Sailing team excel in a university challenge

Tonbridge sailors competed against two dozen university teams at a racing event in Nottingham and finished in a highly creditable third place.

Despite the large gap in age and experience, the boys rose to the challenge in their round-robin events, surprising many of their competitors. They qualified for a place in the ‘gold league’, featuring the top six teams who then battled it out for a place in the
semi-finals. 

The Tonbridge team came up against the University of Birmingham in their semi-final, and narrowly lost out. Unbowed, the boys then showed plenty of fighting spirit to win the ‘petit final’ against the University of Warwick, thereby finishing third overall in the tournament. 

Jonathan Moss, the school’s Sailing Professional, said: “As expected, the level of competition was high, and we went along in an underdog position. The boys also faced a strong breeze and near Arctic conditions, and did an outstanding job to finish on the podium.” 

The school’s Team Racing UK team was Rory Fulton, Captain of Sailing (WH5), Harry Tilling (CH5), Dylan Thatcher (SH3), Sam Rawlins (WW3), Dom Lewis (MH 2013-2017) and Oscar Wright (FH 2013-2017).