Hosted by Bristol University on 1st-2nd December 2007
At the beginning of December, 20 teams were welcomed at Chew Valley Sailing Club for a very wet and windy weekend of team racing at the Deloitte Bristol Brew. It was the first time Bristol University had hosted 20 teams, and looked set to be a competitive event with some of the best university and alumni teams, including a number of sailors that had recently brought back medals from the worlds.
The event was sailed in four flights of fireflies, including some quite impressive colour combinations due to a few last minute changes thanks to some mice that thought sails were a good home. Teams were initially split into four flights of five, and with cut-down sails on and the wind constantly varying from around a Force 3 to a 6 sailors were kept on their toes. To keep the start boat crew in good spirit, Claire Walsh, sailing for BUSA Ladies, did a good job of capsizing during the start sequence. Good team spirit was evident later in the day when fellow Bristol sailor Edd Green thought he’d join in and went for a dip too. Joined by a few others during the same gust it seemed the conditions were proving to be quite challenging.
The first round robin was finished mid afternoon, just in time to split the teams into leagues and resume racing for a short while before sunset. After an exciting day on the water, everyone was very glad to get ashore and head into Bristol for a night at the legendary Lizard Lounge nightclub.
Unfortunately, the wind increased overnight, and some very weary sailors were met by strong winds on the Sunday morning. The decision was made that it was too windy for team racing and results were taken from the first round robin to decide on the winner. Due to a number of teams having won all their races, it came down to points, with Royal Thames coming out on top followed by Heroes of Obertavern, Southampton and Society. Next year we hope we might get an event in Bristol where we don’t get blown off the map!
Bristol University would like to say a very big thank you to the umpires, and all the universities that lent boats and sails ? Bath, Exeter, Oxford, UWE and Southampton. And to our sponsors Deloitte and Red Bull for providing some much needed energy. Nigel Vick was busy snapping away during the event, and photos can be seen at www.photoboxgallery.com/NVPhoto.