RS Tera Fun Day at Ripon Sailing Club
by Jennie Clark 16 Jun 2008 07:13 BST
14 June 2008
Ripon Sailing Club hosted the first ‘northern’ event for the RS Tera dinghy on Saturday 14 June 2008. With the emphasis on getting people out on the water in the boats, the day was a fantastic success with nearly 30 people trying out this great little boat.
RS had kindly lent the demo fleet of 6 Tera Sport dinghies for the day, and backed up with visiting boats and the existing Ripon fleet there were plenty of boats for people to try. All 3 rigs were present, and the sight of a number of Dad’s out in the windy conditions (some of whom ended up getting very wet!) made for great amusement on the shore.
The morning was given over to coached racing with shorebound rig setting tips and on the water tuition provided by top local helm and ‘Tera Dad’, Bernard Clark. Matt Springett, visiting from Beaver SC, showed just how much fun is to be had from Tera sailing, and set the pace with his mastery of the squally conditions which beset the morning. Charlie Wynn wisely chose the ‘sit back and let go of everything’ option when the wind whistled up to nearly 30mph and Rory Fisk bravely battled against the wind, surviving a powerful gybe very competently.
‘The Three Musketeers’, Ellie, Joshua and Hannah Clark (aged 6, 7 and 4) were all glad they had stayed ashore but were soon out enjoying the lighter conditions which followed, being coached round a triangular course by Andy Clark.
After lunch the sailors opted for ‘free for all’ sailing and there was plenty of swapping of boats to try the different rigs. Catherine Fleck took out Ellie Clark’s mini rig and whistled along, thoroughly enjoying sailing in windier conditions than she has tried before and wasn’t in the least phased by capsizing. The day ended with a special race between Dad’s Andy and Bernard Clark, Matt Springett and James McKenzie, a local sailor who has come on in leaps and bounds this season – sailing a mixture of Sport and Pro rigs.
All in all a fantastic day and one which will hopefully see the growth of the Tera fleet in the Yorkshire region. Our thanks go to Hyundai for their very generous sponsorship which enabled some ‘star awards’ to be made at the end of the day.