12 FEST at Northmapton Sailing Club
by Sophie Richards 25 Jun 2015 09:14 BST
20-21 June 2015
12 FEST at Northampton © Charlotte Stewart
12 FEST – What was it all about?
Fun with friends and family?
Exciting sailing?
Success on the water?
Treasure?
All of the above – we think!
Fun with friends and family: A variety of 12s and sailors, from the very young to the more mature (both boats and crews), arrived at Northampton to enjoy the class's summer event, even the sun turned up! If a little late. There was much fun on the water, with over 40 people taking part in the weekend – boats were swapped, crews were swapped and within our training sessions tips were swapped too. Later on at the bar – of course – stories were also swapped!
Exciting sailing: Not only were there some very close races within the training session on the Saturday, but the pursuit race on the Sunday saw the older boats aiming to outsail those foiling rudder dead cat bounces – with John and Katy Meadowcroft winning in the wonderfully varnished, Design 8, Indecision. The handicap racing got even more exciting. As the breeze picked up, some awesome reaches developed, much to the delight of our youngest crews (the youngest on the water was aged 6)! Graham Camm and Zoe Ballantyne won the first race and Tom Stewart with Matt (who was trying 12s for the first time at the weekend) won the second.
Success on the water: Many participants thought that the training session on the Saturday run by Olympic Coach Steve Irish was the highlight of the weekend. We learnt everything from tips about the weather, some sneaky rules and of course how to develop the perfect tack and gybe.
Treasure: whilst many will treasure the memories – there was also a real treasure hunt, with youngsters sprinting around the club to be the first to win. A massive thanks must go to Isabelle Stewart, helped by Robert Stewart for creating this! Treasure wasn't the only thing on offer away from sailing, hours were spent on paddleboards during the weekend, with Ollie Meadowcroft winning the paddleboard race!