Flower blossoms to historic world title

Following on from the disappointment of not quite making the Olympic cut in the summer, Paignton Sailing Club’s Ben Flower set himself the goal of attempting to be the first person ever to win the National, European & World Championships in the Aero class.

Peter Barton, who had finished second at both the National & European Championships earlier this year, almost managed it in 2022, winning two out the three but that is the closest anyone has come.

The 2024 Aero World Championships were hosted at Hayling Island Sailing Club, just east of Portsmouth, a difficult tidal venue but one Flower knows well having won the 2017 U19 Nationals in the Laser, and in 2023, winning the Solo Nationals.

Flower got off to the perfect start, reeling off five wins out of five to start the series, these were his preferred conditions where the physical element is most at play, however the remaining forecast for the week was a lot lighter and more technical.

By the end of day two, Flower had a four-point lead over Peter Barton. The start of day three was very light and Barton had the perfect day, winning three out of three races, whereas Flower could only manage a score card of second, third and fourth in the respective races.

This now closed the gap right down at the top and with the other sailors behind tripping over themselves, it looked to be a classic battle between the top two. After day three, Flower and Barton were tied at the top of the standings but Flower held the tie breaker over Barton with five total wins to four.

Peter Barton is no stranger to success in the Aero class, winning the Worlds in 2023, Euros in 2022 and winning the most ever National Championships with four. Race 10 and Barton was not slowing down with now his fifth straight victory, however in race 11 Flower kept his head in the game and got out to an early lead on the first leg and won by a considerable margin to put the momentum back in his favour.

Race 12 went to Flower with some tactical work at play. Flower managed to push Barton down the fleet behind Swedish sailor Erik Wahlberg to give himself a four-point lead going into the final day’s racing.

Flower’s last Aero event at Hayling Island was in 2021 where he was leading going into the final race but with points being tight at the top, only managed to walk away with a bronze medal. Flower was hoping to not bottle it like three years prior, holding a four-point lead going into the final race, and it was going to be a match race between himself and Barton. Both boats started next to each other at the committee end of the start line with Barton holding the advantage off the line and he attempted to sail Flower down the fleet.

However, Flower hung in there and by the end of the first leg gave himself a slim hope of holding on for the win. Leg by leg, Flower chipped away and gained position by position, and with only three legs remaining, Flower was in fourth place and he knew this was enough to take overall victory.

With the jury watching the fleet like a hawk, especially Flower, he didn’t push the limits and came across the line in third, doing enough to win his second ever World Championship and becoming the first person ever to win the National, European and World Championships in a single year.