Event 1
Waterland Outdoor Pursuits - Cotswold Water Park, nr Cirencester
Saturday 25 June 2005

Croft Farm Flyers Bounce Back
Setting off from home dressed in shorts and the regulation T15 polo shirt for Competition Organisers, a fleece was quickly put on over the top on arrival at Waterland in the Cotswold Water Park. It wasn’t exactly cold but compared to the clear blue sky and scorching sun of the previous few days, it felt chilly. The good thing was the water was warm.

The Croft Farm Flyers team wagon, driven by instructor Stuart, arrived with a trailer full of boards, shortly followed by Bob Shillito and the Axbridge Animal kit. As the Flyers fielded a team of fairly inexperienced windsurfers, Stu had a hard time rigging or checking fourteen sets of kit and though this was a bit of a marathon for Stu, a team of fourteen is a fantastic turn-out so well done to the Flyers. On the kit front, Bob's more experienced Animals (who are sponsored by Bic) could look after themselves with the help of a knowledgeable parent or two, whilst as a team, the Durleigh Devils were hardest hit as most of their sailors were away on Zone Squad Training (as were some of the Animals).

The wind was a light, onshore into the bay so a short course was laid for the warm-up sprint. Twenty pairs of arms thrashed across the water and then twenty pairs of legs propelled bodies across the finish line. A paddle and sail race followed with two boards tied nose to tail and sail size limited to 3.5m. Should they paddle the leading board or sail it? A hard decision for the coaches to make. Animals Coach, Bob, was limited by his lack of numbers but Stu could hedge his bets with various combinations.

After lunch the groups were split into novice or more experienced so that two courses could be set to best suit the ability levels. The novice fleet sailed lots of beam reach races across the bay while the others sailed from the beach, out into the main part of the lake and then two laps of a triangle.

At the end of the day Croft Farm Flyers, sponsored by Neilson, took the team prize with an impressive score of 17 points. Animals team coach, Bob Shillito, said
 
"Even though we would have liked to win the event, it was great to see Croft Farm back competing after a year when they struggled to get a team together. We look forward to seeing the Flyers at the next event in Weymouth."

Geoff Pook thanked the sponsors - Neilson, Bic & Tushingham - along with the parents for making the event possible. As owner of Waterland, Pete Pendlebury was thanked for hosting the event and for making it a freebie for all the competitors.

We hope to see as many teams as possible at Weymouth on 30 July for the third round in the south west(n) T15 inter-club series. This gives clubs just over a month to build team numbers, to get a team together (for those who have yet to make an appearance this year) and for coaches to work with sailors on improving their windsurfing skills still further. With the new facilities at the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy recently opened we think it will be a good one. See you there!

Team winners
Croft Farm Flyers (Neilson)

For further details contact
Geoff Pook
geoff.pook@rya-online.net

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

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(previous courses in 2008)

Mount Batten Centre - Plymouth
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 27/28 September 2008
Closing date: 5 September
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Lakes Leisure - Windermere
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
Closing date: 15 August
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James Hamilton Heritage Park - Glasgow
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
Closing date: 15 August
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Gwent Adventures - Wales
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Closing date: 25 July
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Grafham Water Centre - Cambridgeshire
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 5/6 July 2008
Closing date: 30 June
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Wimbleball Lake - Somerset
Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek course: 3/4 July 2008
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Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek Course: 4/5 June 2008
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Weekend Course: 3/4 May 2008
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Carsington Watersports - Derbyshire
Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek Course: 1/2 May 2008
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Mountbatten Centre - Plymouth
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Weekend Course: 12/13 April 2008
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