Event 3
Grafham Water
Saturday 5 July 2008

Winning Team
Alton Water Wipeouts
Tushingham sponsored team

Newcomers chase leaders hard in youth windsurfing event

High wind training over the winter paid off for Alton Water Wipeouts who continued their almost relentless march to become RYA Eastern Region youth windsurfing champions again. Last weekend in conditions that started light and fluky through to brisk and gusty, they headed the results board at Grafham Water Sailing Centre, Perry, near Huntingdon to take top honours in the third Team15 (T15) inter-club event of the 2008 season.

Altogether 21 youngsters made it to Grafham Water; and though Alton Water Wipeouts fielded the largest team, Stanborough Stormers from Welwyn Garden City raised their profile by entering five youngsters in the event – they had one competitor in the first event, and three in the second – while newly formed Grafham Flyers entered their first competitor. Norwich Force 8th fielded a depleted squad this time due to a number of key sailors being away on holiday. Lakeside Loafers, from Peterborough suffered also from ‘holidayitis’.

The 3.5m and 4.5m smaller rig classes sailed 12 and 11 short course races respectively. Stanborough Stormers, despite being the least experienced team made a clean sweep of the 3.5m class, with newcomer Alec Goldstone (12) who had been windsurfing for only three months and been a member of the T15 team for a mere two weeks, taking first.

Teammates Chris Wright (12) and Katharine Woods (13) came second and third. All three youngsters aspire to places in the regional windsurf youth squad. Katharine has been windsurfing for three years and joined the team at the same time as Alec. Chris, who has been windsurfing for a year was one of the first youngsters to join the newly formed team at the beginning of the season.

The 4.5m class was a clean sweep for Alton Water Wipeouts, with Matthew Barton (12) sailing a Techno board came first, with Zoë Deal (15) second and team newcomer Simon Jam (14) in third.

In the 5.5m class the top two spots went to Alton Water sailors Chris Harley (12) and Jack Trollope (12) with the third place going to Conner Jones (12) from Peterborough-based Lakeside loafers.

Thomas Dailey (13) won the 6.8m class for Grafham Flyers; while Hattie White (14) from Sudbury sailing for Alton Water won the Bic Techno 6.8m class, with Charlotte (Charlie) Sissons who only recently moved to Alton Water from Tallington near Peterborough and is a member of the East Zone Squad, coming second. Third place went to Jo Harley (14) also a Zone Squad member and stalwart of Alton Water, she remarked: “Nine knots of wind isn’t strong enough!”

Eastern Regional Windsurf Coach and T15 Competition Organiser, Graham Colam said: “With the conditions changing throughout the day and becoming more challenging no one person dominated any fleet. However, Hattie White was the most consistent in the 6.8 fleet with two firsts and a second.

“Charlie Sissons showed her training regime is working by coping the best in the stronger breeze. Also Chris Harley coped very well in the stronger wind and led the 5.5/6.8-combined start fleet at times. All have benefited from higher wind zone training over the winter.

“The weather was overcast with occasional sunshine, the wind was light and variable in the morning and built to moderate in the afternoon. It also swung from across the shore to directly offshore as it built. This meant that the wind was very shifty and gusty inshore were the 3.5 and 4.5 fleet course was. The fleets coped very well considering it was their first time sailing on a large stretch of water like Grafham,” Graham added.

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

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Team15
Coach Courses


T15 Coach-Red courses
will now be known as
Racing Instructor Courses
 T15 Coach-Freestyle courses
will change to T15 Freestyle Coach!  

For information
(previous courses in 2008)

Mount Batten Centre - Plymouth
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 27/28 September 2008
Closing date: 5 September
Cancelled: lack of candidates

Lakes Leisure - Windermere
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
Closing date: 15 August
Fully booked

James Hamilton Heritage Park - Glasgow
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
Closing date: 15 August
Cancelled: lack of candidates

Gwent Adventures - Wales
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 9/10 August 2008
Closing date: 25 July
5 candidates on course


Grafham Water Centre - Cambridgeshire
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 5/6 July 2008
Closing date: 30 June
Spaces available
6 candidates on course

Wimbleball Lake - Somerset
Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek course: 3/4 July 2008
Closing date: 30 June
4 candidates on course


Roadford Lake - Okehampton
Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek Course: 4/5 June 2008
Organised by South West Lakes Trust
Fully booked


Carsington Watersports - Derbyshire
Course type: Freestyle
Weekend Course: 3/4 May 2008
Fully booked


Carsington Watersports - Derbyshire
Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek Course: 1/2 May 2008
6 candidates on course


Mountbatten Centre - Plymouth
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend Course: 12/13 April 2008
Cancelled: lack of candidates

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