RS Tera World Championship at the RS Games, Weymouth & Portland - Day 1
by Flynn Davies, UK RS Tera Sport Class Coach 7 Aug 2018 18:18 BST
4-10 August 2018
RS Tera Worlds during the RS Games at the WPNSA day 2 © Phil Jackson
Day one of the RS Tera World Championships at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy brought sun, sea breeze and shifty conditions. With six to nine knots of wind swinging left and right with each phase of lull and pressure inside the harbour. A record 81 entries in the Sport fleet meant that for the first time ever an RS Tera fleet would be flighted.
In race one for the Pro fleet, Hayling Island's Ben Tuttle took the win, holding his lead by no more than a boat length ahead of Jack Oakley from the Royal Hospital School. In the yellow Sport flight Max Steele representing Poland took the win, Alice Davis of Great Moor SC second. HISC's Olly Peters earned the race win in the blue flight, followed by the Isle of Man's Teddy Dunn in second.
Race two saw Tuttle take line honours once again, this time Jakey Wood placed second. In the yellow fleet Alice finished first and William Bailey of Ripon SC placed second. Max worked hard down the first run and up the second beat to recover to third, following a mark 1 rounding in fifth. Felix Stewart from Windermere School crossed the line first in the blue flight, ahead of race 1 winner Olly.
In race three the sailors experienced the greatest changes in wind strength and direction. Jamie Tylecote of Rutland SC picked the shifts well to win the final race of the day. New Zealand's Beth Miller took second with Tuttle third. Max and Alice battled hard, comfortably ahead of the rest of the yellow flight by the leeward mark they luffed leading in to the mark, Max just ahead, and then a series of quick tacks to keep/break cover. Max stayed between Alice and the finish line and won, Alice second. Torbay's William James won the blue flight with a great show of boat speed, ahead of Olton Mere SC's Freddie Sunderland.
Ben Tuttle, the 2016 National Champion, leads by a staggering 21 points, followed by Kiwi Beth Miller, with Denmark's Nils Christensen on a scoreline of 7, 15, 4, in third. A lesson in consistency for the Pro fleet from day one. Adding to his recent success at the Inland Championships, Max leads the sport fleet on count back over National Champ Alice going in to day two.
Full results so far can be found here.