Derbyshire sailors compete in National Team Racing Event
Derbyshire was represented by three teams in the National School Sailing Association?s team-racing event that was held at the Nottinghamshire County Sailing Club on the weekend of 15/16 October. Teams from all over the country competed in force 3-5 winds for the prestigious Royal Yacht Britannia?s, Gig?s Yoke trophy. At the end of the first day both Derbyshire ?A? (Alley Britton, Kathryn Bradley and Matt Rawson) and Derbyshire ?B? (Phill Bell, James Hadden and Harry Levick) were both well placed at the front of the gold fleet and Derbyshire ?C? (Tom Harlow, Ben Crossdale and Charlotte Hadden) were in second place in the silver fleet. The second day saw the lead in both fleets changing hands several times and shifting, lighter winds did not help the Derbyshire sailors. The event was won by Lancashire ?A? closely in contest with Langley School ?A?. There were 36 teams in total and Derbyshire?s ?B? & ?A? teams dropped to 8th and 10th overall respectively but Derbyshire ?C? retained their very creditable second place in the silver fleet. Team Manager Sally Hadden said, ?All three teams performed really well and despite some controversial umpiring decisions the sailors maintained their high degree of motivation and team spirit.? In recognition of their efforts Derbyshire Youth Sailing have agreed to sponsor a team in the R.Y.A. youth team-racing event at Grafham Sailing Club, Cambridgeshire in November.
