Strong showing from Budding Entrepreneur in City Sailing Challenge
07/09/08
Tuesday 2nd September saw the Budding Entrepreneur's boat take a credible fourth spot at the finals of the City Sailing Challenge organised by Berkeley Marine and the Royal Thames Yacht Club.
The cream of the City's sailors were out in force and, following a series of heats, only the best eight of the original 28 boats reached the finals. With matched boats crewed by naturally competitive City folk, close racing was inevitable.
So it proved; with three collisions - one caused by experienced Budding Entrepreneur helm Paul Worswick! - a string of torn sails, and at least three protests, the racing was occasionally more akin to stock-car racing than sailing. Thankfully, on the water umpires from the Royal Thames were on hand to manage the racing, doing an excellent job of keeping the over-exuberance in check to ensure fair results.
Despite the incidents and very inconsistent conditions - long periods of very light airs interspersed by 20 knot gusts - the Budding Entrepreneur boat finished a creditable fourth overall beating the winners of their heat (Citisail 4) and Allen & Overy, champions for the past two years, in the process.
With a result sequence of 2,6,3,7 in the final, the mixed ability crew on the Budding Entrepreneur boat were delighted with the result given the quality of the competition and the fact that this is their maiden appearance in the event. The crew are looking forward to improving on their performance next year.
(l-r) Chris Cousins (Beazley), Nick Searle (Oriel Securities), Paul Worswick (Budding Entrepreneur), Trang Kilgore (OTC Derivnet), Emma Couling (BBC)
