The Mirror Dinghy class is very strong at Beaver Sailing Club with over 10 boats competitively racing every Sunday throughout the year. Our members are very active in the National Class Association and a number travel to open events and qualify for the National and Regional Squads.
Here are a couple of reports from these events:
Yorkshire girls sail to glory; Mirror Dinghy National and European Champions 2014
Rachel Grayson and Gemma Francis-Burnett were crowned National and European Mirror Champions 2014 this summer. The events were held over two weeks at Brixham Yacht Club in Devon. The Nationals took place over 4 days of the first week and the fleet consisted of all the top junior sailors in the country along with some hardened adult competitors. The sailing conditions were a mixture of moderate winds with heavier winds as the showers came in, due to the shape of the bay and the wind direction, the wind was shifty and unpredictable. However, the top 5 positions went to northern boats; Rachel and Gemma first.
During the second week, the competition stiffened even further as 9 boats from Ireland and 1 from Australia joined the fleet. Some very tactical sailing took place in beautiful conditions with a wind more constant and the sun shining. By halfway there were only 3 boats who had shown consistency through the early races and were now fighting for the championship. However, Gemma Keers and Imogen Bellfield from Itchenor Sailing Club fell foul to protests on the water which saw their score tumble. The penultimate day saw 4 races take place and Rachel and Gemma showed great consistency at the top of the fleet scoring 2,1,1 however in the last race, Gemma tore her calf muscle but still was determined enough to finish the race on one leg! On the final day with a replacement crew, Rachel claimed the competition with a race to spare.
Both Rachel and Gemma are members of Beaver Sailing Club which is on Southfield Reservoir, to the north of Doncaster, both learned to sail through the RYA Sailing School which takes place on Saturdays between March and November. Rachel would like to thank Pinnel & Bax for their sponsorship for sails, Navigators and General for sponsoring the event and her parents for taking her!
Mirror Dinghy Inland Championships 2014
Light breeze forecast to build throughout the day awaited the 19 boats that attended the Navigators and General Inland Championships this weekend. The plan was for 4 races on the first day 2 back to back in the morning followed by 2 back to back in the afternoon, this allowed for two races in the morning the following day so the sailors could compete in The Barts Bash.
The first race was in light, shifty conditions and got away with a fantastic start from Tom Dean, a port flyer causing him to be first to the windward mark and lead the majority of the first lap. The Rastricks were OCS and had to go round the end but recovered incredibly well to finish 3rd. Robert and Sandy sailed a fantastic race catching Tom and overtaking to win the race with Reg and Alex 2nd.
The second race was again shifty with a port bias line in fluctuating wind strength creating challenging racing with a lot of place changing. Reg and Alex took the second race with the Rastricks second. A delicious pasta bake was served for lunch by the galley after race 2, yum.
Back out for race 3 and the breeze had built from the same direction so the racing was exciting with lots of battling between boats. The greatest battle took place towards the back of the fleet where Toby and Esme, new to the mirror and sailors of Fat Buoy battled Tom Rennie, sailor of Over the Moon. Toby and Esme sailed a fantastic race and managed to beat Tom and showed a massive improvement. Tom won the Endeavour Prize for the event for the most improved sailor.
The last race of the day had a large shift on the start line from starboard bias to port bias at about 30 seconds to go which opened up opportunities for the Rastricks who sailed away to easily claim first in that race. Behind them Robert and Reg scrapped for 2nd with Reg just snatching it and Robert taking 3rd.
Day 2 and points were close, the top 3 boats were especially consistent with only 1 point between 1st and 2nd. The close points led to some match racing style tactics between Reg and the Rastricks, pushing each other up on reaches to gain the all important first! There were many place changes and tussling up until even the last beat where Reg managed to pip the boys at the post in a very close event. Megan Thornley had a fantastic result in this race with a 3rd in her first competition helming a mirror, singlehanded too!
The final race was won by Henry and Jamie Rastrick with Robert close behind securing his 3rd place overall. The competitors went in for lunch for the famous Farmer Copleys Steak Pie and Peas served by the galley. Overall it was a great event; competitive, fun and well attended.
Although the event was over, many competitors stayed to take part in The Barts Bash creating a strong competitive mirror fleet. A momentous occasion; the Guinness World Record breaking event was fantastic and it was great to have such a large mirror turnout.
Thanks to Beaver Sailing Club and everyone involved in making it such a great event including the sponsors, Navigators and General. Particularly thanks to the amazing competitors for some challenging, close and tactical racing in a high quality fleet, it was also lovely and encouraging to see new faces who I hope we will see much more of as the year progresses.
Report by Rachel (Reg) Grayson