It was an early start for the 12 Trinity sailors who travelled across the Irish Sea via an 8am flight on Friday morning. Two teams of six athletes from the Dublin University Sailing Club travelled to East Midlands UK for a two-day team-racing regatta hosted by Loughborough University. Expectations were high following excellent results in previous years and the teams were excited to get their hands dirty (and their feet stuck in to the muddy shores of Loughborough reservoir).
Things got off to a slow start on Saturday morning when sailing was abandoned for the day due to stormy weather. Unfortunately there is not much anyone can do when 60 KPH winds begin blowing other than deem conditions unsafe for sailing and keep the tension building until Sunday.
Eager to get as much racing in as possible organisers set the first gun for 9 am on Sunday morning with Trinity 2 sailing in the 3rd race of the day. Things got off to a promising in Trinity’s first race when TCD 2 took a commanding 1st 2nd 3rd lead, and went on to win the race. Next it was TCD 1’s turn in the driver’s seat, they too won their first race of the day. A positive morning was rounded off by another victory for TCD 2 who won their 2nd race as well, albeit by a much closer margin than the first. Good boat speed and smart tactics by Trinity meant both teams they were looking forward to the afternoon’s racing.
The afternoon proved to be more challenging for DUSC. The wind died down consistently throughout the day and got shiftier as the afternoon went on. Miscommunication off the start line combined with poor use of the tricky wind conditions hampered TCD 2’s efforts, they lost their final 3 races. TCD 1 had more success, savvy boat handling and a brilliantly executed leeward mark trap allowed them to see off Durham with a satisfying 1st 2nd across the finish line in their final race of the day. Both teams finished in the Silver Fleet.
A slightly disappointing result for Trinity means all sailors have come home with plenty to work on. The event was a fantastic learning experience and great fun all around, you would have been hard pressed to find a sailor without a smile on their face as they made there way back to Dublin. A huge thanks to Loughborough University Sailing Team for organising the event, DUCAC and DUSC’s sponsor, Hunky Dory. Looking forward to seeing everyone again at next year’s Loughborough-Lemming.