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A selection of Match Reports from the 2010 season

The Sailing Club went to Sherborne on Thursday 23 September, for a Team Race in the 420 class dinghy.

Despite heavy showers the wind condition for racing was near-perfect with 10mph breezes. Sherborne’s first and second boats had strong helms and always got good positions on the start line. However, Simon Green and Lauren Tang consistently spoiled the Sherborne game-plan by their very skilful use of team racing tactics. They set mark traps, blocked Sherborne’s boats and lead them off the course to allow Clifton’s second and third boats through.

Unfortunately Clifton didn’t have the speed lower down in the fleet to take full advantage of these tactics and Sherborne ended up beating us on points.

We look forward to the ‘home’ leg of this fixture at Chew in October.

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Fleet racing at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club on Thursday 17th June v. Colston’s. With many 5th and 6th formers out of school this was mainly an opportunity for the novice crews to race. The weather was perfect – blazing sunshine and good breezes. Colston’s performed well in the middle of the fleet but couldn’t catch Simon Green and Lauren Tang who were well ahead of the field securing victory for Clifton. Novice pairings Johnnie Gill/ Alessandro Miotto and Alicia Ballance/ Nino Freuler had some successful races. Overall a delightful last fixture before the staff-student race brings the season to a close. June 2010.

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Sailing at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club on Thursday 20th May. This was a fleet race open to sailors from Clifton College, Prior Park and Colston’s. The winds were very light and patchy so the helms had to use skill to read where the wind was and to keep power in the sails. Simon Green and Lauren Tang – experienced light wind sailors – came first twice. Newcomers Alicia Ballance and Nino Freuler took second place in the first race, as did Gill and Clark in the second. May 2010.

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Clifton joined 14 other school teams on Saturday at Spinnaker Sailing Club in Hampshire to race for the Southern Dinghy Racing trophy. The conditions were glorious and Clifton battled hard in their four races, with Green and Tang doing all they could tactically to shepherd through our less-experienced pairings of Jonnie Gill and Dan Clark; and Alicia Ballance and Nino Freuler. In the end it wasn’t enough and we failed to make the finals, but the event was a great experience for all involved – and sunburn was kept to a minimum! May 2010.

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Very light wind and at times no wind has made this a testing week for the College Sailing Team. Sherborne had to call off our Thursday fixture meaning that we went into Saturday’s Midland’s regional event without practice on the water. On Saturday 19 teams including many of the country’s top Sailing Schools met at Oxford. Clifton met the eventual winners Magdalen College in their first draw and faced Eton after that and although losing on team points Green and Tang consistantly upset the oppositon by appearing in the front three boats of the fleet. We did then win one of our remaining two matches before the winds completely died. Clifton clearly learned a lot from competing at this level and will be better armed for the Southern’s event on 22nd where we hope for more of a breeze. May 2010.

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Relishing the sunny, breezy conditions on Chew Valley Lake on Saturday, the Clifton sailing team began their summer season with a convincing win over Millfield. The Clifton squad of Simon Green, Lauren Tang, Bastian Marduel, Luke Farmer, Tom Gill and Michael Terry dominated all three races. This bodes well for a strong performance in the Midlands Team Racing Championships this coming Saturday. April 2010.

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The Clifton College Sailing Team beat Prior Park in a fleet race at Chew Valley Lake on Thursday afternoon. Clifton got off to a very inauspicious start in the first race when Green and Tang turtled their boat; Nick Smith's crew Luke Farmer went 'man-over-board' and Prior Park boats 1 and 2 took better lines to the windward mark than our crews did. However, in the second and third races Green and Tang dominated the front of the field. Smith and the new pairing of Mike Terry and Dan Clark attacked the first mark on starboard, thus gaining rights over the opposition when rounding the mark.

The biggest upset for Prior Park came in the final race when Chandratreya and Howell gained three boat lengths on the opposition’s fastest boat and powered past them on the beat to the finish line. Chandratreya still doesn't know how he did it, but we are hoping that he can repeat the manoeuvre against Milfield on Saturday. March 2010.

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Sailing: Team Racing Against Sherborne Thursday 4th March
The Clifton College Sailing Team narrowly evaded victory in a clash against Sherborne School last week. Fighting against 25 mph gusts, lighter crews like Lauren Tang had to ‘hike out’ dramatically to keep the Fireflies upright and ‘on’ rather than ‘under’ the lake. In the second race, Mike Terry and Johnnie Gill stole a crafty inside overlap before falling foul of a rule infringement. Bastian Marduel and Nick Smith sailed well keeping Clifton’s hopes high. After three tense and blustery races it was left to Simon Green to prize open the slenderest of gaps and carve his way across the finish line ahead of the Sherborne boats. This conversion helped bring the overall points score close at 28 Clifton to 35 Sherborne over 4 races. This week Clifton throw down the gauntlet to local rivals Prior Park. March 2010.

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Sailing: Clifton began the competitive sailing season with an assured victory over Millfield on Saturday at Chew Valley Lake. The Clifton team, comprised of Simon Green, Nick Smith, Neil Chandratreya and Bastian Marduel, outclassed the opposition over the four race match, despite throwing away the first race after a collision with the leeward marker. Millfield’s helming was at times downright intimidating, but it was most encouraging to see the Clifton team employing guile and strategy to fox the opposition. Simon Green was particularly effective at ensnaring Millfield’s boats using tactical manoeuvring. This team performance bodes well for the upcoming series of school sailing matches. Amen! February 2010.

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