RS Aero Noble Marine UK Spring Championships Preview

RS Aeros enjoying warmer times at Garda in 2016 © SBG Films

Spring is certainly here with mild temperatures and refreshingly fresh breezes and this Saturday's RS Aero Noble Marine UK Spring Championships is also the final event of the RS Aero UK Winter Series.

The Class are pleased to have the support from top dinghy insurers Noble Marine as event sponsors assisting with a fantastic array of prizes. The RS Aero fleet at Island Barn is blooming and local fleet captain Gareth Griffiths has put up a free Aero for all the advanced online registrations - of the chocolate variety that is!

A good breeze is forecast to stretch legs and blow away any winter cobwebs. With Island Barn Reservoir's elevated position we should have a great blast!

The ten event RS Aero UK Winter Series has covered the country from Yorkshire to Devon and now back to the Southeast. The score sheet remains wide open with a large bubble of RS Aero sailors still able to step onto the final podium. Sailors need their best three results to count out of the ten seasonal events and it is all to play for. One event (at least) of the three counters must be either the Oxford Winter Champs or the Island Barn Spring Champs where, importantly, tie breaks could be won.

So far seventy seven RS Aeros have entered the series including International visitors from France, Italy and Portugal keen to sample the British enthusiasm for mass winter events!

This winter has largely proved to be mild with gentle winds and just a couple of fresh breezes recently at Blithfield and Roadford. With all the RS Aeros scored on one results sheet rig selection has been very mixed with the series' PY scoring allowing versatility of choice for each event providing maximum enjoyment, participation (both starting and finishing races) and ultimately safety.

The Starcross sailors, father and son duo of Greg and Paul Bartlett, are poised for a late charge on the title. Each have a 1, 2 apiece and a top result at the grande finale Spring Champs could propel either of them towards the top of the leader board. The leading club team by a good margin is Burghfield SC packing out the top 5 with their top three in 3,4,5.

16 year old Liam Willis shone at Oxford winning the light wind 47 entry RS Aero UK Winter Championship once the RS Aero results had been split out from each race. He is a growing lad, will he be able to clinch the Double at the Springs in the breeze this weekend? Certainly on to watch at this summer's first RS Aero World Championship at Carnac, France.

At the recent breezy events Matt Thursfield of Midlands club Chelmarsh won the Midlands round at Blithfield in a close tussle from Richard Watsham and Ben Rolfe. Braving Storm Ewan in the far southwest ten RS Aeros Rocketed Round Roadford. Peter Barton overtook Greg Bartlett and Ben Rolfe after a lap to go on to take the Aero win as Ewan started to roar its way up Dartmoor. Nine Aeros took a beasting as the Exmoor Beastie descended on Wimbleball lake recently with Peter 4th overall and Andrew Frost first 5 rig and 1st Youth overall in this winter's Southwest Series.

The Class shall also hold the prize giving for the recent RS Aero UK Winter Championships after racing at Island Barn on Saturday.

Full results of the RS Aero UK Winter Series so far are here.