Club racing at St Edmundsbury Sailing and Canoeing Association
by Mike Steele 11 Jun 2014 13:17 BST
5 & 8 June 2014
Primary Schools visit SESCA © Mike Steele
A record number of boats took to the water for the Thursday evening informal pursuit series at the St Edmundsbury Sailing and Canoeing Association, at Lackford Lakes. The numbers were swelled by the participation of several new club members who enthusiastically participated in an informal, friendly evening race series.
Unusually, different length courses were set for the sailors, based upon the type of boat sailed and also on the racing prowess of the helm. This led to the less experienced racers being neck and neck with the regular racers at the common marks of the course. Tony Cipriani, racing for only the second time in the evening series was pipped to second place by Debs Steele, both racing Toppers, with the partnership of Kevin Yarrow and Ian Baxter sailing a Lark into third place.
Light airs greeted the racers on Sunday, where racing saw the regular sailors out battling on the water. Debs Steele sailing her Byte CII took first place in each of the three races, with Jon Holmefjord sailing his Laser taking each of the second places. Sheila Norman sailing a Laser 4.7 rig came third in the first and third races, with the regular partnership of Carl Day and Alan Shaw splitting the result to take third place in the second race.
Women on Water took place in the afternoon, with female members honing their sailing skills by practicing sailing without rudders and tacking and gybing around a very close course.
Meanwhile, the lake also saw social sailing and canoeing taking place, as club members enjoyed a relaxing time on the water.
On Monday, St Edmundsbury Sailing and Canoeing Association hosted a group of school children from Mendham and St Edmunds Primary Schools. The outing was the top prize for this group of children for winning a school competition. Lead by their joint Headmaster Mr Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne, with assistance from their PT teacher Claire Gammon, the group of 15 children helmed and crewed Topper dinghies around a set area of the lake.
With two rescue boats on hand to ensure safety, and a group of club volunteers, led by the club's Commodore Kieron Adams, the children learnt about boat and wind control. It was the first time any of them had sailed a boat. Following their experience, the children voted unanimously to include this water sport in the schools' future curricula.
Later this week, the Thursday evening pursuit starts at 6.30 pm. On Sunday, club racing is followed by a 'Have A Go' session at 2pm. More details can be found at: www.westsuffolksailing.org.uk