Dart 15 Summer TT at Rutland Sailing Club

Rutland Normanton Church © Jenny Ball

The second Dart 15 Summer TT of 2025 took place as part of the Cat Open at Rutland. Twelve Dart 15s took part alongside colleagues from the Catapult, Dart 18, A Class, F16, F18, Nacra 15, Nacra 20 and Spitfire Classes.

The classes were split into four fleet starts and at the briefing, the Race Officer explained the different courses to be sailed.

The fleet headed out in a fairly cold northerly breeze around the 7-8 knot mark which was forecast to be between 6 and 12 knots all day. The start line was set up off Normanton Church with the windward mark off into the distance by the northwest shore.

The Dart 15s were the first start and had been set a triangle sausage course. They duly set off in search of the windward mark which was tricky to see in the distance with the overcast light but eventually a couple of RIBs were spotted showing where the mark was.

The wind was very shifty across the course, making it tricky to pick the best route up the beat. Ed Tuite Dalton (Draycote) took an early lead but had Jason Clarke (Marconi) and local Steve Sawford (Rutland) close on his heels for the first lap. The fleet rounded the leeward mark and set off for the windward mark again. Steve headed right hoping to pick up the same lift from the first beat, whilst the other front of fleet took a more central route up the course, albeit having to tack on some of the shifts.

By the end of the lap, Jason went on to take the win, with Ed second, Jenny Ball (Marconi) third, Angus Cook (Castaways) fourth and Steve in fifth.

By now the sun had come out and the wind had become very light and fickle, with holes across the course. This meant some delay whilst the other three fleets completed their races in the difficult racing conditions. Eventually, the Race Officer was able to set up the second start for the Dart 15s - but postponed it part way through the sequence due to a significant windshift.

After waiting a bit longer in the sunshine to see if the wind would settle in either direction and/or strength - the Race Officer called time on racing for the day and the fleet headed home. A correct decision as a few Dart 15s went for a pleasure sail round the lake in the sunshine and the wind did not properly materialize for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday morning dawned with very similar conditions to Saturday - overcast and with a cold northerly breeze of around 7 - 8 knots. Again, the forecast was for 6 - 12 knots all day but everyone was more wary of this given it had proved to be so incorrect the previous day.

Nevertheless, the four fleets headed out in the hope of completing four races during the day. The Dart 15s were again the first fleet to start with a triangle sausage course. The wind had already dropped and turned fickle and shifty across the course by the time racing started. Those who started at the Committee Boat end of the line got a nice lift as a line of gentle breeze filled in across the course.

Steve then tacked off to the right and came into the windward mark with a good lead. Those in the fleet who eventually tacked to go up the middle of the course fared reasonably well, but those who had stood on to the left, including front runners Jason and Angus were well and truly disadvantaged by holes and shifts on that side of the course. Steve went on to take the win with George Love (Carsington) second, Jenny third, Paul Tanner (Shanklin) in fourth and Ed in fifth.

There then followed another delay whilst waiting for the other fleets to complete their races in the tricky conditions. As with yesterday, the wind continued to be very light and to come and go from different directions. All competitors were concerned that racing might go the same way as the day before. Eventually, the second start got under way. It too had to be postponed due to a wind shift during the sequence, but then the wind settled back to the north (ish) again and the race three of the event got under way.

Following a similar pattern to race 2, those at the Committee Boat end got a nice lift. However, this time, the front of the fleet kept heading to the left of the course, where it looked like the breeze was a little stronger. Ed and George tacked off earlier whilst Jason, Steve and Jenny headed over to the far left. Jason tacked for the mark only to be headed significantly, which gave Steve and Jenny a final lift and able to line up better for the new lay line to the windward mark.

Steve rounded the mark first, followed by Jenny, then Jason and Angus who had picked a route up the middle of the course and had gained over Ed and George in the process. Despite the fleet fanning out again on the second upwind leg to try and find an advantage, Steve went on to take the win with Jenny second, Jason third, Angus fourth and Paul in fifth.

The fleet were concerned that waiting another hour for the other fleets to finish might mean the wind disappearing and losing further races for the day. So, with the permission of the Race Officer, the fleet set themselves off on their next race, using the established 3, 2, 1 countdown but without flags or hooters so as not to cause confusion with the other fleets in their races.

Race 4 set off and the wind was becoming even more fickle, with big shifts in different places up the course. It was real snakes and ladders as different sailors found themselves going from the front of the pack to the middle or back or vice versa. At the end of the first lap, the front leaders were Jason and Steve, with the rest of the pack a short distance behind. Jason and Steve tacked back across to the left hand side of the course, whilst most of the fleet behind duly followed.

However, Charles Watson (Halifax) stood on to the far right hand side of the lake and was followed by Dave Clarke (Marconi). Whilst the rest of the fleet tried to pick their way through the shifts up the middle of the course, Charles put in a stellar leg to come into the windward mark first and held on to take the race win. Steve and Jason managed to hang on to second and third place respectively, with Dave coming fourth and Angus fifth.

Again with permission from the Race Officer, the fleet assembled after the finish and ran their own verbal start sequence to get the final race of the day under way whilst the other fleets completed their race. George decided to try a port hand start and duly headed across to the far right hand side of the course, following Charles' example from the race before. George duly reached the windward mark first with a big bunch of boats following round some distance behind.

However, the wind filled in briefly which allowed the pack to close up on George from behind. George rounded the wing mark just in front of Jenny, with Steve, Jason, Angus and Ed immediately behind. A closely fought leg to the leeward mark again saw the fleet round in a bunch, with Jenny and Angus just in front. The fleet then fanned out across the upwind leg and it was Angus who managed to round the windward mark for the final time just in front of Jenny and Jason.

Angus went on to take the win with Jenny second, Jason third, George fourth, Ed fifth and Dave in sixth.

The fleet then headed home in the light breeze and sunshine and to get their boats off the shoreline and out of the way by the time the other fleets came in after their final race.

It had been a regatta of mixed results for all competitors, including those at the top the table. Just one point separated first, second and third places. However, home sailor Steve Sawford (Rutland) had done enough to take the overall win with Jason Clarke (Marconi) in second and Jenny Ball (Marconi) in third on countback. And "nil points" to the wind forecast which proved to be completely wrong on both days!

Overall Results: