Competitors sail into Draycote Water for five days of racing

Young boaters sailed into Draycote Water for one of the country’s largest youth sailing regattas of the year.

Sailors from the club were among those competing at the National School Sailing Association National Youth Regatta along with teams from across the country.

An opening ceremony for the week-long event saw the teams led by a bagpiper in a parade from the campsite to the sailing club.

The 174 competitors were welcomed by Club Manager Dave Rowe and Commodore Will Whittaker, and video ‘good luck’ messages from sailing superstars including quadruple Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie.

Five days of racing followed with the competitors split into seven different fleets, including a ‘Regatta’ fleet for the less experienced, which completed 18 races with team leaders and coaches on hand to help them develop their skills.

Draycote Water SC members took podium places in three of the seven fleets and won the City of Plymouth Salver for the best under-12 helm (Ed Whittaker from Leamington Spa) and the Felixstowe Salver for the best under-14 helm (Noah Byrd from Rugby).

Last Wednesday morning was reserved for special trophy races followed by an all-comers pursuit race for all the competitors plus Draycote Water SC club members, who won the top five places with teenager Joe Rowe (Rugby) claiming overall victory. The first NSSA regatta competitor, in sixth place, was Draycote member Peter Astley from Broadwell.

Peter’s mum Rachael said: “A huge credit and thanks to the team at Draycote for their support and encouragement.”