Hansa TT Traveller Series at Northampton Sailability
by Iain Carpenter 16 Aug 2025 09:56 BST
26 July 2025
Leeward mark - Hansa TT Traveller Series at Northampton Sailability © Keith Dobell
The Hansa TT Traveller Series returned to Northampton on 26th July with 26 boats from nine clubs across the country as far afield as Chesil and Glasgow.
Prior work by Northampton Sailability and Northampton Sailing Club underwater gardening volunteers clearing mountains of dense weeds ensured that launching and recovery of boats at the pontoon was trouble free.
Winds were variable all day with significant direction shifts. With occasional morning showers wind speeds ranged from 5-6 knots for race 1 increasing up to 6-9 knots gusting 10-15 for race 2. The afternoon saw brightening skies and winds of 4-6 knots rising to 6-10.
Liberty fleet
The Libertys were first away in race 1 and those starting at the pin end and tacking quickly onto port held the advantage at the first mark. They were off on a reach to continue on a trapezoid course with an outer loop of run/beat/run before reaching to the leeward mark to beat back through the line. This gave them the opportunity to "stretch their legs" before rejoining the other fleets which were sailing a triangular course.
After two full laps Paul Pearson took the win with David Durston and Paul Phillips following him over the line. Rory McKinna decided to challenge himself by joining this fleet in his Access 303 SH and was a very creditable fourth, showing good speed especially on the runs.
The wind started to pick up a little for the second race with gusts of 10 to 15 knots by the end of the race. Paul Phillips led from start to finish. David was second and Paul Pearson third.
After lunch the wind had really dropped but after a short delay, while Tessa was towed back to the pontoon with a broken servo, the race got away in 4-5 knots of breeze. This time Chris started near the pin then tacked to cross the fleet getting a good lead he maintained to the finish. Behind the racing was close with Paul Phillips taking second and David third.
With 4 points separating the top four boats there was all to play for in the final race as the sun came out and the wind picked up. Tessa's shore team worked wonders to get her out again in time. Paul Phillips nailed the start and held the lead to the finish to win the race and the overall title. Paul Pearson was next to finish and second overall, from the consistent David who finished just behind Rory to take third overall.
Access 303 Singlehanders
In the Access 303 SH fleet race 1, James Woosnam took full advantage of a shift favouring the committee boat end with a perfectly timed start in pole position, leading at the first mark and extending his lead all the way around three laps. There was much place changing behind James with Sophie Brisely taking second and Lesley Philip recovering well from a poor start to pull up to third.
In the second race James found himself blocked at the start. Hannah Nicoll got ahead of a tight pack after one lap and seemed in her element as the wind increased extending her lead to the finish. Behind her places continued to change as some found the stronger gusts more of a challenge. Logan Bell pulled through the fleet to snatch second place from Lesley in the short beat to the finish.
Race 3 - James was back on form to lead from start to finish and hold a healthy overall lead. Behind, Logan and Sophie fought for second with Logan coming out on top at the finish. With Logan and Lesley both on 10 points, Sophie on 11 and Hannah on 12, things were getting very interesting. Race 4 saw a more conservative start from James allowing Sophie to get away for her first win of the day to secure second overall. In a very tight fleet James cemented his overall position with a second. Third was Max - his best result of the day, closely followed by Hannah, Lesley then Logan all of whom finished the day on 10 points. Countback saw Hannah take third overall due to her race win.
Access 303 Doublehanders and 2.3
The Access DHs shared their start with the two Access 2.3s. Two boats stayed in close contention for all of race 1 with Philip and Denise taking the win from Rick and Sue Jillings. Stephen and Jane took third.
Race 2 - Philip and Denise had another close race to take the win from Rick and Sue, these teams obviously enjoying the stronger breeze. Paula and Steve were third.
After lunch, there was more close racing for the top two. By the end positions were swapped around with Rick and Sue taking both wins from Philip and Denise. Stephen and Jane followed them to record two thirds and take third overall. With the top two teams each recording two firsts and two seconds, the overall result was decided by position in the last race in favour of Rick and Sue - it literally could not have been closer.
Lindsay Burns took the win in the Access 203 class, keeping up well with some of the 303 DHs. Lara Sturgis was second. Both sailors coped well with the stronger breeze in race 2 and lighter conditions for race 3. With each race, Lara got closer to Lindsay by the finish. Unable to improve on her three wins Lyndsay headed for home allowing Lara to enjoy the perfect conditions of race 4, again keeping close contact with the 303 DH fleet.
Despite the 'fluky' wind conditions overall racing was competitive and hopefully enjoyed by all.
Overall results:
Hansa 2.3 was won by Lindsay Burns (2111).
Access Double-handed winner was Rick Jennings (3219).
Access Single-handed won by James Woosnam (3602).
Liberty winner was Paul Phillips (2557).
The day was rounded off with tea and cakes during the prize-giving.
Medals awarded by Sarah Carswell (NSC's Commodore), with an additional special one for Tim as head weeder! Thanks also go to Mike Hulands for organising the event, plus Volunteers from Northampton Sailing Club, Northampton Sailability and the catering team.
Results: events.hansaclass.org.uk/pages/pg145RaceResults.aspx