RS Aero Training at Northampton Sailing Club
by Peter Barton 24 Feb 2015 07:02 GMT
21-22 February 2015
RS Aero Training at Northampton © Peter Barton
The RS Aero squad convened again at Northampton for another fun weekend of Aero training with 14 boats out (and a total of 16 sailors). As is customary, there was an open invite to parents of the Aero and Tera sailors plus any local Aeros in the vicinity who fancied joining in to help keep the youngsters on their toes! Two more fresh new boats joined the ranks and after a quick rig were good to go.
We were graced with good winds, with sunshine and a medium breeze increasing to bleak and fruity by the end of Sunday. There are definitely some improvements coming through in the group with consistent performances starting to become more reliable. Well done to everyone for all the enthusiasm and effort.
Two of Chemarsh SC's finest, Peter Townend and Matt Thursfield, joined us on Saturday on their way to Sunday's Grafham Grand Prix. Peter helped in the coach boats whilst Matt took to the water, familiarizing himself with his '7 rig' in anticipation of Sunday's big breeze. It obviously worked for Matt as he went on to be 1st hiking monohull single hander in the fast handicap fleet at the Grafham GP!
As the weather deteriorated, the last race of the weekend had driving rain and 30kn gusts coming over the dam and smashing down onto the lake's surface, producing a flurry of mini white horses. There were just 4 hardy sailors still standing!
In a 'winner takes all' 3 lap grand finale around the wide set 'reaches of glory' triangle, the results were:
1. Ffinlo Wright (RS Aero 5) Isle of Man
2. Dave Batchelor (RS Aero 7) Isle of Man
3. Alistair Scott (RS Aero 5) Yorkshire Dales
4. Louis Wright (RS Aero 5) Hayling Island
Maybe there is something in those locations that produces endurance!
Next up the squad visits Burton SC in Derbyshire on 14th/15th March for the last of the five winter weekends. Then our Reading SC Open meeting is on Saturday 28th March. Roll on Spring!
The full 2015 events calendar can be found at www.rsaerosailing.org