RS Tera Northern Travellers at Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club
by Simon Straughan 8 Jun 2016 10:11 BST
4-5 June 2016
Tatiana Dickinson, Pro Fleet Winner in the RS Tera Northern Travellers at Derwent Reservoir © David Shilling
A fleet of 27 boats attended the penultimate round of the RS Tera Northern Travellers Series hosted by Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club and kindly supported by Petersen Stainless Rigging Ltd on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June.
Visitors from Ripon, South Windermere, Windermere School, Leigh and Lowton, Hartlepool and Scaling Dam sailing clubs joined competitors from the host club, a number of whom had traded in their Oppies for a weekend of Tera racing.
A misty start to Saturday morning resulted in poor visibility and the initial decision of the RO (Howard Armstrong) to commence racing in the afternoon was found to be the right one. Following lunch, in light winds, with the Pro and Sport fleets starting together, 3 back to back races were completed. A number of disqualifications at the end of first race (for rounding the mark the wrong way), meant that some of the juniors learnt a tough lesson which was to affect their results going into the end of day one. Coaching at the rear of the fleet from Derwent's experienced sailor Nicky Leech, Peter Owen and Harry Myers helped bring on some of the newer sailors.
A beautifully sunny Saturday evening set the scene for the Club's barbeque and an impromptu 'fly by' display from the Red Arrows. The entertainment continued with the return of the Derwent's Carburettor Cup soap box competition. Some of the juniors had brought along their pre-prepared carts that were judged for style/design/engineering and speed when they were raced around a course marked out in the Club's car park.
An amazing array of creations showed off the junior's imagination, and with only a couple of crashes, Oscar Shilling was awarded the 2016 Carburettor Cup trophy, with Declan Graham and Harry Myers coming 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Extremely light winds on Sunday morning resulted in numerous postponements whilst the race committee waited for the wind to pick up and fill in. 2 races were eventually completed before the decision was made to conclude the day's racing.
Congratulations to all of the junior sailors who managed to cope extremely well in the challenging 'light wind' conditions. The coaches recognised two of the newer competitors, Karenza Dearden (RSC) and Stephen Kilty for their enthusiasm and determination throughout the weekend.
Petersen Stainless Rigging made a fantastic contribution to the competitor's prizes which were all greatly received (as well as the floating keyrings and sweets that were given out to all).
A total of 54 sailors have now taken part in the Northern Series so far this year, and with final event to be held at South Windermere SC on the 9th July. There are currently no clear winners, so the final race positions are still all to play for.
Overall Results: (top three)
Pro Fleet
1st Tatiana Dickinson (DRSC)
2nd Cameron Straughan (DRSC)
3rd George Combe (DRSC)
Sport Fleet
1st Theo Stewart (Windermere School)
2nd Oscar Shilling (DRSC)
3rd Elizabeth Miller (RSC)
Coaches special award
Karenza Dearden (RSC)
Stephen Kilty (DRSC)