BSDRA Southerns 2021 Report

The BSDRA Southerns, usually the first BSDRA event of the summer season, was this year the first BSDRA event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (and perhaps the first school sailing event since then too).

Usually accepting 16-20 entries, this year the decision was made to start small, with an event for four local teams: RGS Guildford, Sherborne, Wellington and the hosts Winchester. Since some of the teams had not sailed much in the last year, the format was also different - starting with a morning of training and moving into racing in the afternoon.

Strong, gusty wind conditions challenged the sailors in the morning, sailing with cutdown mainsails. The afternoon brought a return to full sails and fantastic sailing weather. All the teams seemed to enjoy the format of the event and the fact that they were on the water the whole time (we avoided swapping boats so that we didn't have to sanitise them every changover): hopefully a good start to the season for all. The event was won by RGS Guildford, with Sherborne taking second place.