A record-breaking end to the year for Loughborough Sailing saw 24 teams and almost 200 sailors descend upon Burton Sailing Club for the annual Lemming! This event marks the end of team racing for the 2024 calendar year as the university sailors get set for the winter break.
After the briefings, and as the clock ticked closer to the first scheduled warning signal at 09:27, the race committee made the decision to postpone the first start as not a single firefly was actually on the water yet. However, when racing did finally get under way (approximately 45 minutes later) the conditions were perfect! A consistent 10 knot SSW breeze with the occasional gusts of around 15 knots facilitated some excellent close quarters racing which emphasised a requirement to utilise smart team racing tactics rather than simply fast sailing. The sun also made an extended appearance across the morning and afternoon, providing temperatures of up to 13 degrees!
The racing itself was a bit stop-start to begin with, as the Loughborough helpers, many of whom had never attended a team racing event before, got acclimatised to their roles for the weekend. However, after a few early changes to the course layout, the racing began to settle into a flowing rhythm which enabled the usage of rolling starts. As each race number was ticked off, the race committee suddenly realised the time was 14:30 and a decision would have to soon be reached for when to can racing for the day.
Waking up Sunday morning saw much greyer skies with spots of rain in the air, and the day's forecast provided a very foreboding warning that there could be showers sticking around until after lunchtime. Expecting the worst, everybody wrapped up in ample layers and the racing was under way once again. However by 11:30, the rain had abated and the sunshine began to peek through the clouds. The race committee had originally aimed to end the round robin at race 96, getting each team up to 8 races sailed, however the pure efficiency of all the start boat and course management crews as well as the expert team organisation of Tobias Hancox saw an extension to race 120, enabling each team to reach up to 10 races sailed. A singular redress race between Birmingham Red and UEA Green was the last race before lunch, where all the sailors and umpires were welcomed back up to the clubhouse to enjoy a barbecue prepared by the Burton club members.
With the competitors and umpires informed of the standings, the prevailing teams once again got suited and booted for the best of three race semi-finals and finals. The semi-finals themselves provided some of the most exciting racing of the whole weekend, with constant lead changes and a plethora of red protest flags being waved. A controversial protest, led to a defining penalty spin for Sheffield Gold in their deciding race. This was the nail in the coffin which allowed Nottingham Green to win their semi-final 2 races to 1. In the other semi-final, fourth seed UEA Yellow pulled off a brilliant comeback to beat Rambone 2 races to 1, toppling the Scottish veterans who had been near-flawless all weekend.
The sheer excitement of the semi-finals had left many onlookers with baited breath as they awaited the drama that might unfold in the petit and grand finals which soon followed. It was therefore perhaps a disappointment for those spectators that the finals were largely dominated by 1-2 and 1-3 combinations which didn't create any tight finishes. When all was said and done, Rambone beat Sheffield Gold to claim third place overall. In the grand final, the win went to Nottingham Green, who were therefore crowned overall winners of the 2024 Loughborough Lemming. A huge congratulations must go to them and their captain Henry Hawkes, for an excellent display of team racing over the course of the whole weekend !
Many thanks must be given to Burton Sailing Club and all of its members for helping out over the whole weekend, particularly adapting to having so many competitors attend. Additionally, thanks must be given to all of the umpires for their continual hard work over the course of the weekend.
Round Robin Results: (10 races sailed each)
Pos Team Wins Average Pts
1 Rambone 9 7.3
2 Nottingham Green 9 7.4
3 Sheffield Gold 8 9.4
4 UEA Yellow 7 8.5
5 Cambridge Green 7 8.7
6 Newcastle Brown* 7 9.3
7 Durham Bubblegum Pink* 7 9.3
8 Birmingham Red 7 9.4
9 Newcastle Blue 7 9.7
10 UEA Green 7 10.5
11 Liverpool XL Bullies 6 9.3
12 Durham Black 6 10
13 Durham White 5 10.3
14 Nottingham White 4 10.2
15 UEA Blue 4 10.8
16 Derbyshire Youth 4 11
17 Birmingham Blue 3 11
18 Manchester Purple 3 11.5
19 Newcastle Red 3 11.6
20 Loughborough Freshers 3 12.6
21 Oxford 2 12.7
22 Reading Red 2 13.6
23 Liverpool Shitzus 0 14
24 Bangor Green 0 14.6
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