Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club hosted the 2023 finale of the Blaze sailing calendar, hosting the Inland Championship and respectively concluded the Travellers' Series. The prospect of a fantastic forecast for a weekend's sailing attracted visitors from Pembrokeshire to Aberdeen, Essex and beyond.
A lot of the long-haul travellers arrived on Friday evening and were greeted by near freezing temperatures. Autumn had definitely arrived - or, for most Southerns, it seemed more like winter!
The club made up for cold temperatures with a very warm welcome and a takeaway from the local curry house to fuel us for the weekend ahead, and to keep the frost off the tents!
Saturday morning dawned with a building breeze and by the time we were all briefed of the local racing marks, the wind was blowing a steady 18-20+ knots. During the preparatory signals the wind built a little more, which was testing everybody's boat handling skills and saw the first of many capsized boats of the weekend.
On Sunday morning we were greeted by a ground frost and frozen boats, and a steady 8 knots. There were scenes likened to a LeMans Start with no one wanting to venture out in the cold until the last possible minute.
So after five exciting races completed it was huge congratulations to Christian Smart for taking top spot in this year's Blaze Inland Championship.
2023 Inland Championship Results:
1st Chris Smart - Pembrokeshire Yacht Club
2nd Will Gould - Carsington Sailing Club
3rd Nick Hunt - Scaling Dam Sailing Club
Blaze Class thanks go to Tim Heaton and Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club for a warm Northern welcome and a well-organised event, to Imogen the well-tested RO and her safety boat team who were kept pretty busy. The caterers from the local Clarendon Hotel who provided a delicious Saturday evening meal and manned the bar.
As the Yorkshire Dales Blaze Inland Championships draws us to the end of another competitively fizzing year, the Class looks forward to the 2024 season with a busy programme of championship events and training, as well as some lower-key race meetings specifically built-in for the less-confident to get involved. So, get involved!
Selden SailJuice Winter Series 2023/24 Various Nov 23 - Feb 24
Fire Inlands and Blaze Open 2024 Burghfield SC 23rd March
Carsington Training and Blaze/Fire open Carsington SC 13th‑14th April
Blaze Eastern Championships 2024 Isle of Sheppey SC 4th‑5th May
P.O.S.H 2024 Paignton SC 11th-12th May
Fire Nationals and Blaze Open 2024 Warsash SC 1st‑2nd June
Blaze National Championships 2024 Pembrokeshire Yacht Club 21st‑23rd June
Blaze Northern Championships 2024 Yorkshire Dales SC 20th‑21st July
Blaze Southern Championships 2024 Pevensey Bay SC 14th ‑ 15th Sept
Blaze Inland Championships 2024 Chase SC 12th‑13th Oct
Visit :- www.blaze-sailing.org to browse regularly updated Class info, news and events, and cruise over to our Blaze Sailing Facebook group - an open platform for general questions, specific advice and relaxed chat.
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