Derbyshire Youth Sailing Toddbrook event at Combs Sailing Club
by Joanne Hill 24 Apr 03:06 NZST
13 April 2024
Derbyshire Youth Sailing at Toddbrook event at Combs © J Hill
With the winter Derbyshire Youth Sailing training program finished, Saturday 13th April saw 23 of our sailors' head to Combs Sailing Club for our Toddbrook event, the first for 2024.
The forecast had suggested some interesting wind conditions, but on arrival we were met by very still water. Despite this, there was much excitement to be together again and ready to start this year's racing.
Race One started in very light conditions, making it tricky for some of the sailors to get away, but it wasn't long before the wind gathered strength and caught a few sailors out. The Ilca 6's lead the way along with the Byte CII of local sailor George Jacobs, constantly swapping places to the finish line. With 6 Ilcas in the top 7 finishes and Combs sailor William Morbey leading the way in the Topper fleet, we knew that the remaining two races were going to be good viewing.
After everyone had finished Lindas amazing soup and cakes for lunch, it was time to launch for the next two races, back-to-back. Having had quite a battle to remain upright in the first race, the National 12 team decided to sit the 2nd race out and see if the wind settled, as it was now looking quite breezy. The same boats lead the way again but couldn't decide who was going to stay in front. S Baines, in her Topper won the 2nd race after corrected time and with less than 20 seconds between 2nd and 5th position, race 3 was going to be good.
After some quick toe strap repairs to the leading boat, race 3 got under way and whilst the Ilcas and Byte CII continued their battled at the head of the fleet, the Toppers were battling for the top spot in the increasing wind. By the time the sailors made it to shore there were a lot of tales to tell and some huge grins, I think it was safe to say they all had a great day. Thank you to the Combs and Toddbrook volunteers for putting on a great day of sailing and rescue, you were definitely kept busy. Huge congratulations to not just our winners, but also to the sailors who were with us for the first time and our 3 guest sailors from Redesmere.
Overall Winners:
1st Patrick Hill, Swarkestone SC, Ilca 6 (and 1st Senior)
2nd Luke Wilshire, Ogston SC, Ilca 6
3rd George Jacobs, Combs SC, Byte CII
1st Intermediate - J Baines, Rudyard SC, Ilca 6
1st Junior - Oisin Harris, Combs SC, Topper
This Saturday, 27th April, we will be at Burton Sailing Club for our 2nd event and our Intercounty with Leicester & Rutland Youth Sailing Association. It's not to late to register via our website if you would like to join in. Full details can be found on www.dysailing.org
Hope to see you there.