Although recent temperatures might lead you to think otherwise, summer is officially done, and we are heading into a busy autumn season.
The summer is when a lot of the big national and international championships take place and, as usual, many of our Draycote Youth & Junior sailors were in action. There were some great results – too many for me to list – but notable amongst them was Jess Powell who was first girl at the Topper Worlds (4th overall) and then became Topper National Champion just a couple of weeks later (beating the newly crowned World Champion to do so!), and Freddie Sunderland who was 1st Under 17 at the ILCA 6 Nationals (6th overall).
Congratulations to all our sailors representing the club so brilliantly on the world stage.
Back on home waters the headline event was the NSSA National Regatta hosted at Draycote. This took a massive amount of effort to stage, with a huge team of volunteers working alongside our dedicated staff to deliver a brilliant event. Draycote sailors sailed as part of the Northamptonshire Sailing Team, and it was great to see so many new racers in the event. A great time was had on and off the water and many new friendships were made. Most notable amongst the results for the home team was Jasper Nicholls who won the Regatta Topper Fleet. Well done Jasper, and all our other sailors!
Next year, the event is up in the lake district. I believe that some of this year’s sailors have already decided to go and accommodation is booked!
P&B Northamptonshire Youth Series. Our sailors have competed in this series which is a great introduction to racing. The series took place at 6 local clubs, kicking off at our own, with a mix of coaching and racing, and some nice cake afterwards! I am happy to say that for the 3rd year running, the best club trophy was awarded to Draycote. Draycote had 4 sailors in the top 10, Noah Byrd (1st), Keali Rhodes(2nd), Peter Astley (3rd), and Henry Byrd (6th).Well done to all our sailors, and a big thanks to Norman and Andrea Byrd who are heavily involved in organising the series.
Wednesday Evening club racing came to an end on 6th September. This is a great evening at the club, often with 40 to 50 boats out on the water, with food available in the bar afterwards. We have had really good Y&J participation this year and we awarded prizes for top youth sailors extracted from the Club Overall Handicap results.
1st – Jess Powell (and first overall, beating all the grown ups!), Topper 5.3
2nd – Imogen Green, Topper 5.3
3rd – Joe Rowe, ILCA 6
Wednesday evening racing will start up again next year in the spring.
Our Friday Night short course racing has been running since the end of March. With the nights drawing in, the final evening was on 8th September. It was warm and sunny, but alas, no wind, so paddle boarding was the order of the day. Final podium positions for the series were:
1st – Felicity Angell, ILCA 6
2nd – Peter Astley, Topper 5.3
3rd – Hatty Connolly, ILCA 6
Well done to everybody. Thanks to Fleur, our spreadsheet fairy, who puts the results together for the series. We will be back in action next year when the clocks go forward.
Saturday Club will continue until 21st October. We have had a lot of windy weekends this year and it has been great to see how well our newer sailors have dealt with the windy conditions.
Top tip for the winter months ahead: If there is a nice day, try to get out on the water – perhaps use our WhatsApp buddy group to arrange to come down with some friends, but keep practicing! Don’t lose those skills you have gained this year.
Youth & Junior Championships will be held this coming weekend, 16th September, instead of our normal Saturday Club. The event runs all day, with 2 races in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. There are 3 age categories:
Under 12
12 to 14
15 to 18
This is not just for our superstar racers and there will be coach support for our less experienced sailors. Entry is free (sailors must be members), as is the use of club boats for the event, on a first come first served basis.
There are some great events coming up at the club in the autumn. Keep an eye on the calendar on the club website, and please join our Youth & Junior Facebook group for up to the minute information.
Here are some of the big open events coming up at Draycote, giving you a chance to sail against sailors from all over the country without having to leave home waters:
30th Sept/1st Oct – Topper NS1, a National Topper race event – its going to be big!
14th & 15th Oct – RS Aero Inland Championships
28th & 29th Oct – RS Tera End of Season Championships
6th & 7th Nov – ILCA Inland Championships
18th & 19th Nov – Draycote Dash
25th & 26th Nov – Optimist Winter Championships
And don’t forget, the club is open every day except Christmas Day for sailing, with safety cover, whenever the water is open. Winter Club racing continues throughout the year on Sundays, with a race in the morning and another after lunch.
See you soon,
Jon Hughes
Y&J Fleet Captain