P&B Northampton Youth Series Round 4 at Banbury Sailing Club

P&B Northampton Youth Series Round 4 at Banbury © Norman Byrd

Almost 40 sailors entered round 4, held at the picturesque Banbury Sailing Club. A few perhaps were put off by the forecast of strong winds, which almost materialised later in the day.

The focus of the day was clearly on enjoyment, this was made especially clear by Tim, our excellent race officer! Banbury is a pretty little club; the reservoir is aligned with its long axis North-South. The westerly wind caused a few moments of excitement during the day. The forecast couldn't really make its mind up, everything from sun cream to full waterproofs were needed for the shore teams.

Launching at Banbury can be a little exciting, no matter when Mum's such as Katie simply don their waders and seemingly live in the water for most of the day!

Head coach Rachel split the sailors up and the water was soon full of boats. The forecast held true with more moderate winds in the morning, building slightly as the training went on. More than a few boats took the opportunity to check how clean the bottoms of their boats were, perhaps the sails just needed a rinse..

Sarah, Ginetta and Rachel fed sailors and adults alike (an excellent sausage and pasta main with fruit and cake for dessert). Tim then briefed the sailors for the afternoon's racing. Sail the course (a figure of 8), avoid the fishermen, come back in smiling. The racing proved to be very exciting with several capsizes, significant shifts and bands of pressure moving across the course. The far bank gave excellent views of the racing and shelter from the odd rain cloud. It also afforded a good view of the fishing competition which looked pretty-straight forward with multiple anglers catching large glossy carp seemingly simultaneously.

P&B Northampton Youth Series Round 4 at Banbury - photo © Norman Byrd

The fast fleet started first, as is customary. Emily's starting practice was put to good use with excellent starts for all. The ILCAs took the top 3 spots in the first race after some close racing (Peter, Noah and Jasper) but Barnaby and Oliva in their Feva gave them a run for their money coming 4th. The next two races were won by Noah. Peter was second in both, with Aiyushi coming 3rd in the second race and Jasper third in the final race. The final race had a touch of the wacky races about it as several sailors capsized. Noah won the fast fleet, Peter was second, Jasper was third.

The topper fleet saw three different race winners. Alex won the first from Edward and William. The second was won by Oscar (who also won a capsize spot prize) from Alex and William. The final race was won by William from Alex and Oscar. The topper fleet enjoyed exciting nip and tuck racing where the races were often decided on the final leg.

P&B Northampton Youth Series Round 4 at Banbury - photo © Norman Byrd

The slow fleet was the largest, with a mixture of Teras of both sail sizes, optimists and topper 4.2s. Harry Ambery won the first race in his Tera pro, from Finn in his optimist and Joshua in his Tera sport. Finn then won the second, and the third races. Joshua was second in the second race from Harry Ambery and Harry Jarvis, Tera sport, who after handicap recorded exactly the same time! Joshua took another second in the final race from Harry Ambery in third. Finn won overall in the slow fleet from Harry Ambery and Joshua who were tied on 4 points, Harry came second from Joshua in third.

After another fantastic sailors' tea interest turned to the results, and perhaps the England game. 4 first timers were awarded their first time medal, Barnaby, Rose, Adam and Toby. Adam and Toby were also awarded first and second Banbury boats. The overall results featured a new overall winner. Alex in his topper took first place overall with 3 points. William came second, also in a Topper, and Noah in his ILCA 4 came third. Hollowell Sailing Club took the top two spots, with Draycote third. Three boats were tied on 5 points, it really was super close.

P&B Northampton Youth Series Round 4 at Banbury - photo © Norman Byrd

The next event is this coming Saturday at Northampton Sailing Club, see their web page for entry details. The series has gone from strength to strength this year with much greater numbers of entries at all events. The series is open to all junior sailors, not just the "home" clubs. Thanks as ever to head coach Rachel, the RYA, and Pinnell and Bax. Banbury delivered an amazing day's sailing with a lovely tea for just £10, all coordinated by Graeme, thank you so much!

Overall Results: