After a qualifying round of 54 races the 18 teams were split into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Plate leagues for stage 2. In the final knock out stage the semi finals were the top three from the Gold league and the winner of the silver league. This pitted Winchester Red against Winchester Blue and Tonbridge against Magdalen College School (MCS). MCS won there semi 2:0 but the Winchester semi required a third race with Red taking the honours 2:1.

The final between MCS and Winchester Red also went to three races with MCS emerging the victors while in the peti-final Tonbridge beat Winchester Blue 2:1.

Cardiff University won the event beating Swansea 5:2. Photos can be seen at https://goo.gl/photos/8dmSnLtf2tYCBWjp6

The Inter Services Team Racing was run at Oxford Sailing Club in the middle of week using Topper Argo's and the two flag system. Hosted by the RAF, the winds were quite light. The A Cup was won by the Army and we believe that Navy won the B Cup. 

Congratulations are due to Connor Miller and his team from Loughborough University on winning the BUCS/BUSA Match Racing for the second year running. The event was sailed in the RYA Elliotts in Portland Harbour. Fourteen teams took part and were split into two round robins of 7. At the end of these round robins the top three teams went through to the Quarter finals whilst the next three in each league took part in a repercharge round robin to determine the last two teams to make the quarters.

In the semi finals Loughborough beat Bath 2:0 while Annabel Vose from Southampton needed three races to see off Durham 2:1. The final was close but Loughborough took it 2:0 - but watch the video to see how close it was. The 3/4 Peti Final was also over in two races, unfortunately Bath, (1:0 down) caught their keel on the committee boat anchor line getting a penalty for making contact and another for not entering. A further penalty while gybing meant that they were black flagged, and Durham awarded the Match and third place.

Photos of the event can be seen at https://goo.gl/photos/ShcrdXe8XFR637uF8

  

Congratulations to Cambridge Blue, winners of BUSA Team Racing 2016. They beat Exeter 3:1 in the final with Cardiff Black finishing third.

Eighty four teams entered the competition with 28 Teams qualifying for the final which was hosted by Cambridge University SC and sailed at Grafham Water Sailing Club over three days. The Cambridge Blue Team of Tim Gratton, Daisy Baxter, Robbie Gilmore, Cat Wallace, Chris Eames and Rachel Tilley finished in first place at the end of the league with 15 wins in 15 races sailed. 

While they sailed through the (best of three) Quarter Finals they did lose a race to Cardiff Black in the Semi-Finals. Exeter Black also had a difficult semi-final being taken to three races by Cambridge Black. The Finals looked as if they could be close when the teams were 1:1 after two races, but it was not to be and Cambridge Blue won the next two races to take the BUSA Team Racing Title for a third year. Meanwhile in the Peti-Final Cardiff got off to a slow start losing the first race to Cambridge Black before coming back to take the next two races and finish in third place.

 

There is a dedicated site for the event at:- https://www.facebook.com/events/1674771172788929/

All the results, as well as links and videos can be found at:- http://events.ksail.co.uk/2016/BUSAFinals.

Full results can be seen at:- http://www.events.ksail.co.uk/2016/nssa/OverallResult.html

The Exeter Excalibur was also sailed lastweekend and once again, Exeter University Sailing Club’s Excalibur was blessed with plenty of sunshine and blue clear blue skies. Eighteen teams representing twelve different universities from across the South were entered. The very light winds made for challenging racing conditions and the decision to cancel racing for the day was eventually made. Despite the lack of racing, Saturday was universally enjoyed as a fun day by the water for all sailors in the lovely Devon weather. The evening’s social began with all 130 sailors dressed in fancy dress (of varying quality) meeting for a curry in Exeter before progressing onto a night in hole in the Wall & Timepiece.

Racing on Sunday was underway by 10am and the wind created perfect conditions, allowing all teams to compete in eight races each. The conditions were perfect for team racing and created a brilliant chance to practice tactics on the water. This opportunity was particularly welcomed by the numerous teams in preparation for BUSA finals in the coming weeks. Over the course of the day, the racing was incredibly tight between many teams, with just 0.62 points between first and second place. The wind held all day which, alongside the sunshine, made for some perfect conditions and excellent sailing for all teams. It was particularly great to see teams who have just started team racing getting involved with more experienced teams. London Green eventually secured a victory with a 100% win percentage, with Exeter in a very close second. There was also a big Cardiff presence on the leaderboard with Cardiff Orange and Cardiff Yellow taking 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Overall, Excalibur was an exceptional event for all involved. Despite the initial lack of wind on Saturday, Sunday’s conditions more than made up for it and provided great team racing conditions. The event ran incredibly well thanks to the brilliant organisation of EUSC Committee and Exeter sailors were on hand all day to ensure the smooth running of the event. EUSC would like to thank our sponsors Jimmy Green and Timepiece for making the event possible and enjoyable for so many sailors.