Last Saturday the OB Sailing Team took on the School and had a fantastic day of sailing. Our thanks to Mark Skevington (Staff 85-current) for this report:

‘In perfect conditions, with sun and a good SW wind, the teams met at Boddington Reservoir for a BBQ lunch before sailing commenced. It also happened to be the 75th anniversary party for Banbury Sailing Club, which added to the celebrations. It was noted that Bloxham School have been a member for two thirds of that time.

Racing started on time with two full sets of crews, sailing in Bloxham’s six newish RS Fevas. Race one did not start well for the School, with Lewis R and Angus C, capsized and stranded on the line; however, they were able to catch up due to the tactical manoeuvring of Will M-G for the School. In the end though, the younger crews could not do enough, and the OBs won the first race 12 points to 9.

 

In race two, Lewis and Angus got off to a flyer, hitting the start line on the hooter, and never losing their lead. In the end, they finished well ahead of the fleet but that’s not the whole story, as it was a very close affair, with all the remaining dinghies finishing in a flurry, seconds apart from each other, with positions changing millimetres from the finish line. Once the race committee had totted up the scores, the School had won, leaving it all square going into the final race.

Race three started in a similar way to the previous one, with Lewis and Angus first across the line in a commanding position; however, they did not have it all their own way this time. OBs Jake Faithfull and Pippa Little produced some inspirational team racing manoeuvres to change what had initially appeared like it would be an easy win for the School. They managed to finish first, but their efforts were not quite enough to keep their team-mates in a winning combination and so the School managed to win again with a score of 12 to 9 and therefore secured the overall win, two races to one, and thus retained the trophy.

 

The Douglas Perrin Trophy was presented to Will M-G at the awards ceremony, after all boats had been packed away. Will gave a good speech thanking everyone for attending and for such good racing, and we raised a glass in memory of Douglas (Staff 2001- 2010) who was a great supporter of School sailing.

A big thank you to Tom, Jenny and Jazz Mawby-Groome for putting the OB team together and for the fine BBQ. Thank you too to the race committee: official timekeeper, George, and starter, Emily. To Sue Faithfull for photography, supplies and being a race official on the day, having a foot in both camps. Finally, to Lisa Manning, starter, race committee and signal and sound coordinator.’ [TMS]

OB Sailing Team: Tom Mawby-Groom (Sy 89-94) – Captain, Bertie Bond (LS/Sy 16-23), Jemima Bond (LS/Wf 16-23), Jake Faithfull (LS/Wn 16-23), Pippa Little (Ry 17-22), Jazz Mawby-Groom (Sh 22-24)

Final positions:

Race 1

  1. Jake and Pippa (OB)
  2. Bertie and Jemima (OB)
  3. Will and Aulay (School)
  4. Rory and Reuban (School)
  5. Lewis and Angus (School)
  6. Tom and Jazz (OB)

OBs win 12-9

Race 2

  1. Lewis and Angus (School)
  2. Jake and Pippa (OB)
  3. Will and Aulay (School)
  4. Bertie and Jemima (OB)
  5. Rory and Reuban (School)
  6. Tom and Jazz (OB)

School win 12-9

Race 3

  1. Jake and Pippa (OB)
  2. Lewis and Angus (School)
  3. Will and Aulay (School)
  4. Rory and Reuban (School)
  5. Tom and Jazz (OB)
  6. Bertie and Jemima (OB)

School win 12-9

OB News overview