D.U.S.C have begun their season strongly having competed in two J70 British Keelboat League events in Cowes over the past 3 weeks. After a breezy week with kites tucked firmly in the pit, the team of Russell Bolger (H), Will Sunderland, Christian Ennis, Donal Walsh and Max Cantwell finished with a solid 7th out of 16 teams at the 4th Annual David Haw Memorial Trophy ran by the University of Bristol Sailing Club, the Royal Thames and Royal Southern Yacht clubs. Short, close racing in the Solent, as is the format in the British Keelboat League, allowed D.U.S.C to use their boat on boat strategy built by their intensive team racing program to navigate through the fleet and start the keelboat season on a high.
D.U.S.C’s other team comprising of Trevor Bolger(H), Russell Bolger, Ella Dempsey, Georgia Goodbody and Keelboat Captain Conor Lynch were also competing in the Solent at the prestigious British Keelboat League Finals with the college having qualified after winning the student yacht racing nationals last year.
3 days of tricky, tidal racing in a wide range of wind from 5-25 knots challenged the fleet but D.U.S.C kept their cool and finished out the event in 5th having snagged an impressive 5 bullets over the course of the event. “We had an amazing event at the BKL Finals, and a fantastic trip to Cowes. Although we were new to the J70 class, we had an experienced crew of keelboat racers who quickly took the boat. The whole team is very satisfied with the result, and we’d like to give a huge thanks to Jack Fenwick, Peter Ward and all of the event organisers and volunteers for allowing to have this experience. The photos and stories from the two trips have spread quickly throughout the club, and there’s a huge appetite for more high level keelboat racing events in the future” Said Conor Lynch D.U.S.C’s Keelboat Captain.
