Thames Valley Challenge at Maidenhead Sailing Club
by Jenni Heward-Craig 30 Jun 2014 16:28 BST
28 June 2014
Maidehead Y&J take the honours
Bright skies and a light wind greeted the competitors in the sixth Thames Valley Challenge, held at Maidenhead Sailing Club on June 28. Over eighty youth and junior sailors from Maidenhead, Upper Thames, Claires Court, Kingsmead, Goring, Silverwing, and Reading Sailing Clubs were looking forward to a day of challenging team racing, with sixty-six races of six RS Feva boats each (three per team) scheduled, each team facing all the other teams.
Changeable south-westerly winds meant a late start with the short s-shaped course being re-arranged to accommodate them. The final leg of the course to the finish changed from beat to reach and back. When the course was set satisfactorily, the wind dropped, making the sailing slow. Only the most experienced of the youth and junior sailors handled the conditions, with many learning from the experience how hard it is to sail in light (or non-existent) winds.
Though the races were run back-to-back, the lack of wind put the race programme behind schedule, as teams had to change boats for the next set of three races. Even with a ten-minute time limit on a race from the time the lead boat crossed the finish line to the last boat, races were taking up to twenty minutes each, and even more.
Then the lightning warning came. With the boats exposed on the lake, the racing was abandoned and a general capsize was called towards the end of race six. Not that many of the sailors minded. It was the most exciting moment of the morning. Crews were collected and set into shore, as the rain came. Boats were righted, and tied off on various pontoons.
After about half an hour, the racing recommenced, with light rain hampering conditions. The lack of wind didn't help. Time constraints meant the programme was shortened from the original sixty-six, with hopes that thirty-six or more could be sailed.
With five teams in close contention, and the number of six-point finishes making a difference, it was tight. Maidenhead A, with their knowledge of local conditions and Summerleaze Lake's fluky wind conditions, had the best of it, but Silverwing, Upper Thames and Goring were not letting them have it all their own way.
The weather again came into contention. Wind changes saw the course reversed – the finish became the start and the start the finish. A second storm with lightning coming in between the twenty-second and twenty-third races brought another abandonment and general capsize. When conditions cleared, the decision was taken to sail race twenty-three and twenty-four, giving each team four races each.
After the results were tallied, Maidenhead A were the victors, with four wins from four races, averaging eight points per race. Second and third placings came down to average points as four teams had three wins from four races. Upper Thames B just scraped into second ahead of Silverwing, with 8.25 points average against 9.00.
Even with the weather, the day was a success, with all the competitors enjoying themselves. Plans are already being made for the next Thames Valley Challenge, but not, as one wag put it "On Glastonbury weekend. It always rains on Glastonbury weekend."