PA Consulting Volvo RS Feva Nationals at Rutland Sailing Club - Day 1

PA Consulting Volvo RS Feva Nationals day 1 © Peter Newton / www.peternewton.zenfolio.com

178 RS Feva sailors arrived at a rainy and windy Rutland for the first day of the PA Consulting Volvo RS Feva Nationals 2015. All systems go as the final sailors registered and branded up their sails with the logos of our event sponsors; PA Consulting and Volvo. Teams made all the final checks and preparations ready for the day, and it was set to be a breezy one.

With the top 4 finishers from last year's Nationals no longer in the class, the top spots are wide open. Will newly crowned RS Feva European Champions, Jack Lewis and Lucas Marshall maintain their form to take their second title in 2 weeks, or will the stronger wind conditions see a new face at the top?

After taking 5th at 2014 UK National Champs and taking the silver medal home from the 2014 RS Feva World Championships, Freddie Peters is last year's highest placed crew still in the fleet. This year he's at the back of the boat and with a new crew, Louis Johnson; as he headed to the water we caught up with him to find out how he had found the transition to helming and whether he expects to equal last year's performance. He admitted that although helming was a big step for him, he had learned huge amounts from his successful crewing career. He went on to say that despite not having spent a lot of time in the boat together, the pair have their sights set on a top 10 result.

Today marked the first day of the qualifying series so boats raced in alternating fleets of 45. The same format will be in place tomorrow before the real fight begins in the final series on Sunday.

Race 1 got underway on time in a building breeze. Fin and Dan Armstrong lead their fleet from the first mark, maintaining their position through to the finish, while the Jameson brothers and Lewis/Marshall followed hot on their heels. Meanwhile Charlotte Ormerod and Maddie Wylie lead the way round the track in the other flight, chased by Iain Bird & Jake Hardman and Jack Lewis & Lucas Marshall.

The sun came out, and with it the breeze continued to build. A few boats began to return to shore as winds became more challenging while others found their element in the demanding conditions. Dan and Fin Armstrong were among those thriving as they showed the fleet how it's done, taking the second bullet of the day by a significant margin. Iain Bird and Jake Hardman were next through the line, closely followed by Henry and Rupert Jameson. Rory Odell and Joshua Bonsey took the gun in their fleet ahead of Charles Elliott & Ellie McDonald and Matthew Leckie and Izzi Bristow.

Conditions grew wilder, teams began to tire and more were brought to shore with breakages. The Armstrong boys were taking no prisoners and made it look easy, throwing in a 3rd bullet of the day to take the lead overall by 6 points. Leckie and Bristow showed their fitness by improving throughout the day, finishing with a 2nd behind the Armstrongs and slotting themselves into 3rd position overnight.

In the other fleet, Liam Willis and Arran Mills also finished on a high, taking the gun for the final race and leaving them in 4th place overnight. Close behind were Odell and Bonsey, who are in 7th overnight, Daniel Lewis and Tristan Payne took 3rd place in their fleet, leaving them in 10th place overall. The Jameson brothers had a strong and consistent day with a 2,3,4 leaving them in 3rd going in to tomorrow.

The points are tight in the top 10 so it's all to play for tomorrow when the wind is looking to be more forgiving. Will anyone be able to knock the Armstrong brothers off their perch?