Mirror North East Travellers at Otley Sailing Club

Mirror North East Travellers at Otley © M Grayson

Mirror North East Travellers at Otley © M Grayson

Otley gave us a lovely sunny finale of the North East Travellers on Sunday however there was not much wind resulting in the lake looking like another mirror. Thankfully the wind filled in at about half past 11 just in time for the first race.

The start was rather laid back as the wind was there but very slight, however every boat still managed to cross competitively with Tom Dean and Ellie Benn first round the windward mark closely followed by the rest of the fleet. This race was great when it comes to the competition as the positions constantly changed until about 3 legs to the end. This meant that everybody was always on top of their game to try and snatch that lead as it was there for the taking.

Rachel Grayson and George Stainforth managed to take the on the second spinnaker leg as she sailed over the top of Emma Clayton and Tom Dean, sneaky we know, but nevertheless she managed to contain that lead for a short while. Then on the last beat of the race Emma Grayson and Ben Settle took a slightly different tactic on the beat to see whether their theory would pay and it did!

So from nowhere they took the lead followed very closely by Reg, Tom and Emma, to battle it out down the final spinnaker leg to the finish line. Emma ended up winning, Rachel second, Emma Clayton 3rd but almost second, and Tom Dean 4th.

The second race had a bit more wind but much more constant this time, the start was clear with nobody over and everybody battled it out again to the first windward mark, Emma Grayson was first to the windward mark followed my Emma Clayton and Tom Dean again. Unfortunately Reg ran aground in this race which meant that she could not be up at the front battling for 1st as she did in the previous race. The light winds proved good for the single-handers as they moved through the fleet. The results in that race were Emma 1st with Emma Clayton 2nd.

The third race saw Emma Clayton being 1st the windward mark with considerable distance from the rest of the fleet. With the wind constant again for the beginning of this race we had a competitive first half, however it did start to die off towards the end. Emma Clayton secured her lead miles ahead of the rest of the fleet with Rob Dean 2nd, flying through the fleet, and Emma Grayson 3rd and Reg fourth.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Otley for hosting the event and their sponsors for providing some brill prizes. Thanks to the galley for food and drink.

As it was the finale of the North East Travellers there was also the presentation of the North East Traveller Trophy, which went over 10 events, and was awarded to Emma Grayson with 11 points. Well done to everyone who participated, see you next year.