NSSA Singlehanded Team Racing Championship at Bartley Sailing Club

Royal Hospital Team win the NSSA Singlehanded Team Racing Championship © Nigel Vick

The National School Sailing Association Singlehanded Team Racing Championships were held over the weekend of October 4/5 at Bartley Sailing Club using five flights of Topper dinghies and supported by Virtual Rigger. Despite some alarming weather forecasts, there were 34 teams present, the wind was good and the sun shone for most of the event.

Nine rounds of Swiss League racing, designed to provide the best sailing for participants by matching like against like, were sailed before the top four teams were selected for the first to two point (best of three) semi-finals and finals.

In the first of the Semis Royal Hospital School took on Cambridgeshire B and beat them 2:0. In the second Semi Final Torquay Boys were pitted against Northamptonshire Girls and it was the Boys who won out 2:0

Torquay Boys beat Royal Hospital 1,4, 5 in first race of the Final. The second race went to Royal Hospital with a 1,2,3 setting up a deciding third race. The deciding race was uneventful until the last beat. Royal Hospital held 1, 3, 6 as they began the leg. No 2 attacked 3 going left, but No 1 held back from finishing and was able to catch 2 on port at the finishing line converting to a 1, 2 finish on the line, which made the battle between on 5&6 which had gone on to the right irrelevant. Thus Royal Hospital team of Daniel Patten, Harry Bone-Knell and Arthur Brown took the Britannia Gig Trophy, as well as the Angus Wesley Trophy for the best under 16 Team, as well as their Virtual Rigger vouchers.

Jim Rosser, the Assistant Director of Sailing at the Royal Hospital School, who himself had never won the trophy while at school, but has now won it twice, as a coach, with two different teams said" It has been a very enjoyable weekend with well run races and good competition. We are very happy with our victory, which hopefully will inspire the rest of our school sailors."

Other winners at the weekend were Plymouth B who won the Datchet Trophy for the best Under 12 Team and Worcs B winners of the Lancashire Plate for the highest placed team at the end taken from the bottom half of the competition at around half way. Ben Dixon was nominated as Outstanding Performer by Chief Umpire Ed Sibson and won a Virtual Rigger Voucher, as did the Outstanding Volunteer, Mike Gibson.

Full results can be found at www.nssa.org.uk/2014-single-handed-team-racing1.html

Event photos can be found at picasaweb.google.com/116150735850085929122/2014NSSASHTeamRacing