Bank Holiday Pursuit Race series starts at Draycote Water Sailing Club
by Jeremy Atkins 5 Apr 2023 23:16 BST
10 April 2023
Will Sunderland receives the trophy in the Draycote Water Bank Holiday Pursuit Race © Edward Sunderland
Easter Monday sees the start of this year's Bank Holiday Pursuit Race series at Draycote Water Sailing Club. The series culminates in the awarding of the Club Champion Trophy after the New Year's Day pursuit race in 8 months' time.
Visitors are welcome to compete in the individual races. The entry is just £10, can be paid on the day and entitles you to use of the club water all day. Just check in at the Waterside Reception / Shop.
The 100-minute race 'starts' with the Toppers & Tera Pros, with slower boats having to sail even more than the allotted 100 minutes, and someone in an Optimist will be out at the start line before some of those in faster boats had even arrived at the club.
Last year's Easter Pursuit race was won by Will Sunderland in his ILCA 7, but the first five boats were all of different classes, indicating the success of the Great Lakes handicapping system. Will was followed by a Flying Fifteen, Streaker, Supernova and 505 - quite a variety there!
Despite his victory in the first race of the series last year, Will was only able to come second in the series overall as evergreen Greg Irish beat him by one point. A few points behind Will was brother George, making it a clear podium for ILCA 7s. However, Greg is aware his days are probably numbered as these younger and fitter sailors are improving all the time, while age might be having the opposite effect on Greg.
It would also be good to see some boats other than the ILCA 7s in the top three but, as always in a series like this, turning up is half the battle.
draycotewater.co.uk