Event 4
Venue: Wirral Sailing Centre, West Kirby
Date: 9 September 2007

An Astbury win - by the narrowest of margins.

What a memorable day’s windsurfing – and for all the right reasons. We had a little more wind than was expected and a great turn out from the 3 Teams. 38 signed on with 17 Sailors in the 3.5m fleet. This was very encouraging as many were racing for the first time, and what a great sight they made! We were joined, on the water, by 11 NWWA windsurfers who were holding an event in their regional series. Geoff Ryan organiser of the NWWA events encouraged any of the older T15 sailors to join in their events.

The racing

Throughout the day we had a steady force 2 to 3 blowing straight off the Irish Sea. This made for some very close, exciting competition, which was reflected in the vocal parental support from the shore.. To enjoy the conditions to the full a downwind giant slalom course was set with the 6.8m fleet leading the way. All the fleets proved to be very closely matched with some interesting techniques used to get around the gybe marks – avoiding others appeared to be the best tactic, but above all – don’t fall in! With 4 rapid- fire races in, it was time to take lunch and to think about setting a new course for the 6.8, 5.5 and 4.5m fleets. For these fleets a sausage was added so giving an upwind, and 2 downwind legs to the 3 remaining races. The problem here was following the action as many of the sailors converged on the marks from different directions.

Individual performances

Adam Purcell in the 5.5m fleet and Mark Reynolds in the 3.5m fleet produced impressive performances, with wins in all races. In the 6.8m fleet the very long standing battle between James Gwynn (Kirby) and Alan Drage (Astbury) came to a close as both these sailors will be too old for Team 15 next year. Whilst it was rather a sad occasion for them, I’m pleased that both James and Alan will continue to be involved in Team 15 by supporting the work of the clubs.

Merit Awards could have gone to numerous sailors. In the end we selected two Manley team members – Sam Williams (9), who completed every race having only learnt to sail this year and Rebecca Thompson (10), who has gone from the back of the fleet to 4th out of 17 in her first season. Well done to both of them.

The results

A spirited performance from Manley Mere Katz produce one of their best total points score to date – 3x4t’s, 1x5th and 2x6ths from a team of eleven was very encouraging. The Astbury v Kirby battle was taken right to the wire with just 1 point separating the teams. At the prize -giving Team Coach Ali Yates had to admit that they had felt the pressure and the challenge from the Kirby Sailors. So, for the 3rd year running Team Astbury will represent the West Zone at the Champions Cup event at Rutland in October – good luck to you all.

Thanks must go to Simon and the West Kirby Team, which included Ann on event admin., Alistair on Safety cover and Phil taking the photos. Thanks must also go to Trish who organised the results collection and all the parents and coaches who have supported the events.

Good luck to everyone competing at the Youth and Masters event this coming weekend. You are also reminded that the deadline for entering the Zone Championships at Notts County is the 19th September.

Team winners - Team Astbury 

Report written by Mike Roberts, T15 CO - West Zone

PS - Don't forget to vote for your favourite coach!

2007 Series Results

	Manley	Hollingworth	Astbury	West Kirby	Position
Team Astbury	1	1	2	1	1st
West Kirby Warriors	2	2	1	2	2nd
Manley Mere Katz	3	3	3	3	3rd
Hollingworth Hunters	DNE	4	DNE	DNE	4th
Salford Sharks	DNE	5	DNE	DNE	5th

We are the Champions!
West Kirby Warriors
T15 Champions 2008

Congratulations!

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Mount Batten Centre - Plymouth
Course type: Racing Instructor
Weekend course: 27/28 September 2008
Closing date: 5 September
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Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
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Weekend course: 30/31 August 2008
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Weekend course: 5/6 July 2008
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Course type: Racing Instructor
Midweek course: 3/4 July 2008
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Midweek Course: 4/5 June 2008
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Weekend Course: 3/4 May 2008
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Midweek Course: 1/2 May 2008
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