Old Roedeanians finish mid fleet in Yachting regatta On a blustery Friday night a group of intrepid Roedeanians gathered to set sail after dark from Port Solent to Cowes, in preparation for the 25th Arrow Sailing Regatta, and Roedeans second entry. Before the night was out the crew had shared a chilly sail under the stars, several bottles of wine and discovered that in-spite of covering 5 decades of schooling, we had all been taught by Mr England & Mrs Romanov. On Saturday morning, we jostled on the start line along with 23 other 40 foot identical yachts and battled it out in windy conditions. It was quite a fight with tussles on the start line and at mark roundings, hairy spinnaker hoists and times with too much sail up, although unlike Winchester we managed to keep our mast in one piece. Being the only girls school (and the second ever to enter) we were certainly noticeable, but we were sailing on equal footing with the other boats in physically challenging conditions, we had the endurance and drive to finish 16th on Saturday. Saturday night saw a spirited turn around to clean out selves up and rush out some smoke salmon canapés ready for pre dinner drinks hosted by the Old Pangbornian Sailing Club, before we went on to dinner at Royal Ocean Racing Club. The dinner was delightful with many new friends made...and the Uppingham team nudging their table over until they joined us. Sunday proved more favourable weather for us, with our smaller lighter crew no longer being a disadvantage, and we raced amongst the leaders to finish 12th overall and 8th in the fleet racing, ahead of many teams who have been competing for decades. My proudest moment was to see the crew managing the kite on Sunday like professionals, as we were surrounded by other boats all fighting for clean air. I have never sailed with a crew who all worked so hard and improved so much during a weekend and I'm pleased that it is reflected in our final position. I hope that we can build off this success! #arrowtrophy #sailing #sunsail #roedean #ora #yachtracing #racing
