Eastern Region Tera Open at Royal Harwich Yacht Club

by Abby & Tim Hire 12 May 2016 09:27 BST 7-8 May 2016

Eastern Tera Open at Harwich © Jenny Taylor-Jones

Last weekend was a triumph in the Eastern Tera Sailing world, the event had been timed perfectly for the high spring tides and the weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine.

There were 28 sailors, with more entrants in the Pro fleet than the Sports fleet, which was a first.

There were 4 races on each day, which were closely fought. Many sailors achieved personal bests, congratulations to Sam Blaker who won his first Pro race. Izzy was also very pleased to win after a magnificent start and holding her large lead all the way to the finishing line. There were quite a few new sailors who did well in their first event and for others it was their first event in tidal waters. The spring tides were challenging especially in the afternoon when it turned between races and the black flag had to come out because half the Pro fleet were being pushed over the start line.

The Sports fleet was very competitive with 7 different sailors finishing in the top 3. It was the battle for first which saw Fergus Pye and Blake Tudor both finishing on 18 points, but Fergus just pipped Blake on count back with Jack Oakley finishing third.

In the Pros, 9 different sailors finished a race in the top 3. It was Matt Taylor who won having mastered the tides more than most, finishing the event with four first places. Josh Davies was second and Ben Hutton-Penman 3rd.

Eastern Tera Open at Harwich - photo © Jenny Taylor-Jones

The 'Under 11' cup was won by Toby, who sailed consistently throughout the event.

There was a very enjoyable celebration meal on Saturday night to thank Alex, Steve, Julie, Rob, Mark and Margaret for all their efforts in setting up and running the Eastern Teras. It had been organised as a surprise, with neither Alex or Steve being aware of what was planned. Many thanks go to Richard and Simon for organising this meal and for Richard's marvellous speech, which had us all in stitches. The club produced a delicious meal and was a fantastic venue with magnificent views for the event.

Many thanks to Simon for organising all the racing, Mike on the shore and to all the parents on the Committee Boat and the safety boats for helping it to run so smoothly. Thanks also to all the parents involved in launching and recovering the boats, with a very slick trolley crocodile!

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Sail No	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
Pro Fleet
1	Matt Taylor	1747	BSC/AWSC	1	1	1	5		4	2	1	15
2	Josh Davies	2661	RHS/AWSC/BSC	3	4	2	2		3	6	2	22
3	Ben Hutton‑Penman	2323	Corinthian Otters	5	3	3	7	3		3	3	27
4	Harrison Pye	2230	Draycote Water	4	2	18	1	2	2	5		34
5	Samuel Blaker	2472	Benfleet YC	6	5	7		6	5	1	6	36
6	Will Caiger	2440	Bough Beech SC	7	7	4	8	8	1	9		44
7	Tim Hire	745	Royal Lymington YC	2	6	6		5	10	7	8	44
8	Issy Taylor‑Jones	IXI	RHYC	9		9	6	1	7	8	7	47
9	Tristan Richardson	676	AWSC	10	8	5	4		6	10	5	48
10	Josie Ruffles	2355	RHS		12	8	13	4	9	4	4	54
11	Will Carron	418	AWSC	8	9	10	3	14	14		9	67
12	Oliver Johnson	2167	AWSC	11		13	12	10	12	12	10	80
13	Harvey O'Sullivan	2315	AWSC	12	11	11	10	13	11	13		81
14	Ned Stattersfield	2325		18		12	11	12	13	11	12	89
15	Josh Alldis	1587	Broxbourne SC	14	13		9	15	15	15	11	92
16	Will Doble‑Thomson	2527	Aldeburgh YC	13	15	18	15	11	16	16		104
17	Henry Lloyd	2302		15	16	14	17	17		17	13	109
Sport Fleet
1	Fergus Pye	1693	Draycote Water	7	1	3	1	3	1		2	18
2	Blake Tudor	2897	Brightlingsea SC	1	5	2	3	1		1	5	18
3	Dylan McPherson	2442	Burnham SC	3	3	6	5		3	5	1	26
4	Jack Oakley	2612	RHS	4	2	1	7	7	2	3	3	29
5	Felix Powell	1484	AWSC	2	7	4	4	5		4	6	32
6	Joseph Blaker	2743	Benfleet YC	6	6		6	4	5	2	4	33
7	Abby Hire	2025	Royal Lymington YC	5	4	5	2	2	4	6	7	35
8	Toby Hatsell	2164	Middle Nene SC	8	8	8	8	8	7	8		55
9	Thomas Ward	1859	RHS	9	9	9	9	9	10		8	63
10	Harry McTiernan	2838	Brightlingsea SC	10	10	10		10	8	9	9	66
11	Brett Tudor	1638	Brightlingsea SC		12	12	12	12	9	7	10	74