The NSSA is a national event, where young sailors from all across the country gather to race and have a good time. It is a fantastic place to meet all sorts of people from all sorts of places, as well as build on sailing skills. Both newcomers and old timers alike had an amazing time, and it was great to see so many smiling faces throughout the event.
The quality of sailing was incredible, particularly from Toby Broadbent, Sam Morell and newcomer Alex Harder, who impressed us all with his early successes. And of course a special mention must go to our resident superman Dan Batty, who managed to come first in almost all of his races on top of training to be a coach on the side – quite how he managed that I’ll never know. There was a lot of stiff competition as well. From my position close to the back of the fleet, I had a remarkable view of what was going on, and was very impressed by what I saw. Having said that, my view was often impeded by the water that filled my eyes whenever I had a capsize or death-roll (or ‘speed wobble’ as the RYA wants us to call them now). The weather conditions were trying to say the least, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we got our fair share of the lovely Plymouth sea water in our systems – sometimes when I lick my lips I can still taste the salt. On the bright side, we didn’t need to buy any special flavour of crisps, we could just wipe them on our wetsuits, add a little vinegar if we were feeling adventurous and they were good to go. I think you gain a special appreciation for the conditions you are sailing in when you open the news app to find that the storm you have just been out in has a name. However, storm Evert could not best us that easily, and only stopped us on the last day.
The storm also made camping rather difficult, but with the help of the fantastic volunteers at the campsite we had nothing to fear, which would have been useful to know when I woke up to the sides of my tent slapping my face. For the other nights, however, camping was great fun, and a fantastic social setting after a long and tiring day of racing. It was lovely to come back after a hard day on the water to be greeted with a delicious hot meal, supplied by Plymstock Inn. A special thanks must also go to Morrisons, who supplied us with breakfast and lunch, giving us an extremely generous discount on the mountain of food and drink that we bought from them.
The NSSA may be described as a sailing event, but it is more than that. It’s a fantastic way to meet new people and have fun. No two events are the same. From eating enough soreen malt loaves to last a lifetime to watching most of the Shrek saga with the Cambridgeshire team, I personally had a blast, and I think it’s safe to say that everyone else did too. I hope to see many familiar faces, as well as some new ones, next year at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire (event happening July 24 – 30). See you in 2022!
Special thanks to our adult helpers who made this all possible:
- Dave and Fiona Broadbent
- Don Francis
- David Bickerton
- Tom and Elouise White
