Hansa TT at Whitefriars Sailing Club

by Pete Conway 2 May 2023 16:45 NZST 22 April 2023

A great start to an exciting season

The new Hansa season got off to a great start with 26 boats competing at Whitefriars Sailing Club on 22nd April for what turned out to be the first of their Traveller series, the planned event at Frampton had to be cancelled because of too much wind.

There is a lot of enthusiasm across the Hansa fleets as many of the sailors are preparing to travel to Portimao in October to compete in the Hansa World Championships; we're expecting 20 GB entries! In addition there is competition for a place in the 303 1 -person to compete in the Paraworld sailing event to be held in the Hague alongside the Olympic classes. We are seeking the best male and female to enter.

At the start of the day the weather didn't look promising, the lake was in a fog and there was no sign of wind. The race schedule typically runs 2 races back to back in the morning, and the same in the afternoon.

By 11 there was no sign of improvement, so the decision was taken to take an early lunch and do 3 races back to back in the afternoon. The caterers put together an amazing chili which was appreciated by all.

By 1pm the wind had filled in, albeit in a patchy, shifty way. The shore crew managed to get all of the sailors hoisted and launched in 25 minutes to enable the racing to get started by 1:30. Fortunately we also had an experienced race team who ran a slick operation to get the 3 races completed across all 4 fleets. There were 3 starts, the Liberty, 303 1-person, and lastly the 303 2-person fleet with the 2.3 sailors. It was great to see lots of new faces from different clubs this season, with ages ranging from 11 to 85 the Hansa Classes really do make sailing possible for everybody. Being an open class it was also pleasing to welcome people with physical, sensory, cognitive and neuro-diverse conditions competing alongside the non-disabled.

The Liberty fleet was fiercely contested between all entrants, with places changing frequently in the challenging conditions. David Durston took advantage of local knowledge in the first race, taking a significant lead from the start. By the end of the race, Chris Emmet from Rutland SC had mastered the shifts and came to within one foot at the line. The next 2 races were taken convincingly by Chris, with David and Paul Pearson always in hot pursuit.

In the 303 1-person fleet the first race finished in the same order as the 2022 season; Rory McKinna 1st, Mike Everett 2nd, and James Woosnam 3rd. Rory had travelled all the way from Dundee for the event, and also invests a lot of time and effort travelling around the world competing very successfully in many classes; achieving a podium place in the 2021 Hansa Worlds. But today was not to be his day, James from Frensham Pond SC showed his expertise in reading the conditions, achieving bullets in races two and three.

A father and son team, Harry and Nick Holland, from Hayling Island SC stole the show in the 303 2-person fleet with three first places. Second place was taken by Steve Kitson and Jane Knight from New Forest and District SC. Third place was hard fought between 3 boats, one of which was crewed by an all junior team from Whitefriars; Toby Owens and Devon Giles. The battle was eventually won by Phillip Hall and Andrew Criswick from Chesil Sailability.

Disappointingly there were only 2 entries in the 2.3. Andrew Lebec is relatively new to racing and coped well with the tricky conditions. Lindsay Burns has considerable experience and has achieved success internationally. If you'd like to get involved in racing this is a great place to start. Contact

Overall Results:

Liberty
1. Chris Emmet - Rutland SC
2. David Durston - Whitefriars SC
3. Paul Pearson - Rutland SC

Hansa 303 1-person
1. James Woosnam - Frensham Pond SC
2. Rory McKinna - Clyde Cruising Club
3. Mike Everitt - Frensham Pond SC

Hansa 303 2-person
1. Harry and Nick Holland - Hayling Island SC
2. Steve Kitson/Jane Knight - New Forest and District SC
3. Philip Hall/Andrew Criswick - Chesil Sailability

Hansa 2.3
1. Lindsay Burns - Frensham Pond SC
2. Andrew Lebec - Frensham Pond SC

Full results here.