On Saturday 26 November, 9 university teams came together at Grafham Water for the Midlands area BUSA qualifier. They were met by pretty harsh conditions – hail, sleet, and 35 knot gusts driving the choice to use cut-down sails, and for once not a single competitor grumbled.
Racing kicked-off with all first teams sailing against their second teams to ensure that no last minute sneaky tactics could be employed to let second teams through to a subsequent playoff.
The racing took place relatively smoothly without too many incidents. One notable exception was when a squall hit the Nottingham 1 vs UEA race and half the competitors did not make the finish.
Due to the tough conditions and failing light, the first round robin could not be completed by close of play on Saturday. At this stage the leaders Cambridge 1 and Nottingham 1, who had not dropped a race, were looking forward to meeting on Sunday morning.
Thankfully the race committee had sorted out the weather for Sunday, and the round robin was finished by 10am leaving time to do a second league for the top 6 teams to decide who would qualify for BUSA and the playoffs. The remaining teams showed exceptional sportsmanship by agreeing to sail a mini round robin between them, resulting in fewer races being needed to complete the main league.
The results overall stand with Cambridge 1, Nottingham 1, and Cambridge 2 qualifying to return to Grafham for the April 2006 BUSA finals, and Birmingham 1 and Nottingham 2 with a bit more work to do at the playoffs early next year.
Many thanks to the umpires, race committee and helpers who put in a sterling effort in the freezing weather.