Enterprise, ISO and Laser 5000. In keelboats, Pete has helmed Checkmate boats to victories and podium finishes at events including the Scottish Series, Abersoch Keelboat Week, Round the Island Race and the IRC Nationals. As an original part of the team, Pete has pulled Nigel’s mainsheet for (too) many years, though did wander off to the mast for the Admiral's Cup. Though heavily committed to racing with our Team, Pete will also be seen out on the dinghy circuit racing his new Phantom.

 

Tino Hyland  Tino started sailing late in life having been terrified and embarrassed by his father in an 18' Mermaid in the mid 70s. He sailed on the family owned J Beam, and in ISORA and regattas with Nigel & John Biggs on the MG RS34 Checkmate in the 80s. Along with Nigel, he moved on to Urban Taylor’s Megalopolis, winning ISORA series and coming 2nd a very windy ISORA week in Howth. Tino did Round Ireland races on Mega 1, 2 and Corwynt (Sigma 400)…this race was a gem with a southerly gale up the west coast with mad surfing waves, max speed 22kts!

 

In 1998 Tino bought a new X332 Maxim and together with Andy Mollard  put together a team who won almost everything in cruisers 1 in Dublin and Howth for the next 4 years.. Howth Autumn League, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, RAYC Super League, many Lambay races, most of the Regattas. Maxim was sold in 2005 and he took to sailing Etchells on "Lambay Rules" (the best thing about boat was the name).

 

In 2006 Nigel and Tino decided to do the '07 Half Ton cup in Dublin and bought Per Elisa and Harmony; later deciding to sell the former and campaign the latter.

 

Simon Pritchard Jones  Simon has been sailing competitively since the age of eleven, he is now a regular member of our Team when not sailing his GP14. Having represented his nation on numerous occasions at dinghy and keelboat level, he has progressed to be the National Welsh Youth Coach in the Laser Class. Amongst his achievements are winning the Welsh National Match Racing Championships and running a highly successful university sailing team. 

Jerry Ibberson  From Sheffield England, Jerry joined the Checkmate Sailing Team following a background of sailing at both national and international regattas. Experienced in boats ranging from the Merlin Rocket, the high-octane thrills and spills of the Ultra 30s and offshore racing yachts both in the UK and across Europe. He has represented his country in the Commodores Cup and competed successfully for the Royal Navy sailing team. Until recently, Jerry has successfully campaigned a 49er on the UK national circuit.  


 Jo Wilson  Jo started sailing at the age of 6 in dinghies. By the age of 17 she had completed two transatlantics on 'Maiden' and spent a season competing in the Caribbean regattas.  Jo sailed regularly in North Wales and competed in regattas in Ireland and Scotland before moving down to the south coast.  While  studying in Southampton she competed both in yacht and team racing before working in the Med on superyachts. Jo has sailed on various yachts on the south coast and joined the Team for the Hamble winter series at the end of 2001.

 

Jenny Howells  Born and raised on the shores of the Solent, Jenny has been involved in boats since she was a child. She learnt her sailing skills while cruising locally with her parents; a bad experience with a bullying dinghy helm while young unfortunately put her off pursuing dinghy racing, deciding on horse riding instead!  Her work introduced her to yacht racing in 1989, since then she has crewed on various boats at club level and joined the Team at the end of 2001.  In 2006 she decided to learn dinghy sailing (better late than never) and owns a '59 wooden Firefly and a Topper Topaz which she sails from Lymington.  Jenny also maintains this website. 


Alasdair Green  Alasdair is an experienced Scottish dinghy sailor, hailing from Largs, who joined our team at the start of 2002. He has previously campaigned at the front of Olympic Class 470 dinghy as part of Team GBR, winning the classes Inland Championships three times, twice with Nigel Biggs. His experience of keelboats has ranged from Mumm 30's, Sigma 33's to Whitbread 60's.  Most recently he has been working as part of the shore team for the Mascalzone America's Cup Team in Valencia. 

 

George Rice  George has been sailing since around the age of 12.  He grew up sailing Toppers and GP’s but quickly moved up starting to crew in faster trapeze boats such as the Laser II, 405 and the 4000.  Whilst at university in North Wales George had notable success captaining Bangor to a first and second at the dinghy nationals, second at the student dinghy Europeans.  Following a notorious Student yachting campaign at the Nationals again his team was selected to go to the student yachting worlds both in 1999, JOD 35 and again in 2000, Melges 24’s. When not sailing with the Checkmate team he can be found sailing his Laser 5000 on the Eurocup Circuit.

 

Jimmy Houston Originating from Fairlie on the Clyde, Jimmy has been involved in competitive sailing for more than 25 years, racing on boats from 1/4 Tonners to maxis including a 10 year stint on board Irvine Laidlaw's various 'Flings'. During his career he has successfully attended events including Scottish Series, Cork, Cowes Week, Admirals Cup; One, 1/2 and 1/4 Ton Cups, Key West, SORC, Block Island, Antigua Race Weeks, Heineken Regattas, Sardinia, Nioulargue, Rothmans Week, China Sea Series, oh....and West Highland Week!  Predominantly at home on the bow, Jimmy can still be found there despite trying in vain to move back behind the mast after buying himself '2Sassy', a Jeanneau Sunfast 37. 

 

Gael Pawson Growing up next door to a boatyard in East Anglia, Gael started sailing dinghies at the age of five and by her mid-teens she was regularly racing bigger boats. Crewing on a range of one-design classes, she was regularly winning East Coast regatta trophies, before moving into high performance dinghies. Since then she has been competing on the Laser 4000, B14, RS800 and RS200 circuits as well as participating in bigger boat events such as the Fastnet, Cork, Cowes, Scottish Series, Caribbean regattas and the Tour de France a la Voile. Gael first sailed with the Checkmate team in the 2003 Round the Island Race.  

 

CHECKMATE SAILING HOMEPAGE