Success for Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club junior members in national competition

Photo: Richard Marsh

The Lancashire Schools teams made up of junior members from HLSC and Delph SC

After a few quiet weekends at the lake, this week's report focusses on club members sailing away from home.

Earlier this month, the main activity of the junior members was elsewhere, with impressive results.

Over the first weekend of the month, seven of them joined with five young members of Delph Sailing Club, in Bolton, to represent Lancashire Schools Sailing Association in the National Schools Team Racing Championship at Burton Sailing Club in the East Midlands. This event was sailed in Topper dinghies with teams of three sailors racing against other teams to gain the greatest number of wins.

Lancashire Schools were able to field four teams. They had benefitted from some coaching at the lake from club member John Foster who, in the past, had great experience in this different format of racing.

There were 22 teams competing from around the country in a total of 140 races. The best scoring local team was the Lancashire B team of Jacob Din, Jasper Bramwell and Hector Droungos, all from HLSC, who finished runners up overall with Royal Hospital School (Navy related) the overall winners. That was a great performance with no previous experience of such an event.

The Lancashire A team of Lauren Marsh and Millie Hayfield (both HLSC) with Ned (Delph) finished 8th with the C team (Delph members) in 15th and the D team of Annabel Hayfield and Jess Marsh (both HLSC) with Will (Delph) finished 16th and were the best placed team under 12 years of age.

On Saturday 15 October, the HLSC juniors were away again, to Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club for the final event of the North West Junior Travellers series with great results overall. After a nine race series, with 142 competitors, Jacob Din finished 3rd overall, Millie Hayfield was 8th overall (2nd under 14), Lauren Marsh was 14th overall (8th under 16), Annabel Hayfield was 27th overall (6th under 14) and Jess Marsh was 29th overall (6th under 11). These results gave them the overall team prize for the club.

On Sunday back at Hollingworth Lake, there were three different race winners. In a light westerly airstream, Jasper Bramwell (Topper) won the first one, Nick Brook (Phantom) got away to win the second race and Richard and Heather Marsh (RS400) won the third race but also did best overall on the day.