RS Tera Open at Frensham Pond Sailing Club
by Rob Ahlheid 3 Jul 2015 13:36 BST
28 June 2015
Thirty-five Teras made it to the start line of the inaugural Tera Open at Frensham Pond SC, which was kindly sponsored by Andark, LDC Sailing and Cauliflower Cards. With eight Pro rigs and 27 Sport rigs the racing was conducted in two fleets.
Conditions were fair, which meant that all four races were completed, offering the sailors a full day of competitive sailing. In the Pro fleet William Caiger (Bewl Valley) showed a consistently strong performance and finished first. There was a strong fight for second spot, which Tim Hire (Lymington) clinched by posting a bullet in the last race. Andrew Frost (Sutton Bingham) settled for third place.
In the Sport fleet the local sailors showed their experience in sailing on the pond, and they dominated the first three places. Ralph Nevile (FPSC) won the first race convincingly. Megan Ferguson (FPSC), who stepped in a Tera for the first time for this event, demonstrated her talent and diversity for sailing and came in second spot, followed by Luke Anstey (FPSC) in third place.
In the second race, Luke Anstey (FPSC) broke Ralph's grip on proceedings and stretched out a fine lead, which he held onto until the finish line, with Ralph in second spot. After lunch Ralph picked up the pace and finished first, followed in by Megan and Rupert Jameson (HISC) posting third place.
The final race of the day saw fresher conditions, and it was Hamish Morley (HISC), who took first place in an exciting finale. Luke Anstey claimed second spot and Rupert Jameson came in third. Ralph was a little further back in the final race, but he had already done enough to claim overall victory, followed by Luke in second and Megan in third place.
This Open meeting proved to be a very successful formula for 'first-timers', with nine boats in the fleet. Ben Millard (Emsworth SC) came first followed in by Tristan Ahlheid (FPSC) in second and Oliver Stratton-Brown (FPSC) in third in the 'First-timer' scoring. The event was enjoyed by all and we look forward to Frensham Pond becoming a regular fixture for the Tera class.