NSSA Team Racing, Farmoor, 12th March
On the 12th of March eight of the Queen Mary Youth Development Squad made their way to Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford
for the NSSA Double Handed Team Racing Championships. We entered two teams of four out of the 17 teams participating
in the event, and as we had little team racing experience, we were treating the day as an introduction.
There was up to 17 knots of wind speed predicted as we approached the Fireflies besides the water. None of us had ever
sailed these boats before so we were a little apprehensive but looking forward to the day ahead, hopeful that our few
training weekends would come in handy. We registered our teams and donned our sailing kit, speculating about the
strength of the opposing teams. Race schedules collected, we went out to the boats and began an attempt at rigging.
Thankfully we were assisted in doing this by some of the other more experienced teams, and were finally ready to go, after
a last-minute collection of bibs.
QMSC team A set off for their first race with anticipation, however they hit a problem during the start through the loss of a
tiller extension. After setting off again in a new boat the team managed to complete their first race of the day. Meanwhile,
QMSC B encountered fewer problems but had a tricky morning of getting used to the Fireflies while attempting to put their
newly learned team racing skills into play.
After an eventful morning and a series of races QMSC A had the lead over QMSC B as they had won one race as opposed to
QMSC B who had lost all of their races. The morning ended with some group tactics and a quick lunch before a hectic
afternoon was about to unfold.
The morning was conducted in a Round Robin style, with the 17 teams split into 3 flights, and with each team competing
with all of the teams in their flight. For the afternoon, the teams were put into Bronze, Silver and Gold fleets. Due to their
slightly unsuccessful performance earlier in the day, both QMSC A and B were put into the Bronze fleet with three of the
other lowest ranking boats.
Both teams started off well with QMSC A and B winning one and losing one, for QMSC B this was the first win of the day.
Next came what was the decider of the day, QMSC A Vs QMSC B. It was a tough race for both teams but QMSC B took the
win which put both teams at 2 wins throughout the course of the day, their tactics improving rapidly during the
afternoon...
Finally, as the day came to a close, the Bronze fleet scores were as follows: QMSC A with 1 win and QMSC B with four wins.
This put QMSC B in second place, and QMSC A in fourth place, within the Bronze Fleet, and 14th and 16th overall. QMSC B
received some sweets during prize giving for their efforts, while the winning teams were awarded with medals.
Many of the other teams had a few years experience in team racing but everyone tried their best and enjoyed the first of
many team racing events.