P&B NSSCA Series Round 3 (and 2 and a bit of 1) at Banbury Sailing Club

P&B NSSCA Series Round 3 at Banbury © Norman Byrd

P&B NSSCA Series Round 3 at Banbury © Norman Byrd

Banbury Sailing Club was the location for round three of this year's series. Like our other home clubs, Banbury is set in lovely countryside. It's a few miles north of Banbury, but within easy reach of our sailors in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. The reservoir was a little lower than usual as it tops up the Oxford canal. The resultant sand bank sits proudly on the club side of the reservoir. At least one sailor thought they might claim it by running aground.

Head coach Clem had the sailors concentrating on tacking. As it was reasonably breezy, the fleet was split into three, beginners, intermediate and advanced. The sailors were then briefed in their groups as to the main aim of the day. Controlled steering and accurate mainsheet control? No, to have fun and enjoy yourself! Ned and Neil coached alongside Clem.

Banbury is reasonably sheltered by local hills and trees and in the main, it didn't look as windy as the forecast. Emily advised though that smaller rigs or reefing might be advisable for the afternoon races. It was all hands to the pumps launching the boats as the water had receded somewhat from where it was this time last year! An onshore breeze made life a little trickier but as ever, club helpers and parents in waders got everyone afloat. After a couple of hours training in surprisingly sunny weather, best ignore the forecast, the sailors came ashore for lunch.

After refueling, PRO Tim described the plan for the afternoon races. Three short back-to-back races. Same as usual, although we don't normally have a Le Mans style start to keep boats out of the way! More experienced sailors were asked to be considerate to less experienced sailors, and all racers were advised to look cheerful passing through the start/finish line on each lap!

As Emily had predicted, the breeze had increased enough for a few swims. Sailors that turtled probably spent the evening washing sails (I certainly did (washing that is!)).

The fast fleet has grown this year, and they certainly had a great tussle in ILCA 4s, 6s and Tera Pros. The top three all won a race each with the top two level, again, on points. Solomon finished third, with four points, Noah was second on three, and Jai won (much to Mum Ronnie's delight) with three points. Commodore Phil presented the prizes and medals.

The Topper fleet was dominated by Tom winning all three races. George came second with four points whilst Nathaniel was third with six points,

The third fleet (no one likes being in the slow fleet) was also won with a perfect score of first places by Finlay in his optimist. Isaac came second in his Topper 4.2 on four points. Athena, sailing a tera sport, was third with seven points.

As Tim described in the prize-giving, we then shake all the fleet results up, apply a little mathematical genius (sailwave) and out pop the overall results. Third overall was Solomon, Noah was second, and after a relatively shaky first place, Tom won. This was the second event in succession where a Topper has won in reasonably windy conditions. Tom graciously thanked everyone for running the event before Banbury presented prizes to the top three Banbury sailors. Adam was presented with the glorious Boddington trophy.

The most important awards of course are the first timers, 5 this time, all from Banbury whish was great to see. Emily, Henry, Sam, Scott, and Abigail were presented with their first timers medals.

Now of course this 3 in 1 article is broadly due to my general lassitide. I haven't yet reported on a barn storming day at Northampton back in June. The weather was glorious, Clem was introduced as head coach, and the lunch and tea were spectacular. It was a seriously impressive display of team work led by commodore Sarah.

Overall, James from Notts County won in his Topper, Keali in her ILCA 6 was second and Tom was third in his topper. The fast fleet was won by Keali from Jai and Noah. James won the Topper fleet from Tom and Thomas. The third fleet was won by Isaac in his Topper 4.2 from Arianne and Erica, both in Tera Sports, both from Middle Nene.

P&B NSSCA Series Round 3 at Banbury - photo © Norman Byrd

And the third part? A reworking of the first event at Middle Nene, probably my fault, probably due to too much delicious tea. Harry from Cransley was applauded for winning the first event of the year in his Tera Pro.

So, after three events Noah is leading from Jai, both Draycote sailors, but there is much to play for. The next event is at Draycote on 30th August. All youth and junior sailors are welcome from all clubs. We've had great attendance this year seeing sailors from all six home clubs, and fro clubs further afield, which is a delight. Where else can you get professional coaching, friendly racing, and a great tea for £10?!

Overall Results: