Good Year for Tideway Hansa (Access) Racing
The National Hansa (Access) Traveller Series concluded at Frensham Pond Sailing Club this year. It was a good year for Tideway; Glynis joined the club in her search for a sport. She found it in sailing, just in time to participate in the last 3 races of the Series, gaining a 2nd place at Frampton and a 3rd at Frensham. She was helming a 303 with Hugh as her crew / coach. Glynis is enjoying sailing at Tideway and is keen to carry on through the winter. Showing a clear aptitude for racing, and with the support of her partner, Val, an exciting new year awaits. Leslie, in his first year competing in the 303 Single Class, came 3rd in the National Traveller Series and won a trophy as Best Novice competitor. He also won the Northern Series and came 3rd in the Southern Series. At the Carsington event in Derbyshire, Leslie won the Duke of Devonshire Trophy for the best results over all Classes. We stayed an extra day to compete in the G.P. Event, which he also won. At the Nationals, held at Weymouth, Leslie came 3rd and won another trophy for best novice racer. Although he has been sailing for many years, he had, until this year, only raced in the double-handed class with Hugh as crew / coach. Racing presents unique challenges to deaf sailors. As the only deaf sailor in the Series, Leslie has to be applauded for his determined efforts to see it through to the finish. We hope that his example will encourage other deaf people to try sailing at Tideway. In his own words, “It was a great year, sailing solo in the Traveller Series and winning trophies. I feel, as a deaf sailor, I have shown that I have the same skills and love of sailing as other disabled sailors in the Series. I’m pleased to be part of the team coming 2nd in the Ben Ainsley Trophy. In the future Tideway can be top.”
After a 4 year break from racing and thanks to on-going modifications by Mark and Paul, and extensive repairs to boat and trailor - the boat was literally coming apart at the seams during the Series, Melvin won the Liberty Class National Series for the first time. He also won the Western Series, came 2nd in the Southern Series and 3rd in the Northern Series. At the European Championships, Melvin came 2nd in the Liberty Full Servo Class. We came 2nd in the Ben Ainsley Trophy, awarded to the club with best overall results in the Series. This was a significant achievement for Tideway, beating Rutland Sailability into 3rd place. The trophy was won by Frensham (again). As always, nothing is achieved without the support of volunteers. Thanks to all Tideway volunteers for help loading boats and keeping us on the road; to Julie for driving us to Weymouth, to Ram for Carsington and special thanks go to Kate Tierney for her invaluable support throughout the Series and to Hugh for his constant enthusiasm and technical support.