NSSA National Youth Regatta at Datchet Water Sailing Club
by Chris Lowe 26 Jul 2010 08:04 BST
19-23 July 2010
The 2010 NSSA National Youth Regatta ended on Friday following 5 days of extremely close racing in West London.
Hosted at Datchet Water Sailing Club over 300 young people arrived with 250 boats on Sunday the 18th of July to prepare their boats for one of the most prestigious youth sailing events in the country. Last hosted at DWSC in 1999, the NSSA National Youth Regatta returned to take advantage of west London’s hidden gem! Situated nearly 25m above the surrounding land, not many have seen one of the UK’s finest sailing areas with Windsor Castle dramatically silhouetted against the skyline.
Unlike any other sailing regatta in the UK this regatta, as the name suggests, it focuses on youngsters, youngsters of all sailing abilities. The entries to this year’s event included 50 rookies who have never sailed in big regatta before up to some of the UK’s Youth Squad members.
Racing began on Monday morning with a steady 8 knot wind blowing across the Queen Mother Reservoir allowing the race officer to fit in 3 races with only a short break for lunch. Tuesday followed a similar format adding a further 3 races to the ten race programme.
Wednesday brought about a pause to the normal racing programme to allow the all important Mt Haes Races to go ahead. This is sailed in 6 identical Xenon dinghies, generously provided by Topper Sailboats, so the skill of the two youngsters in each boat is the only way for them to win. The race takes the form of a knock out competition with teams from Plymouth Youth Sailing, Churchers College, Kent Schools Sailing Association and Norfolk Schools making it into the final. After a nail biting final Norfolk School beat Kent into first place allowing Dale and James Lawson to collect their prize of £600 worth of gift vouchers from Rockley Watersports and the prestigious Mt Haes Trophy.
The Mt Haes trophy was not the only event on the Wednesday. There was a special race for single handed dinghies and also an “All Comers” Race giving the 100 volunteers and team managers to race against the youngsters. Unfortunately the youngsters showed the adults who were kings on the water and Tom Tindal from Yorkshire and Humberside took the honours. For the singlehanded race Oliver Wright from Yorkshire and Humberside was first across the finish line closely followed by Laura Carveth-Marshall from Hartlepool.
Thursday and Friday returned to the normal 10 race program but the weather on Thursday reduced the visibility to a few hundred metres and the racing had to be abandoned in the morning. Undeterred for the afternoon the fleets took to the water once again. Friday morning was beset with light shifting winds that resulted in the race committee having to reset the course several times. In the end the handicap fleet managed to get one race in after a short break for lunch.
By mid afternoon all the competitors were safely ashore and the organisers were busily working out the results for the prize giving. At 7pm we were joined by Councillor Grey from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead who presented the youngster with nearly fifty trophies to mark their achievements.
The regatta drew to a close on Friday evening with a disco for the youngsters and an early night after a very full on week. The NSSA and Datchet Water Sailing Club would like to thank the volunteers and sponsors who made this event possible. Special mention needs to go to Gabriel Boase, the General Manager at DWSC, Honda UK, Rockley Watersports, Thames Water and Topper International for their outstanding contributions.
We look forward to next year’s event as it heads back north to take advantage of Grafham Water near Cambridgeshire.