A TEAM of 11 junior members of Draycote Water Sailing Club came third overall in the National Schools Sailing Association regatta in Plymouth.
Pitted against 233 competitors from all over the country, the team also came back with winners in two of the seven fleets.
The oldest member of the team, 17-year-old Ted Ball from Hinkley, won the Laser 4.7 fleet, beating 27 other boats.
And one of the younger members, Noah Byrd from Rugby, won the mixed-boat fleet in his Optimist, with five wins from the eleven races. Noah said, “It was my first time sailing at the NSSA regatta, it was also my first time sailing on the sea. I loved every minute of it.”
In the other fleets, Lawrence Sheriff student Sam Byrd, 14, came third in the Laser Radial fleet, and the Rowe brothers from Rugby both came sixth in their fleets – Joe in the Topper 5.3 fleet and younger brother Oscar in the smaller-sailed Topper 4.2.
Joe achieved this result despite having his controlling sheets jammed in one race and being unable to adjust his sail for the whole race – for which he won a seamanship cup.
Ted and Sam sailed together in the prestigious Mount Haes Trophy where each team has one two-man boat – and finished third overall, despite having never sailed together before.
Visit www.draycotewater.co.uk for more information on Draycote Water Sailing Club.
