Volvo RS Feva Grand Prix at Northampton Sailing Club

Volvo RS Feva GP at Northampton © Frances Peters

Volvo RS Feva GP at Northampton © Frances Peters

Last weekend, 108 Feva sailors from across the country flocked to Northampton Sailing Club for the first Volvo RS Feva Grand Prix of the year. Summery temperatures seemed to have disappeared for the weekend, but nothing could deter our hardy teams, who battled it out over 6 races ranging from a blustery 18-20 knots of wind on the Saturday to a very different 8-10 knots of shifty breeze on Sunday.

Jack Lewis and Lucas Marshall of Draycote Water SC gave us all a taste of things to come in the first race as they followed the top boats around the course as though waiting to pounce, before adopting their warp-speed downwind mode for the final leg to take the win. Charlotte Ormerod and Maddie Wylie of Oxford Sailing Club and the Armstrong boys (Fin and Daniel) of Royal Torbay YC also enjoyed the breeze and took 2nd and 3rd positions after showing the fleet the way around the race track from the start.

Faced with sunshine and exciting but manageable wind, the race officer decided to extend the final two races of the day so sailors could really make the most of the conditions. The term 'Champaign sailing' sprang to mind as the fleet continued with their fast paced, nip and tuck contest around the race track.

Jack and Lucas were taking no prisoners and finished the day with a 1,3,1 to put themselves in pole position overnight. Onlookers reported that the pair managed to find a fast planing mode downwind in the pressure, while others were still working for depth. It meant that although they didn't sail as direct a route to the mark, they managed to increase their speed by enough that they had pulled out a 12 boat-length lead by the bottom marks.

Charlotte and Maddie finished off their first day with a strong 2,6,3 to put them in 2nd position overnight and leading female team, while Iain Bird and Jake Hardman of Hayling Island Sailing Club slotted in a consistent 6,4,4 to safely secure their third place overnight.

Day two brought a new challenge with lighter wind, from a less stable direction. A big wind shift in the final sequence of race one meant the port end of the start line became strongly favoured. Pierce Harris and Alfie Cogger of Windermere School showed the fleet how it's done, throwing in a textbook 'port flyer' on the start line and crossing the fleet by a considerable margin. They maintained their lead for the first lap, dropping only to 2nd when Iain and Jake managed to sneak past to take the race win. Locals Rory Odell and Josh Bonsey of Northampton SC took 3rd place, putting them well in contention for a top spot as they were able to discard a 13th from the previous day.

As a testament to the tricky conditions and tight racing, the now top two boats overall; Jack/Lucas and Iain/Jake were unable to claw their way back into the mix after a difficult start in race 2 and both teams took their discard. Freya Black and Harriet Cage of HISC sailed a fantastic first beat, putting them in the top spot by the windward mark, only to extend their lead around the course. Henry and Rupert Jameson also sailed a great race to take 2nd place. Both boats continued their strong performance to post 3rd and 4th positions respectively in the final race.

Jack and Lucas won the series overall by a small margin, even after losing their lead and dropping to 7th in the final race when they sailed to the finish, forgetting there was an extra lap to be sailed. Ian and Jake managed to maintain their 2nd position overall, very closely followed by Rory/Josh and the Jameson boys on joint points, where Rory and Josh snuck ahead on tie break. The Armstrong boys followed closely in 5th position, while Freya and Hattie's admirable final day pulled them up to 6th overall and meant they took the spot of leading female team.

All in all a fabulous weekend was had, both on and off the water and it was fantastic to see schools including Oakham and Tonbridge being so well represented. We owe a big thank you to Volvo Car UK and Magic Marine for their support. Without them we would have been unable to make the event the huge success that it was.

Overall Results:

Volvo RS Feva GP at Northampton - photo © Frances Peters