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A stellar weekend of champagne sailing at the home of British Olympic sailing – the 2024 Dart 15 Nationals sponsored by Noble Marine insurance really were a weekend to remember!

Forty five competitors competed in nine races over three days, in winds ranging from 12 to 25 knots from remarkably consistent westerly direction.  The event attracted its usual wide range of competitors geographically from Scotland to the Isle of Wight and various places in between and the age range was from 12 years old to mid-seventies.  Of particular note were the 13 entries from Marconi Sailing Club on the Essex East Coast and a number of competitors competing in their first ever Nationals, including several who were very new to the class.

A game of two halves

29 boats entered the second of the Dart 15 Summer Series events with six sailors coming from across the Solent.

There were very light and shifty winds for the first race which started just after noon on Saturday the 18th.  A right handed rectangle course was set by race officers Keith Newnham and Alan Howie-Wood which became a running start as the fickle breeze shifted round.  Those sailors who chose to start on the left hand, shore side of the line were rewarded with their own zephyr whereas those by the outer mark were left stranded in no wind.

The day saw near perfect non-sailing conditions with a frosty start and next to no breeze at all for the 2024 Chris Black Icicle.  However a bunch of enthusiastic & optimistic travellers arrived in good time to prepare themselves for a day afloat with a somewhat diminished local Grafham Water Dart 15 fleet, making on the day attendance 11 boats from 16 entries.  Nigel & Fiona Denchfield along with Grafham Laser sailor Pete Windsor were our race officers for the day ably assisted by the efficient mark laying team supplied by GWSC.  A trapezoidal course was set that also enabled club racing to have a windward/leeward course where all boats converged on mark 4, making for interesting mark rounding.

The Dart 15 Winter Series continued with its fourth Winter TT at Datchet Water Sailing Club.   The February TT does not have a great track record – with several years lost to either Covid or storm force winds and last year’s event only just managed to take place in a mere 3 to 4 knots and freezing temperatures.  So the fourteen competitors were delighted to arrive at Datchet to a decent breeze and mild temperatures.

10 travellers joined 6 home boats. Team Marconi turned up in force and it was good to see recently new travellers Lee Garton and Christophe Clarke visiting Draycote for the first time in the series. Iain Taylor had had a car malfunction so messaged us to say he would try for races 2 and 3.

We had the predicted weather of blue sky 5-10 mph wind and very bright sunshine.

The race officers Tim Case and Richard Cowell gave their briefing and as they have been regular ROs for the fleet and the fact Dart 15 sailors are a friendly bunch the questions were brief.