Team 15 Interclub event at Kielder Water Sailing Club
by Judy Scullion 3 Jun 2014 00:19 PDT
31 May 2014
Jane Vallance, winner of the 5.8m fleet in the Team 15 Interclub event at Kielder Water © Gary Charles-Jones
The first Team 15 Interclub event of the year for the North Borderlands region was held at Kielder Water Sailing Club on Saturday 31st May. This was the first event since the region boundaries changed, with the intention of reducing travelling distances for competitors. As usual at Kielder, camping space was available and some of the visiting windsurfers stayed over to make the most of the weekend.
The event was attended by three teams of young windsurfers; the Coquet Crushers from Amble, the Derwent Devils from Derwent Reservoir, and the local team of the Kielder Kestrels.
Conditions were pleasant but the winds were rather light, dropping even further towards the middle of the day, although picking up again in the afternoon. However all competitors managed to use what wind there was to good effect, and race officer Geoff Brown adjusted the courses for the larger fleets to give sufficient play to competitors' tactics and skill, without requiring too much distance to be covered between marks.
The 3.5m fleet raced from the shore, around a buoy and back to shore. Competitors did not have to finish on dry land, but could finish as soon as they put their feet on the ground, resulting in some interesting dismounts on the steeply shelving beach. With one competitor from each team, third place was taken by Maya McGarvey of the Coquet Crushers, second placed was OIie Pirt of the Derwent Devils, with Jonathan Dodd of the Kielder Kestrels securely in first place.
The 4.5m, 5.8m and 6.8m classes raced together in the middle of the lake. The Coquet Crushers triumphed in the 6.8m fleet, with Philip Heywood taking first and Leonardo Takiguchi second, while Alistair McLane of Kielder achieved a respectable third place.
The 5.8 and 4.5m fleets were dominated by the Kestrels. In the 5.8, Jane Vallance, team captain of the Kielder Kestrels, won every race, with Nick Pike of Kielder taking a consistent second place and Joseph Palmer of the Derwent Devils third. In the 4.5 fleet, Archie Dodd from Kielder won every race, with Isabelle Palmer from Derwent taking second, Rosie Thumwood of Kielder third, and Jordan Pirt of Derwent fourth.
The team trophy was won by the Kielder Kestrels.
The next Interclub event is in two weeks time, on Sunday the 15th of June, when we hope to welcome even more young people to Kielder for fun on the water.