Southerns 21 May

Post date: May 24, 2011 8:40:41 AM

BSDRA Southern Area Championships 21 May 2011, 1030 to 1730

Held as in previous years at Spinnaker SC in the New Forest, entry was restricted to 12 teams sailing in three flights of fireflies. Present were Winchester, Canford, Clifton, Sherborne, Bryanston and Millfield from the Southern Area, plus Magdalen, Eton, Tonbridge, Claire Court, Wellington and King’s. Weather conditions were perfect with Force 3 wind and sunny spells. Umpiring was led by internationally accredited David Steele supported by other experienced umpires /teachers.

A round-robin of three leagues of four schools led into a second round-robin of Gold, Silver and Bronze leagues. The top two in each league then went into 3-race finals.

MCS saw off King’s in the Gold final, with perfect 1-2-3 performances in both races, thus winning the Francis-Beharrall trophy. Sherborne beat Tonbridge 2-0 in the Silver final, so becoming the Southern Area champions. Claire Court came back from one race down to beat Millfield in the Bronze final.

Complete results were:

1 MCS

2 King’s Canterbury

3 Eton

4 Wellington

5 Sherborne

6 Tonbridge

7 Winchester

8 Canford

9 Claire Court

10 Millfield

11 Bryanston

12 Clifton

The range of abilities was great. Pre-seeding with the aid of BSDRA data reduced the number of severely one-sided races. Restricted entry allowed 50% of the time on the water. Top class umpiring prevented dissent. Support from Spinnaker SC kept the boats operational and was greatly appreciated.

Eric Billington

Winchester College