Ely Sailing Club hosts third event in annual Cambridgeshire Youth League racing series

Greeted by light wind conditions, eleven Ely cadets took to the water.

Competing for Ely were Kirk Stamford, Ted Pepper, Rhys Williams, Laura Campbell, Oliver Butler, David Coe, Stella Coe, Daisy Tempest, Ethan Tempest, Harriet Frost and Matthew Palmer. Overall, 25 competitors took part.

The first race saw both Kirk and Ted in their lasers have an equally good start. However, Kirk managed to overtake Ted on the first upwind leg meaning he was leading the fleet.

Shortly after, Thomas Bryant, a sailor from Cam Sailing Club, overtook both Kirk and Ted on the first downwind leg.

However, Thomas was forced to retire later in the race.

After several battles for first position between Ted and Kirk, Kirk finished in first place and Ted finished in third place. Rhys finished in ninth position in his Aero 5.

In the second race, Ted had a fantastic start, which meant he was leading the fleet.

He maintained this position for half of the race, but he was being pursued by Kirk and Thomas.

Eventually, Kirk and Thomas got ahead. Ted finished fourth, Kirk finished third and Rhys finished ninth.

In the last race, the wind speed reduced significantly. Kirk took advantage of a small gust on the first upwind leg giving him a small lead, with Ted and Thomas missing out.

With a close battle between Thomas and Kirk, Thomas finished third and Kirk finished fourth. Ted finished fifth and Rhys finished 11th.

Overall, Terry Hacker in an Optimist from Hunts SC finished first, Kirk Stamford finished second and Thomas Bryant finished third.

For Ely Kirk finished second overall, Ted finished fifth overall winning the first under 15 trophy, and Rhys finished 11th overall.

Laura Campbell came 12th and was awarded the endeavour award for her significant improvement over the past year.

Ely Sailing Club was founded in 1946 and is based at Roswell Pits.

Visit www.elysailingclub.org or email commodore.elysc@gmail.com for more information.