Last year’s defeat after a long period of dominance meant the York sailors were out for revenge. Lancaster were the favourites having had their best ever season but with a rapidly improving York team, the races were set to be highly competitive. York’s sailors claimed the victory, winning 3-2 after a tense final match decider.
Sailing at Roses uses the team racing format made up of 3 boats and 6 sailors per team with the aim of securing a the lowest points total in each race. 1 point is awarded for first, 2 points for second etc. Representing the white rose in 2012 were Matt Goacher, Jo Bradley, Sam Edom, Grace Redhead, Radheeka Jirasinha and Sarah Thake.
With racing underway, York came out on top in an incident-filled race. Radheeka and Sarah showed blistering pace in the early stages of the race which was backed up by forcing Lancaster boats back into 5th and 6th.
With the Lancaster team rattled, the second race of the day was over extremely quickly. Sam and Grace ensured a Lancaster boat was in last place off the start, leaving Matt and Jo to lead the race. Securing the 1st and 2nd combination guaranteed the race win and left York needing just one more race win to take overall victory. However, Lancaster found their speed in races 3 and 4 to level the score at 2-2, as York struggling to assert their tactics.
York entered the deciding race with a solid game plan choosing to each attack one Lancaster boat in the 3 minute pre-start countdown. With just a few seconds to the start, York’s pressure forced contact between two of Lancaster’s boats leading to penalty spins being given by the umpire. After a great start by York, the Lancaster captain worked hard to get his team mates back into the race. With the race firmly in the balance, more drama was to follow as Sam and Grace worked brilliantly with Matt and Jo to force Lancaster’s captain to make an error and touch the first buoy, collecting a penalty spin. York held a perfect 1,2,3 combination but the variable breeze meant the race was far from over. Radheeka and Sarah successfully held up the Lancaster boats to ease the pressure on the leading duo. Crossing the finish line in 1st, 2nd, 3rd was the best way to celebrate a thrilling victory for York. York 2nds continued the success in their non-points scoring competition. Another 5 race thriller once again saw York come out with a 3-2 victory.
The team has improved massively over the course of this year and with a stable squad of fantastic sailors, the sailing team is aiming very high next year.