Bray Sailing Club held their first ever short-course team racing event in the Harbour on Saturday 3rd December. The event was dominated by two teams of young sailors from Courtown Sailing Club. 5 teams sailed a round robin event - in which teams race once against all other teams.

Kieran Crowe and Barry Nolan won all four of their races to win convincingly, giving a demonstration of boat-handling and tactical intelligence that will serve them well in their sailing career. Three boats finished with two victories. The mini-series play-off produced some of the tightest racing of the series. In the last race the Bray team of Luke Collins and Freddie Stevens lead from the start. However, rarely has the expression "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" been more appropriate. A minor boathandling error and some loose marking allowed Courtown sailors Simon Doran and Michael Harrington to take the lead in the last yard of the race. The winning margin was a mere six inches, more than was enough for the Courtown team to win the play-off.

Team racing is a spectacular branch of sailing. Bray Sailing Club's has innovated by shortening the courses to sail in the harbour. Races are even more intense, and the action is in full view of spectators. Teams of 2 or 3 boats race against each other. In 2 boat team racing the team of the boat that finishes last loses the race. Races are not won by sailing fast, but by careful positioning of boats to hinder the opposition and ensure that team colleagues have a clear passage to the finish. Good racing looks like a nautical "dog-fight", as boats circle and manoeuvre to take the advantage over their opponents.
The winter season's sailing continues on 17th December, when all sailors are welcome to compete in a Pico Challenge.


Results :

1st Kieran Crowe / Barry Nolan Courtown SC 4 wins
2nd Simon Doran / Michael Harrington Courtown SC 2 wins (+2 wins in the play-off)
3rd Daniel Collins (Bray SC) / Peter Collings (Dun Laoghaire MYC) 2 wins (+1 win in the play-off)
4th Luke Collins / Freddie Stevens Bray SC 2 wins (0 wins in the play-off)
5th Caroline Walker / Muireann O'Sullivan Bray SC 0 wins

report from www.sailing.ie