Soton Sailors Beat Olympians

Last Friday, a hand-picked selection of Southampton University’s finest sailors made the 240 mile journey to Liverpool, all to take part in the prestigious Wilson Trophy. The 300 race tournament first took place in 1948, with teams now coming from as far away as New York to compete in the event.

Sailors battle against the blustery conditions in West Kirby. Credit: @WilsonTrophy

Day one began on the blustery waters of West Kirby’s Marine Lake, with the first of 73 races kicking off at 1 pm. The opening clash saw the Royal Thames team (including Soton students Ed Morris, Andy Shaw and Pippa Horne) quickest off the mark, earning victory against Durham.  The team subsequently went on to win two of their remaining three races that day, taking victory against Durham, Cambridge and Sheffield Steel. The RF Hoosiers (including Soton student Rosie Sibthorp) performed magnificently to take victory in every one of their four races on the Friday, placing them in equal first place at the end of the day. The British sailing team (featuring Olympic Silver medallists Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell, plus Soton’s very own Billie Quinlain) had a rough start to the tournament but soon found their feet, winning three out of four races that day. The BUSA team (including Soton sailors Emily Nagel and Louis McVeigh Whittaker) had a good start to the tournament, claiming impressive wins against the Bristol Barracuda’s and Howth YC. Finally, after a shaky start, ex-Soton students Ben Saxton and Holly Scott helped their Grafham Grilling Gorillas team to two convincing wins, capping off an absorbing first day at the Wilson Trophy.

More brisk winds greeted the competitors at the start of day two, with proceedings beginning at 8 am.  The Royal Thames team couldn’t match their 75% win ration from day one, but still managed a respectful five wins out of nine by the end of the day. 2010 British Universities Championship winners RF Hoosiers continued their fine form from day one, winning an impressive seven of their nine races on the Saturday, a feat also achieved by the Grafham Grilling Gorillas. The British Sailing and BUSA teams both managed to gain a respectable four wins out of nine, keeping alive their hopes of making the cut for the quarter final.

The final day saw a dramatic dip in form for the RF Hoosiers and British Sailing Team, both winning just one of their six races; however unlike the latter, the Hoosiers had done enough in the previous two days to secure a place in the quarter finals. In contrast, the Royal Thames and BUSA teams had a solid final day, winning half of their races with the former making the quarter final and the latter finishing in 22^nd place. Finally, thanks to four hard earned wins out of six, the Grafham Grilling Gorillas also made the cut. This meant that whatever happened in the knockout section, Soton sailors from the Royal Thames, Hoosiers, BUSA and Gorillas team could rightfully claim that they beat Olympic silver medallists, with the British Sailing Team finishing in 27^th place!

After a tense quarter final in which the Royal Thames and RF Hoosiers were beaten by West Kirby Hawks and Grafham Grilling Gorillas respectively, Southampton had just two sailors remaining in the competition. Despite bravely defeating previous champions West Kirby Hawks in the semis, the Gorillas ultimately fell at final hurdle, narrowly losing to Wessex Exempt by three to two in a best of five. However, with three teams making it into the knockout round, the event was a definite success for the Soton sailors. Emily Nagel commented that “it was a brilliant competition and an amazing opportunity to get to sail against some of the best sailors in the world” and that she couldn’t “wait to go back next year.”