North East and Yorkshire Youth Sailing Association event at Yeadon Sailing Club

During the two weeks prior to Sunday 29th of September the forecast offered a variety of possible options, ranging from heavy rain with F8 gusts, to clear skies and no wind. When the day arrived, it settled somewhere in the middle, overcast, with barely a light breeze from the South West and a strong autumnal feel. This produced challenging sailing conditions for the 17 youngsters, representing seven regional sailing clubs, who made Yeadon Sailing Club their base for the day.

Yeadon Tarnfield Lake, also known as Yeadon Tarn, Yeadon Dam or 'the Dam' by locals is approx. 19 acres and nestled between Yeadon Tarn High Street and the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport. The area, Tarnfield Park, is a lively place, popular with local residents for walking, jogging, sailing and fishing, and it even has it's very own band stand. Yeadon Sailing Club (YSC) and the Leeds Activity Centre reside on South West side and the runway is to the North East. The Dam has been home to YSC since its founding in 1928.

Gates were due to open Sunday at 9am, but by 8:30 the first boats had arrived into the car park leading to the dinghy park and club house. By 9:30 all participants had arrived, boats dragged into the dinghy park and everyone was busy rigging, having cups of tea and some enjoying a bacon sandwich.

The range of sailing abilities and experience gathered on the day reflected the true spirit of NEYYS, with brand new sailors joining seasoned travellers for healthy competition, gaining new skills and experience and forming friendships. All supported by dedicated parents, giving up their weekends towing boats across the region, helping to rigg them, offering endless encouragement, whilst sipping copious cups of tea throughout the day.

The clubs represented on Sunday were Covenham, Derwent Reservoir, Otley, Ripon, Scaling Dam, West Riding and of course the host Yeadon. The fleets consisted of 15 boats all single handers apart from two double handed RS Feva XLs, the single handers were four ILCAs, an Optimist, two Picos and six Toppers.

Just after 10:30 Tony Dufton YSC club coach welcomed the visitors and introduced Paul Bradley bosun who presented the race brief. For the benefit of those less experienced and new to racing, Paul explained the start sequence thoroughly, demonstrated the relevant flags and even included some sound effects! He reminded the beginners of the basic rules and reassured them that any loud vocal expressions from others sailors would most likely just be a friendly starboard warning.

He explained the start line between the start/finish boat and no.2 mark - and the course, which consisted of a simple circuit round four marks (2,7,4,9), displayed on a board in the clubhouse and in the OD box window. Finally, the dual role of lead and coaching boat was explained, and off everyone went to launch their vessels - and by 11:20 the first race was already under way. Ten minutes early.

The first of two back to back races was a sign of things to come, light winds and somewhat inconsistent. Despite this, all made good progress towards the first mark, and whilst some separation appeared following the first mark, congestion soon built up around no.9 where the wind dropped. Eventually all got round and at the end of 3 laps it was Rose Verse in her Optimist that came first, followed by Matthew Cliffe and then Edward Worthington, both in Toppers.

Race two, and little change in the conditions, this time it was Lucas Davey in his Topper who managed to take advantage of what little breeze there was to gain first place, followed by Rose and then Lucy Cliffe in her ILCA4.

In the club house, lunch, prepared and served by dedicated YSC volunteers and parents, a choice of home-made soup or pizza, and a selection of cakes and muffins, all extremely well received.

There was some hope during lunch, that perhaps the wind would pick up - after all, so said the forecast, however, it was not to be, and the same conditions prevailed.

In the third race Lucy Cliffe managed to stay ahead and secured a first place, with Rose sailing consistently and landing a second place followed by Noah Smith in his ILCA6.

By the time we got to the 4th race, winds had died down even more, and the fleets only managed to get round two laps of the short course. This time Noah, despite the challenging conditions, improved his position and came first, followed by Rose, again in second place, and in third place Grace Stockdale and Charlie Rowell in their RS Feva XL.

At the end of the day it was Rose Versey who was the overall winner, with Lucy Cliffe coming second and Lucas Davey third. There was a prize for the fastest home boat, and that went to Joseph Pollard who sailed a club Topper. Thanks to Lulham Robinson for supplying the prizes for the event.

Congratulations to the winners, and well done to all the young sailors, taking part in four races, showing determination and resilience in tackling the challenging conditions. It takes strength and skill to sail in strong winds, but it takes no less skill, determination and strength of character to sail in light winds. Attributes demonstrated by all the young sailors on the day, who, after a long day on the water, got straight on with packing up their boats and equipment.

At the end of the prize-giving Tony thanked all the visitors for making the effort to travel to Yeadon and take part in the event, and volunteers for helping on the day. Rose, the overall winner of the day then stood up and thanked YSC for hosting the event, her fellow competitors for joining in, and of course her parents for their dedication.

Well done everyone, the end of another enjoyable day of sailing at Yeadon Sailing Club.

Series website: North East and Yorkshire Youth Sailing Association