RS Aero Winter Series Round 5 at Bowmoor Sailing Club

by Peter Barton 19 Feb 2015 08:26 GMT 15 February 2015

RAF Brize Norton grant the Aeros their Aerospace!

The wind may have been light but the racing was intense at Bowmoor for Round 5 of the RS Aero UK Winter Series. The entry of 22 was impressive, close to the record set at our Oxford Winter Championship last month. All Aero classes started together and raced using the local PY numbers with 1 discard after the 3 races.

As a late boost to the event LPB Aerial Imagery and SailRacer were in attendance, joining their expertise to produce a promotional reel combining aerial video with a GPS generated graphic overlaid to demonstrate their capabilities of bringing spectators closer to the game in an interestingly viewable format.

As is necessary, LPB Aerial Imagery sought permission from nearby RAF Brize Norton to fly their drones and the RAF were very helpful agreeing to fly their training flights away from Bowmoor that day, granting the Aeros their Aerospace!

Another star guest was the RS Aero designer, Jo Richards, who came to spectate and passed on many helpful top-tips during the lunch break.

A short first beat and a long downwind slalom in each race ensured a closely packed fleet and tight mark roundings making tactical positioning critical. Zig-zag-ing across Bowmoor proved to be something of a navigational exercise initially in race 1. Local knowledge counted for little with 3 local boats relinquishing top places by sailing the wrong way. However, those local boats then went on to make their comeback in time to take 1st and 2nd places.

Selecting the right end of the long start line was tricky in the conditions as it was a pretty even call, all credit to the race officer Steve Harvey. Quickly finding the right 'mode' to sail in on the different points of sail was a challenge and something Dave Lynall, who won all 3 races, was doing very effectively.

There were tight battles for the overall standings throughout the fleet with no less than 5 sets of tie breaks in the results sheet!

Next up is the RS Aero Training at Northampton both days this weekend in conjunction with the RS Tera class. So far we have a fairly even mix with the Aeronauts in their 5 rigs being joined by both parents and locals. Also this Sunday 22nd is the final round of the RS Aero Winter Series, the Grafham Grand Prix which is showing a good turnout of RS Aeros and the last chance to shave some points off the final series result.

Many thanks to:

• Bowmoor Sailing Club for making us very welcome and accommodating us within their club racing.
• LPB Aerial Imagery and SailRacer for their involvement and enthusiasm.
• RS Sailing for providing prizes.
• Race Officer Steve Harvey and his team for a great job on a tricky day.

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Club	Sail No	Rig	PY	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	David Lynall	Bowmoor SC	1009	RS Aero 9	1025	1	1	1	2
2	Peter Barton	Lymington Town SC	1175	RS Aero 9	1025	3	6	2	5
3	Harry Joyce	Bowmoor SC	1064	RS Aero 9	1025	2	3	4	5
4	Peter Townend	Chelmarsh SC	1093	RS Aero 9	1025	6	4	3	7
5	Gareth Griffiths	Island Barn SC	1023	RS Aero 9	1025	8	2	7	9
6	Tony Jukes	Chelmarsh SC	1095	RS Aero 9	1025	12	7	5	12
7	Al Keck	Bowmoor SC	1068	RS Aero 9	1025	7	5	11	12
8	Dave Cherrill	Broadwater SC	1002	RS Aero 9	1025	4	11	9	13
9	Antony Lynall	Avon SC	1007	RS Aero 9	1025	5	8	14	13
10	Paul Robson	Reading SC	1079	RS Aero 7	1060	10	12	6	16
11	Matt Thursfield	Chelmarsh SC	1208	RS Aero 9	1025	9	9	DNS	18
12	Archie Hainsworth	Alton Water SC	1173	RS Aero 7	1060	13	10	10	20
13	Francis Peters	Hayling Island SC	1205	RS Aero 7	1060	15	14	8	22
14	Philip White	Frampton on Severn SC	1135	RS Aero 9	1025	11	13	13	24
15	Cathy Bartram	Chew Valley SC	1178	RS Aero 7	1060	18	19	12	30
16	Mark Tissiman	Chelmarsh SC	1207	RS Aero 9	1025	21	16	15	31
17	Doug Roberts	Bowmoor SC	1006	RS Aero 7	1060	16	15	16	31
18	Jim Junior Hood	Lymington Town SC	1209	RS Aero 9	1025	14	20	DNS	34
19	Chris Jones	Chelmarsh SC	1097	RS Aero 9	1025	22	18	17	35
20	Kyle Lankford	Lymington Town SC	1206	RS Aero 9	1025	17	21	18	35
21	Primrose Salt	Chew Valley SC	1136	RS Aero 7	1060	19	17	DNS	36
22	Nick Eales	Lymington Town SC	1211	RS Aero 7	1060	20	22	DNS	42