RS Aero Magic Marine UK National Championships at the WPNSA - Overall

Monday brought a light and drizzly morning. The flags were hoisted to signal another day of racing in Weymouth bay and a long sail out to the starting area ensued.

The journey was worth it as the rain soon cleared and the breeze increased to finish with some of the best racing of the series. The handicap race with all 74 boats on the start line and the first race of the day got underway in around 8-10 knots. Wind coming off the cliffs made for patchy conditions and it was all to play for. Henry Jameson came back fighting after losing his lead yesterday and took the bullet in the 5 rigs, hot on his heels was Archie Hainsworth of Alton Water Sailing Club. Meanwhile the Truswell domination continued in the 7 rigs, with Jack Holden making his mark by throwing in a 2nd. Ants Haavel, who had travelled all the way from Estonia to compete, took 3rd. David Rickard led Luke Deegan in the 9 rigs, with Giovanni Belgrano of Gurnard SC in 3rd.

Race two brought a different challenge as new wind funnelled down the valley between the cliffs, giving those who had clocked the gain on the port layline a 'fast forward' mode and leaving the unfortunate souls on the right high and dry. George Catchpole cracked the strategy in the 5 rigs to take the win, followed by Henry Jameson and Debbie Degge. Andrew Snell made his appearance at the top in the 7 fleet, leading Peter Barton and Mark Carleton. Olympic Medallist and Weymouth local, Simon Hiscocks pulled it out of the bag to take his first win of the series in the 9 rigs, ahead of Toby Freeland and David Rickard.

In his element in the building breeze, Will Taylor returned to the top of the 5 fleet for the 3rd race ahead of Harry Jones. The 5 rig series ended with a bullet from Matthew Caiger, which was enough to secure him Bronze overall behind Taylor, who won the first ever RS Aero 5 National title and Henry Jameson, who settled for silver.

The Truswell/Barton battle that had started to become the norm in the 7 rig continued right up until the end, with Truswell coming out on top for the final 2 races, securing himself the title in style ahead of Peter Barton. With this weekend being his first time in the RS Aero, Jack Holden found his feet quickly and sailed a consistent last day to take 3rd overall.

No change at the front of the RS Aero 9 fleet, the final races saw the usual suspects battling it out at the top. Luke Deegan laid claim to the National title ahead of David Rickard and Simon Hiscocks.

It's been a fantastic weekend, with a vibrant and friendly scene both on the water and at the bar in the evenings. So many RS Aeros out on the water over 11 nip and tuck races just a year on from the initial launch of the class has certainly made it one to remember and has given us all a taste of things to come.

Overall Results:

For more info on the RS Aero Class visit the website, www.rsaerosailing.org or the facebook group, www.facebook.com/groups/rsaeroclass.