Hansa National TT Series at Carsington Sailing Club

by Mike Stoker 2 Sep 2017 12:09 BST 23 August 2017

Gates opened at 8.30am with boats arriving soon after. Fifteen boats registered for our event despite the dismal looking weather. The lake was covered in a thick mist, obliterating the far shore with not a breath of wind. That, coupled with a thick weed problem close to shore and low water, things did not look good.

Well we could not do much about the weather, but there had been much planning taking place leading up to the event to beat the dreaded weed. A plan was hatched to use power boats armed with brooms to tow boats through the weed areas, and once in deep water (30m) clear the keels - and we have a race. Our secret weapon a large industrial weed cutter had also been deployed for a few days before the event.

Anyway weed sorted we just had the weather to deal with! Our RO was heard to say that by 11am we would have enough breeze to start the morning race program, two races back to back. So with the mist clearing, the breeze building and having enjoyed hot drinks, bacon cobs and the like from the galley, competitors assembled for the pre race briefing before making final preparations for the launch.

By 10.30 boats were rigged and launched, our weed beating plan worked a treat and boats made the start line in good time for the delayed start. All four fleets were represented amongst which Carsington had four boats taking part, a first for the club in this event.

The first two races were completed under a cloudy sky, but with a good breeze the racing was closely fought in good spirits as usual. With two races completed, competitors were soon making for shore ready for lunch.

With the afternoon program rescheduled and briefing completed we prepared to get in two more races before the end of the afternoon. In lighter winds and much warmer sunny conditions racing resumed in earnest.

Although competitors faced much lighter wind conditions, two back to back races were completed before it was time to return to shore.

With the race program completed, boats were packed away competitors returned to the clubhouse to review the final results and discus the day's events over drinks and the usual Carsington cakes provided by the galley.

Prizes were presented by Royd Alderson, a founder member of Carsington Sailability.

Overall Results: (top three in each class)

Liberty Class
1st Tessa Watkiss
2nd Chris Emmet
3rd Malcolm Kirk

303 Class One Person
1st Margaret Foreman
2nd Ian Cherman
3rd Wendy Needham

303 Class Two Person
1st Peter Etherton
2nd Rick Hughes
3rd Gary Flint

2.3 Class
1st Lindsay Burns
2nd Brynn Ramsell
3rd Stephen Kitson

The following presentations were also made:

• Derek Lee Trophy - for the "Most Improved Carsington Sailor" awarded to Gary Flint.
• Bakewell Rotory Club Challenge Shield – for the "Best Effort on the Day" awarded to Lindsay Burns.
• The Duke of Devonshire Cup – for the "Best Carsington Sailor" awarded to Brynn Ramsell.

Overall we had an enjoyable day with good weather a fair breeze and good competitive racing. Gary Flint, a Carsington sailor new to the sport, having completed the day's event said "I'm so pumped up I want to go again" Gary took a third place in the Hansa 303 two person fleet.

Footnote

Hansa Class Association runs a Travellers' Trophy race series each year. To support this the association is running a project to make six Hansa 303s, including road trailer and towing vehicle, available for loan to members at racing and training events. The aim of this project is to make it easier for competitors to travel to and enter away events greatly increasing participation in disabled racing. Hansa continues working to secure funding partners for the project. If you are interested in finding more about the project, including how you might be able to support, either in terms of direct funding or in-kind, please contact the class association at www.hansaclass.org.uk.