Event 4
Venue: Tamar Watersports, nr Bude
Date: 19 August 2007

Tigers Bite Back

We awoke to the sound of rain being blown onto the campers with some force. Peeking out of the window showed rain coming in sideways, not a good start.

I went down to assess the situation and had 15 to 25 knot winds blowing down the lake towards the dam. I was not happy holding an event in these conditions as the lake was overflowing and the water was cascading through the overflow with a 60ft drop to the river, which would make things pretty unsafe. I decided to wait until 1300 to make a final decision. With checks on the conditions every 30 mins at 12:30, the wind had dropped enough to allow us to move to another beach area further upwind and hold a slalom event.

Close and exciting racing

Fleets raced separately with 3 safety boats on station to catch and one that drifted down wind. First to set off, the 3.5m set an extremely high standard of sailing and entertainment, with the finish close to shore and everything to go for. The sailors took it to the limits in the first 2 races. Henry Wahl won the first 2 races, chased very closely by the rest of the fleet. There were only about 20 seconds between the first and last sailor. Ross Warren made a valiant attempt to cope and showed great determination but was overwhelmed by the conditions.

The 4.5m fleet was even more exciting, with Ross Bromhead and Lewis MacDonald sharing the points from the first two heats. The 5.5m and 6.8m fleets then set off. This proved even more exiting than the previous heats. All the sailors were leaving it to the very last second before easing off. Nat Warren and Victoria Forrest-Mitchell were so close it took a committee to decide the placing.

Closer still

And so, onto heat 2. This was a battle royal between all the competitors in each fleet, with speed in the gybe and the inward leg being the key to winning. Positions were fought for and no one gave an inch. The slightest mistake was punished by losing at least one place. Gemma Grayston was determined to improve her beach starts and persevered. This gave her a cracking start in race 3 and she led from start to finish with a convincing win. This was the only decisive win in the whole event and shows what Gemma is capable of. All the other races were so close that Geoff, Marianne and I were needed to keep finishers in order.

Strong competition for winning positions

The last heat was even closer and more competitive. Every one knew it was close, not only for individual prizes, but also for the team result. The results were calculated and recalculated, as no one could believe how close the scores were, but the tigers managed to win event 4 and end the winning streak of the Waveriders. With wins in the first 3 events, Roseland will be a force to be reckoned with at Rutland.

Dave the Tamar Coach presented the prizes and thanked the sponsors, he also commented on the standard of sailing and sportsmanship. Ross Warren was presented a merit prize for his courage and Chris Bellair for proving Team 15 should be fun and providing it with his farmers hat.

Team winners - Tamar Tigers 

 

Report written by Ady Davies, T15 CO - SW Zone South

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

-- | --

Free National Sail Number
Make race scoring easy
& obtain your unique number.
It's yours for life
& a free benefit of RYA membership

Contact
tzaneen.mears@rya.org.uk
to be allocated your official number.

Once you have the number
the actual sticky-back digits
can be ordered from
UKWA

-- | --

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

-- | --

ADOPT-A-BEACH