Royal Thames Academy wins the Etchells Invitational Gertrude Cup
by Royal Thames Academy on 4 Aug 2016
Final day - Etchells Invitational Gertrude Cup Sportography.tv
A Royal Thames Academy team consisting of Emily Wiltshire, Lilly Carlisle, Jack Davies and Tim Gratton headed to Cowes this week for the always competitive Etchells Invitational Regatta for the Gertrude Cup. There was a good mix of backgrounds in the boat, although three of the team had only sailed an Etchells for one week previously. It was therefore with uncertain expectations that we went into the event, looking for a respectable result and as many learning experiences as possible.
Over the practice day, we worked hard at getting a good approach to the start line as well as some solid boat handling routines that we could build on throughout the week.
Given our inexperience in the boats, we were somewhat surprised to find ourselves leading the first race, having had a great start combined with some fast sailing and smart tactics up the first beat. We held onto the lead in this race and posted a fourth in the second, before some mistakes in the building tide saw us slip down the fleet for a 10th in the third.
Going into the second day in third overall, we were keen to keep putting in consistent results near the front of the fleet. The team worked really well together to achieve this, despite having to dig deep to recover from a bad start in one race. This saw us move up second overall, joint on points with the leaders.
Racing on the Tuesday was canceled due to the high winds, so all the teams proceeded to David Franks' house for an excellent lunch. This was followed by a superb gala dinner at the Royal Yacht Squadron, marching band and all!
Going into the last day, we knew that the racing would likely be curtailed early due to a building forecast and the tide changing to increase the sea state. However with the results at the top of the fleet so close, it was all still very much to play for. In the first race, the team fought back from an average start to finish in fourth place. This meant that we were still very much in with a chance going into the last race. A great start and first beat saw us leading the second race, before slipping into second on the final run. However with an upwind finish, our boat speed and tactics combined with some extra hard hiking saw us overtake within the final hundred metres and win what would be the final race of the event.
Upon arriving ashore, the results confirmed that we had won the Gertrude Cup by a narrow margin in a highly competitive and international field.
Full credit must go to the team for their superb efforts this week - everything clicked together really nicely in the boat which made for a thoroughly enjoyable week. Thanks also to the event organisers, in particular David Franks, the boat owners for their incredible generosity, and the Royal Thames, not only for putting on the event, but also to the Academy for giving us this incredible opportunity.
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