Notts County drivers win East Midlands Finals:

Notts County Team at Honda Rib Challenge regional finals. July 18th

Alex Hughes and Mark Sears competed for Notts County SC in the RYA Honda Rib Challenge East Midlands regional finals at Rutland Watersports Centre this Saturday. 6 clubs entered teams in the two age groups, 8 – 12 yrs and 13 – 16 yrs. The event was well organised by the RYA, supported by staff and the facilities at the Whitwell centre. Two new ribs were provided, fully customised with logo’s representing all the sponsors. At the briefing the whole programme was clearly explained and the main objectives were set:-

Look cool and have fun

The slalom course was laid close to the shore, allowing the parental support teams to see all the action. The wind was strong and gusty, adding an extra level of difficulty as the competitors got to grips with unfamiliar boats and surroundings. Each driver was given a short time to practise away from the course whilst the previous boat did two timed runs. The course began with a slalom arranged in an L shape, followed by a mark with a post and a rubber ring around it and then a pink turning mark. The start / finish line was between a fixed mark and a Honda CRV on the shore, complete with red and green roof lights to signal when they could start. The drivers were guided by an RYA instructor in each boat who checked for touching marks etc., awarding 5 second penalties for each misdemeanour. When the green light came on, the boats were accelerated to top speed before they crossed the start line and the timing started. The slalom was very tight, requiring good judgement of speed and rhythm to keep the boats flipping around the buoys. Each driver had to stop and pick the rubber ring up and away from the post, before replacing it. Sounds easy, but not if your boat is blowing away from the buoy as you do it. This was the make or break part of the course. After that, the pink buoy had to be stopped at, and then rounded ¾ turn in reverse without touching it. Then flat out to the finish line.

Mark Sears wrote “Ian and his team helped me and all the other drivers to be very good. So firstly I’d like to thank Ian and his team. On the day of the regional final it was very very windy. I was the last competitor to run in the 8 to 12 year olds and I had butterflies, watching everyone do their runs. When it was my turn I got a couple of minutes to practice and to get a feel for the boat. On my first run I did alright but I got a 5 second penalty for flooding the boat. On my second run I didn’t get any penalties but I struggled to reach the ring so lost some time there. At the prize giving I was very shocked that I won and Alex did very well and came second in the 13 – 16 year olds. I hope Alex and I do well in the National finals at the Southampton on September the 13th .”

So Mark and possibly Alex will both be representing the club in the finals at the Southampton boat show on the 13th September. They each have a chance of winning a Honda Rib for the club. Do come and cheer for them if you are coming to the show. Big thanks to Ian Pilkington and all the Powerboat coaches at NCSC who have put some much time helping all the drivers raise their standard, sometimes in atrocious conditions.

By John Sears

Links to key site pages
Home - Racing- Racing Qualification - Teaching - Joining - weather data - Dinghy Training - Windsurfing Training - Other Teaching - Results - For Sale - RYa Racing Charter - Social - Webcam - News - Old news links - Open infotmation - Accomodation - Location - Lake - Site Map - Contacts - Sailing Instructions - Club Rules - Club History - Consitution - Classes sailed - Forms - Minutes - Junior page - calendar