Bath University Sailing Club's Bath Robe Team Racing at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club
by Nigel Vick 26 Feb 11:29 UTC
24-25 February 2024
Southampton win the Bath Robe Team Racing event at Chew Valley Lake © Nigel Vick
The last weekend in February produced a frustrating Saturday, with very little wind, Bath University Sailing Club's Bath Robe Team Racing, taking place at Chew Valley Sailing Club completed a mere 19 races. Sunday was a different story.
A 9am start on Sunday and co-operation from the sailing club meant that continuous racing was possible for most of the day, as the wind steadily increased and the rain continued to come down. The HLS league was stopped at 105 races with Southampton Black, Exeter Red and Bath Salts tied on race wins. Exeter Red were the unlucky team that lost the tie break, producing a final between Southampton and Bath.
With the wind increasing it looked as if Southampton had it sewn up, despite a couple of boats going swimming around Mark 3 in the second race of the best of three final. However, an incident at the finish enabled Bath to come back and even the score, requiring a third deciding race. This produced a win for the Southampton Black team of Sam Walton, Mathias Potter, James Curtis, Shana Okayama, Fliss Brellisford and Anna Whitmarsh, who took the Bath Robe.
Photos of the event can be seen at photos.app.goo.gl/6U62txDqUYGpssHz6