A news embargo in respect for the Royal Family and the period of mourning was requested by Cardiff Bay Yacht Club, who decided to go ahead with their running of the British Keelboat League on 10th – 11th September. This having now passed, Marconi SC thank them for their consideration. Here’s a report with contributions from our participating sailors.
12 Marconi members gathered at Cardiff in the late afternoon of Friday 9th September ready to participate as three teams, competing against other clubs in the BKL. Some of our members were old hands at this event (Hannah, David, Dan & Jack) and at the training session in Cardiff Bay on Friday afternoon they helped our newest team (Anna N, Anna C, Daisy, Kyle) quickly become familiar with the RS21 keelboats.
On Saturday morning the teams assembled on the pontoon and although there was no wind in the air, it was filled with the excitement and anticipation of what was to come. For sailors Alex and Ethan, this was their first sail racing event away from Marconi and they made up our youngest team with Isabella and Mia.
Three times the race officers tried to get the event under way and on every attempt the wind failed. Only 6 very slow races were completed all day in an event which last year managed to get nearly three times as many completed in the first day. It wasn’t just the wind that kept the fleet from moving. Cardiff Bay is locked and tide free, which allows the water to really warm up over the summer and this year the weed had grown exceptionally well.
The extremely light air and knowledge of the weed played into the hands of the local sailors. How often do we sail in very light air at Marconi, and when have we ever had to get the ribs to tow the fleet backwards to free the weed from the keel and rudder before a race can start? By the time our sailors had realised the techniques that the locals were using, sailing ended for the day, but there was always tomorrow!
At the start of day 2 our teams were firmly in the lower half of the results, but the wind had arrived, just enough to require gentle hiking. The boats were moving and the racing was definitely on.
Our most senior team, (Hannah, David, Dan & Jack) having sailed together very little this season, started to get back into the groove. Better sail handling and quicker wind shift detection saw them at times overhauling 3 boats on a single leg of the 15 minute races and they started to move up the leader board.
The newly formed team (Anna N, Anna C, Daisy, Kyle) started to define their roles, improved their techniques and were sailing close up with the other teams in their races as they built experience throughout day 2.
In the races sailed by our younger team, (Isabella, Mia, Ethan, Alex) they were frequently bang on the line at the start and mixing it with the other teams, On what they thought was a 2nd placed finish, but was recorded as a 3rd, they performed the ‘manoeuvre of the day’ to the delight of the watching spectators, race officers and other competitors. Crossing the line, kite still pulling, the crew concentrated on driving the boat over the line whilst Isabella started her celebration dance moves at the back of the boat just that little bit too early. The boat headed up significantly as the attention of the helm was elsewhere, kite powered up, boat violently healed, and Alex who’d just started to make his move to prepare for the drop was jettisoned overboard to much applause and laughter from the onlookers.
By the end of day 2 all three of our teams were sailing much better than day 1 and although the final results show Isabella’s team finishing in 10th place overall, and Anna’s team 11th, on the water there was very little time between them and the boats finishing ahead of them in their races.
Dan’s team had improved their position up to 4th overall, finishing consistently in 2nd place and a win on Day 2. With an average points score of 4.07 which is an average finish of 3rd place across all 15 races they sailed over the two days. Overall, positions 1, 2 and 3 were filled by teams from the host club Cardiff Bay YC who all scored a slightly higher average with none averaging 2nd place or higher which indicates just how close the racing became on day 2. (CBYC Average points 4.8, 4.7 & 4.5) The full results can be seen here.
Congratulations to the Cardiff teams, and to their club members who put on once again a great BKL event.
Marconi’s 4th place was enough to earn them a place in the British Keelboat League final and our team of Dan Nickalls (helm), Jack Wardell (main) David Nickalls (trim) and Hannah Bard (bow) will be heading down to the Royal Southern YC to compete in 3 days of racing that will conclude on Sunday 2nd October.
Good Luck Team Marconi!
