NSSA Team Racing at Carsington Water Sailing Club
by Ian Bell 23 Oct 2003 11:32 BST
NSSA TEAM RACING TRIUMPH FOR SUFFOLK
Some 96 youth sailors aged between 11 and 17, representing 15 counties from as far away as Cumbria and Northumberland in the north to Devon in the south descended on Carsington Water in Derbyshire ready to do battle in the Schools’ Team Racing Championships on a sunny but cold October weekend. The event, organised by Derbyshire Youth Sailing enjoyed a moderate to fresh westerly wind that was just enough to keep the experienced sailor interested whilst offering more challenging conditions for others. And battle it was, with team racing tactics at the forefront from the first starting gun.
The first flight of boats, twelve of the thirty two teams of three, all in carefully matched boats (a mammoth task in itself to get the right sailors into the right set of dinghies!), all milling around the start line as the two minute warning was sounded. Only then could the drama that is head-to-head team racing begin to unfold. The view from the start boat is unique:
Almost imperceptibly, boats move away to leave just six sailors; two teams identifiable by their different coloured bibs jockeying for position and trying to deny an opponent access to the line. A green bib with yellow triangle sailor latches on to member of the green bib with red circle team, the ambush is prepared; favoured position for the attack is starboard of the start boat. Keeping your enemy on your starboard side could lead to him missing the start line altogether if you could deny him water as you round the start boat. Quick glances at watches confirm the few seconds left to the start; those close to the start boat can hear the starters counting down. Tension is almost touchable as the assault on the line takes shape, as six pairs of eyes glance furtively from side to side as six mainsheets are prepared to be hauled in hard. An air of unnatural quiet descends, to be rudely shattered by the relief that is the starting gun and bedlam breaks loose as with much yelling and calling for water six boats begin the beat to the windward mark whilst two more teams approach the start line; the last start was their two-minute gun and the whole thing starts all over again.
And after two days of frenetic activity, after the teams had been sorted into the gold fleet and the silver fleet and the second round had been run; after a total of 128 races, just eight teams remained; four silver fleet finalists and four gold fleeters with the championship title tantalisingly close. Just one last effort, one last beat to the first mark, reach to number two, a long run down to three and a short reach to four before the final beat to the line.
The silver fleet saw the Kent A team of Robert Waite, Katie Restall and Sam Rowe triumph over South Tyneside A (Eve English, Chris Harland and Philip Richardson) in their final and the Oxford B team of Gregory Hall, Luke Jones and Louis Parkinson defeat Oxford C (Benedict Heaney, Jack Norton and Josephine Hall) in the third - fourth place play off.
The gold fleet play - off for the minor places proved to be a convincing victory for Lancashire B (Philip Manning, Emma Norris and Laith Selman) over the Cambridge A team of Oliver Tweddle, Finn Johnson and David Plowman.
The gold final, the championship decider featuring Suffolk A (David Matthews, Chris Schonhut and James Large) and Lancashire A (Alistair Norris, Basil Monks and Tom Dauber) was a much closer thing. The strong Lancashire team that had only lost two races all weekend took an early lead winning the first leg of three by seven points to fourteen only to see Suffolk come back to snatch the second leg by 10 – 11.
With all to play for both teams approached the line for a final time and following some excellent defensive sailing in countering the Lancashire tactics the Championship was taken by Suffolk who won the final leg by eight points to thirteen and thus breaking the stranglehold that Lancashire and Kent have enjoyed in Schools’ Team racing over the past few years.
In a weekend of many highlights, not least the high quality sailing and tactical awareness of these young sailors, competitiveness and sportsmanship were foremost. The behaviour and conduct on the water was exemplary.
The awarding of mementos of the weekend to all the sailors as well as prizes for the finalists was made possible by the generosity of the event’s sponsors, Douglas Gill and Adpads of Glossop. Medals specially struck for the championship were also given to the finalists. The presentation of the NSSA Team Racing Silver Plate to Kent A and the magnificent HMY Britannia’s Gig’s Yoke to Suffolk A by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Peter Berry and Mrs Berry brought the curtain down on a successful event organised by Derbyshire Youth Sailing.
The host’s website, www.dysailing.com contains a wide range of photographs from the weekend; there should be at least one picture of every competitor!