Two teams of Reading Sailors took part in the National Schools Sailing Association Team Racing Event on Saturday up in Oxford Farmoor reservoir. Team A consisted of William and Joe as helms, with Edward and Ben as their respective crews. Team B consisted of the older hands Hadey and Hugh as helms with Rhys and Katie as crews. The event was in Fireflies with 21 teams in total taking part, with teams from as far a part as Cumbria, Derbyshire and Worcestershire.
Weather was fairly dull and grey, although the sun did make one appearance, and the wind was a fresh 10-14 mph Northerly wind, so perfect for this type of racing – if a little cold.
The competition was tough in this event, particularly for the younger members of the Reading squad with this being their first time in Fireflies and their first sailing event of the season. Team B started well winning 3 out of their first 4 races, with Hadey and Hugh displaying some good tactics and nabbing at least one race back from the brink, right at the line. However, as they progressed up the league they came into contact with increasingly better teams and their winning streak came to an end winning one out of their last 4 races to finish 13th overall. For Team A, it was tough going from the get go, and despite some tough challenges and close results they couldn’t manage to bag a race at the end of the day. They had some consolation, in that overall they managed to beat at least one team on points and so finished 20th out of 21.
In the capsize stakes, Hugh, William and Joe all managed to sneak one in, with Hadey managing to avoid getting wet. A result that her crew Katie was pleased with.
All in all everyone enjoyed themselves and team spirit and camaraderie was good. Below are a selection of photos.
The Squad
Team A
Team B in action
James Primrose
