30th Broadland Youth Regatta at Horning Sailing Club
by Holly Hancock 2 Sep 2024 16:28 NZST
31 August 2024
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In its 30th year of this Broadland event, the Norfolk & Suffolk Boating Association's (NSBA) Broadland Youth Regatta was hosted at Horning Sailing Club (HSC) on the Norfolk Broads on Saturday 31st August 2024.
Held at HSC's base in Horning for the very first time in its history, it attracted 99 young sailors in 88 boats from 8 Broadland clubs, ranging from those in their first few weeks of sailing to those far more experienced, and all aged under 19 years.
HSC is based on a small island on the bend of the River Bure in Horning, and with the number of boats arriving it was going to be a logistical challenge, but it was quite a sight to see every inch of the Island surrounded by dinghies - from Optimists to RS Fevas, Toppers to Lasers and more. Managing racing also took a different format, with the fleets split to participate on both the River and Hoveton Little Broad, which was popular with the young sailors who all experienced both and enjoyed the variety of sailing.
With the forecast for winds to increase during the day, the afternoon was expected to be the most challenging, but it turned out to be the morning, with huge gusts passing through - at one point taking out most of the fleet on the Broad. The more experienced sailors raced on the Broad, mainly in Lasers, RS Fevas, Splashes and faster dinghies, who enjoyed planing up and down, with capsizes a-plenty, forcing several retirements.
Meanwhile, the 33-strong fleet of Toppers and slow handicap fleet of Optimists, RS Teras, a Gull and Mirror dinghy sailed on the river whilst it was quieter from day boats, similarly seeing many capsizes and retirements - both courses keeping the volunteer rescue boats extremely busy, before swapping venues for the afternoon series.
As the day went on, some young sailors counted upwards of 20 capsizes and for all who took part there was a great sense of achievement. Amongst the challenges there were also some comical moments, particularly during the last Laser race, where a boat capsized right on the finish line and inadvertently took the final turning buoy with them, meaning that the Race Officer had to think both creatively and fast to direct the sailors where to turn before it was promptly put back in place!
Amongst the individual results, The Allcomers B Fleet was won by HSC's Hamish Harmer sailing his Splash, with Beccles Amateur Sailing Club (BASC)'s Sam Johnson and Freya Welham second in a Firefly. Third was HSC's Anya Gittins also sailing her Splash. The Allcomers C fleet saw Waveney & Oulton Broad Yacht Club (WOBYC) dominate the results, taking the top 6 places in the fleet - won by Will Keys-Batson, with Isaac Thomas second and Hugh Walker third, all sailing Optimists.
In the Lasers, there was sibling rivalry between Ellie and Tom Thwaites - Ellie sailing for Snowflake Sailing Club (SFSC), and Tom for Norfolk Broads Yacht Club (NBYC). Both with two first places, on countback it was Ellie who won the fleet, with Tom second despite coming back from a spectacular capsize at the start of the third race to win that race, and Henry Weymss of SFSC third.
Due to the high number of entrants, the Toppers sailed in two flights, and overall were won by Jenson Jakob with three wins sailing for SFSC, with Nate Sparrow of WOBYC second and Isobelle Johnson of BASC third.
After four races, taking the highly sought after Centenary Salver for first-placed team, were WOBYC, with SFSC and HSC equal on points - on countback, second place went to SFSC, with host Club HSC third.
The Lady Mayhew Trophy for 'Endeavour, applying the greatest effort in a spirit of sport, determination and fun', was awarded to Chevvy Bulldeath of HSC, sailing his first Regatta in a Topper. The Whelpton Cup for the most successful double-handed boat went to Sam Johnson and Freya Welham of BASC sailing their Firefly.
Overall, it was a challenging but rewarding day for the young sailors, who had the opportunity to try something different, push themselves and have fun - all in the spirit of the event.
Thanks go to all the many volunteers who helped out over the day and many thanks also to our generous sponsors for supporting the event: Norfolk Yacht Agency (NYA), the University of East Anglia (UEA), Jeckells and Son Ltd, BeWILDerwood, Herbert Woods, Onboard, UEA Sailing/Sportspark and Heat Different.
Find full fleet results here and Team results here.