Last year’s defeat after a long period of dominance meant the sailors were out for revenge. Lancaster were favourites having had their best ever season but with a rapidly improving York team, the races were set to be highly competitive. York’s sailors claimed the victory, winning 3-2 after a tense final match decider.
Representing the white rose in 2012 were Matt Goacher, Jo Bradley, Sam Edom, Grace Redhead, Radheeka Jirasinha and Sarah Thake.
After defeating Lancaster in the social competition on Friday night, York were ready to go on Saturday morning. With racing underway, York came out on top in an incident filled race. Radheeka and Sarah showed blistering pace in the early stages of the race which was backed up by forcing Lancaster boats back into 5th and 6th.
With the Lancaster team rattled, the second race of the day was over extremely quickly. Sam and Grace ensured a Lancaster boat was in last place off the start, leaving Matt and Jo to lead the race. Securing the 1st and 2nd combination guaranteed the race win and left York needing just one more race win to take overall victory. However, Lancaster found their speed in races 3 and 4 to level the score at 2-2, as York struggled to assert their tactics.
York entered the deciding race with a solid game plan choosing to each attack one Lancaster boat in the 3 minute pre-start countdown. With just a few seconds to the start, York’s pressure forced contact between two of Lancaster’s boats leading to penalty spins being given by the umpire. After a great start by York, the Lancaster captain worked hard to get his team mates back into the race. With the race firmly in the balance, more drama was to follow as Sam and Grace worked brilliantly with Matt and Jo to force Lancaster’s captain to make an error and touch the first buoy and collect a penalty spin. York held a perfect 1,2,3 combination but the variable breeze meant the race was far from over. Radheeka and Sarah successfully held up the Lancaster boats to ease the pressure on the leading duo. Crossing the finish line in 1st, 2nd, 3rd was the best way to celebrate a thrilling victory for York.
York 2nds continued the success in their non-points scoring competition. Another 5 race nail-biter once again saw York come out with a 3-2 victory. Dan Pingstone, Emily Payne, Charlie Williams, Annie Brough, Julian Rivlin and Becki Curtis tackled the unpredictable wind brilliantly. Dan and Emily consistently held the lead, proving to be vital in the overall win. Charlie and Annie sailed well together with Charlie making the seamless transition from crewing to helming. In the final race, the team were in a losing combination on the final beat. Julian and Becki turned on the afterburners to find some serious pace, flying past a Lancaster boat to convert to a 1,4,5 and take the win by the closest of margins.
The team has improved massively over the course of this year and with a stable squad of fantastic sailors, the sailing team is aiming very high next year. It was extremely pleasing to have so many new team racers competing with ease, as well as a few experienced sailors who have come back into the mix. Thanks must go to all of the Lancaster sailors for putting together a great weekend and to James Wolfe and Zac Bromhead for giving up their time to umpire. WELL DONE everyone!
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