BUSA Finals is the pinnacle of university sailing, with the top 28 teams competing for the esteemed BUSA Trophy. Given Cambridge’s recent success at this event, winning the last two Finals, Cambridge Blue were keen to try and make the threepeat.
This year, the consistent and steady wind of Grafham was replaced by an erratic and obscenely shifty Spinnaker Sailing Club, a venue characterized by 30 degree shifts and light winds.
Day 1 was one such light wind day. Blue started off strong, winning their first 3 races against Bath, Edinburgh and Solent before losing a tight race to Southampton Green. Unfortunately, at this point the wind switched off in true Spinnaker style. Time for a barbecue instead!
Day 2 featured the best forecast of the event, and Race Office Keith Sammons was keen to get in as many races as possible. What followed was an epic 12-race-day beginning at 9am and finishing at around 6pm. Blue started off sailing well, winning 7/8 of the first races of the day (with the one loss to Exeter) and consistently being ranked in the top 3. However, a series of unfortunate events then occurred, losing the final 4 races of the day. While one was a direct result of the dreaded Spinnaker lull-header, the others were close but slipped away. Blue’s strong position at the top of the table was suddenly under threat, being closer to 9th place than 1st. Thankfully, the wind dying at the end of the day marked a good point for a reset. It should be noted that during this period of the wind dying, a peak continuous shift of 200 degrees was measured – the largest I have ever witnessed!
Day 3 had now become significantly more stressful than it should have been. However, a good dinner and the earliest night of sleep yet saw Blue arrive ready to overcome the pressure, landing a much-needed win against Warwick before an agonizingly narrow loss to UEA. Thankfully, this qualified Blue into the knockouts in 5th place, set to face eastern rivals UEA in the quarters-finals. In a very light and fluky breeze, Blue sailed a clinical race to win the first race. Prior to the second start, the wind dropped completely as forecast, and all other racing was abandoned. The race committee decided the last completed racers of the quarter finals would stand, bumping Blue up to 3rd place overall behind Exeter Blue and Exeter Black.
All in all, a successful event and congratulations to Exeter Blue for being the class of the field the whole year.
