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| 21 Jan 2020 | |
| Written by James Leahy | |
| Club News |
| Sailing |
| The Old Tonbridgian Sailing Association (OTSA) was delighted to enter a crew into the 2019 Arrow Trophy competition, which took place in the Solent near Cowes on 12th/13th October. We had been hoping to gain a training day on the Friday before but bad weather made it impossible. This was a portent of things to come. Over a total of three short fleet races on the Saturday, which is all the abysmal weather would allow, we achieved our highest ever finish; 4th in the fleet racing category and 8th overall. Perhaps that was a fitting tribute to one our regular crew members, Nick Turner, who so tragically died earlier this year. Nick was sorely missed, though with the newly named ‘Nick Turner Generations Cup’ to be introduced next year, he will not be forgotten. I will miss his cheerful enthusiasm. For this and other reasons we were slightly down on OT crew numbers this year, so a couple of sea-worthy ringers were drafted in, thanks to our resident Cowes OT, Richard Hollis (MH 66-71). They gelled quickly with the six OT’s and under the determined leadership of our skipper Alistair Impey (PH 64-68) we got our matched Beneteau First 40 cruiser sailing well. The competition was strong, especially as we were part of a large fleet of twenty six boats, one of the largest gatherings in the annual regatta’s twenty seven years. This made it all the more disappointing that, having got out on the water on Sunday morning, we were literally ‘all dressed up with nowhere to go’; the adrenalin was pumping and the crew was ready for work…but the gusting wind was too much for the race committee to sanction racing, so it was all called off. Here’s hoping for better conditions next year! We would love to welcome newcomers of any ability to join us for this and other events, some more competitive than others. This includes sailing yachts and/or dinghys. For more info contact Alistair Impey on otsailing.sec@gmail.com |
