Magic Marine RS Tera Start of Season Championship at Northampton

Henry reaching during the RS Tera Start of Seasons at Northampton © Peter Newton

Mark rounding during the RS Tera Start of Seasons at Northampton © Peter Newton

Eighty-seven boats from clubs as far afield as The Isle of Man, Torbay and the Tay estuary entered for the third RS Tera Start of Season Championships sponsored by Magic Marine at Northampton Sailing Club over the weekend of 27th and 28th April.

If this level of entry is a sign of the season to come then the fleet is in for a brilliant year.

The weather on Saturday was majestic, the description Champagne conditions is overused, this truly was, bank to bank sunshine, 15 to 20 knots and warm from the South East.

Racing was orchestrated by Northampton Sailing Club Commodore, Neil Barford, ably assisted by Paul Busby and an enthusiastic team of club and parent volunteers.

First away for race one, sharing the outer loop of the trapezoid course with a fleet of 12 RS aeros were the 34 boat PRO fleet and after some extremely tight racing was won by Henry Jameson of Hayling Island SC, followed home by Harrison Pye of Draycote Water SC and Andrew Frost of Sutton Bingham SC.

The 53 strong SPORT fleet got away first time on the inner loop, and was lead from start to finish by Roscoe Martin of Ogston SC, Roscoe was chased all the way to the line by Tristan Richardson and Joshua Davies both of the Royal Hospital School.

A quick break for lunch for the PRO fleet whilst the SPORT fleet remained on the water for race two, which saw Roscoe taking his second win of the event, this time saw Joshua taking second place and Jamie Rastrick of Ripon SC third.

The PRO fleet re-emerged refreshed whilst the SPORTS took advantage of a short break and Elaines magnificent catering for race two, this race saw Henry matching Roscoe in the SPORTS taking the win, followed by Jack Lewis of Draycote Water SC second and Lucy Greenwood of Alton Water SC third.

Races three and four saw all competitors back on the water, with the breeze increasing, Henry took line honours in both races in the PRO fleet to cap a perfect day, race three saw Andrew taking second and a dead heat between Jack and Harry Jones of Draycote Water SC in third, race four saw Matt Smith of Brightlingsea in second and Ana Patterson of Ripon SC in third.

Overnight top three were Henry, Andrew & Lucy.

In the SPORT fleet Roscoe continued his winning streak by taking race three followed by Tom Storey of Yorkshire Dales SC and Rupert Jameson of Hayling Island SC, Race four saw a different race winner in Tom, by the biggest margin of the weekend, then Matt Taylor of Alton Water SC and then Jamie.

Overnight top three were Roscoe, Joshua & Tom.

The fantastic early evening weather provided a fantastic opportunity for all the sailors to catch up with old friends and make new ones followed by the Northampton SC speciality, Elaines catering.

Sunday dawned with overcast skies and a light fickle breeze, a stark contrast to the fabulous conditions of Saturday, a very different challenge for the race team, it was very shifty, and a big challenge for the sailors, dealing with shifts, gusts, bends and holes.

In the PRO fleet Jack made his move on the fleet taking race five though not without some hard work to gain places, following Jack in race five it was Harrison then Ossian Bracegirdle of Hayling Island Sailing Club.

In the SPORTS race five, Roscoe took his fourth event win, followed by Luke Ansty of Frensham Pond SC and Ewan Wilson of Wormit Boating Club.

For race six, the breeze had started to ease with some large areas of very little breeze on the reservoir, which rewarded those that picked the right side from the start.

A new race winner in race six was Harry, in the PRO followed home by Jack and Ben Batchelor of the Isle of Man Yacht Club, race seven saw Jack back at the front followed by Ben and Andrew.

Jack Lewis during the RS Tera Start of Seasons at Northampton - photo © Steve Greenwood

Tom had obviously got a taste of being at the front in race six for the SPORTS, taking the race in style, followed home by Roscoe and Jamie, race seven saw another race winner and the closet finish of the weekend which really kept the finish boat crew on their toes, the fleet lead home by Oliver Kent of Ripon SC, then Robbie McDonald of Hayling Island SC and the consistent Jamie in third.

Sports upwind during the RS Tera Start of Seasons at Northampton - photo © Steve Greenwood

So to the last race for both fleets, Harrison took the gun in the PRO fleet followed home by Dylan Collingbourne of Burnham SC who had broken his mast in race 7, with Jack finishing third taking the event by 0.5 points from Henry.

Roscoe finished off the event in style having already secured victory by winning the last race, followed by Angus Kilpatrick of Hayling Island Sailing Club in second and Oliver in third.

Light winds on Sunday during the RS Tera Start of Seasons at Northampton - photo © Steve Greenwood

The RS Tera Class Association would like to thank the members and staff of Northampton Sailing Club, who once again proved magnificent hosts, this really is a club that more classes should visit, Elaine and her team for keeping everyone fed and watered and event sponsor Magic Marine, without whom we would not be fortunate enough to be able to hold such great events.

The prize giving was hosted by Neil Barford, and PRO who awarded addition prizes to SPORT sailor Becky Caiger and PRO sailor Lucy Greenwood, the first girls in each fleet.

The RS Tera Class has a great season lined up for 2015, including the Class National Championships in Weymouth and World Championships in Bruinisse in Holland, for further details about this fantastic junior class which prides itself on being affordable and fun, please click on the website, www.rstera.org

Overall Results: