The HANSA TT (Travellers Trophy) saw an excellent entry of 26 boats with entrants from clubs as far afield as Brasy SC Ireland, there was a good contingent from Frensham Ponds, and entries from Whitefriars, Rutland, Newhaven, Chesil, Carsington and of course Notts County, who have just taken delivery of another HANSA with generous help from the RYA Foundation.
The previous afternoon was set aside for some on water race coaching on lightish winds, which 17 boats attending, led by Brett Cokayne.
Briefing was held after breakfast by Carol and team the army of over 20 willing volunteers ensured launching was as smooth as possible. With many in the fleet needing hoisting, launching was well under way by just after 10am.
There are four classes, the Liberty a larger faster boat with double rudders. The 303 class is the most popular boat with a single handed and double handed start and the 2.3 started with the single handlers. Four of the fleet were entering a TT for the first time. The atmosphere is always very friendly, though competitive on the water.
Racing started with clean starts in a moderate northerly breeze of 12 to 20 mph, a good start and first beat paying dividends. However there was still plenty of opportunity to pass on the run and reaches, and subsequent beats.
The Liberty class saw some close racing, but it was Mike Everitt (Frensham)who scored a string of firsts to win closely followed by fellow club member Paul Philips, with David Durston (Whitefriars) third, the top sailors were often rounding the marks within seconds of each other.
The one person 303 saw Whitefriars members in the top three, racing was close at the top with only one point separating the winner Richard Rochester from Phil Monk in second. Rebecca Willcox was third in spite of a race win in the second race.
The most popular class was the 303 double handed, with ten entrants in the class. Jazz Turner and Jane Thompson from Newhaven won with three firsts, the next two 303s were neck and neck on equal points, with Sebastian (his first open) and Debra Pennington from Notts County winning the final race to take second place, Lottie Cobb and Marianne Will also from Newhaven taking third place.
Lindsay Burns from Frensham won the 2.3 class. Lindsay has been coming to Notts County’s open for seventeen years, so she must enjoy being at the club, a special photo was presented on the day to mark the occasion.
After a short pause when boats were packed away and results calculated prizegiving saw a full clubhouse and thanks for the volunteers who make the meeting run smoothly, both on and off the water.
The first Notts County TT was 25 years ago, so cake was in order after prizegiving.
