RS Tera open meeting at Frensham Pond Sailing Club
by Simon Law 14 Sep 2018 16:34 BST
9 September 2018
RS Tera open meeting at Frensham Pond © Harry Stratton-Brown
The Frensham open was sailed in wonderful conditions, showing off the lake at its best. Wind of 10-15 knots was ideal, and thankfully the forecast gusts of 20 knots did not come through. 46 entries, including five in the Pro fleet, meant a fleet (and start line) nearing championship size.
19 Frensham boats were joined by 27 visitors. The event was generously supported by Decathlon with a selection of prizes made available for both Sport and Pro fleets.
Figure of eight courses worked very well, and eight clean starts across the two fleets illustrated the high standard of sailing amongst these youngsters.
In the Sport fleet, the first race saw Max Sydenham of Dell Quay SC lead the top group of 6 for the first lap, with a significant gap from this group to the fleet. Max was eventually overhauled, with Harry West of RLYC taking the gun from Oliver Stratton-Brown with Max in third. Tight racing amongst the top six was to be the story of the day.
Oliver S-B then started to take control of the event, taking the next two races, and sailing through from a poor start to third in the last. The podium was completed by Harry West and Max Sydenham who were separated only on count-back to finish second and third respectively.
The Pro fleet of five included two local boats and three visitors. Congratulations to Akira Blackah of Welsh Harp SC who dominated the event with three firsts and a discarded third. Beth Lewis took second from the other Frensham boat of Tom Banes-Walker, on count-back.
In a fleet aimed at youngsters, we must also applaud the efforts of those with less experience. There were fourteen sailors participating in their first event, and the good humour and resilience that they showed on a relatively breezy day is to be commended. Zac Hardie impressed with his determination to continue, finishing each race with a smile despite rather more regular swimming than he had planned.
Pro Fleet Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm Name | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2941 | Akira Blackah | Welsh Harp Sailing Club | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 3 |
| 2nd | 888 | Beth Lewis | FPSC | ‑3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3rd | 1985 | Thomas Banes‑Walker | FPSC | 2 | ‑4 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4th | 985 | Ollie Williams | Emsworth | 5 | 3 | (RET) | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | 2146 | Ellie Hattam | Rutland Sailing Club | 4 | 5 | 4 | (RET) | 13 |
Sport Fleet Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm Name | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2392 | Oliver Stratton‑Brown | FPSC | 2 | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 4 |
| 2nd | 3192 | Harry West | Royal Lymington Yacht Club | 1 | 2 | 5 | ‑7 | 8 |
| 3rd | 1901 | Max Sydenham | Dell Quay SC | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 2 | 8 |
| 4th | 3496 | Adelicia Lavender | Felpham SC | 4 | 5 | ‑11 | 1 | 10 |
| 5th | 3250 | Kai Blackah | Welsh Harp Sailing Club | 5 | ‑7 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 6th | 3597 | Joshua Stokes | HISC | 6 | ‑13 | 2 | 10 | 18 |
| 7th | 2597 | Oliver Thompson | HISC | 7 | 4 | 9 | ‑11 | 20 |
| 8th | 1763 | Finlay Lomas‑Clarke | FPSC | 8 | 6 | 8 | ‑9 | 22 |
| 9th | 3598 | Henry Patten | Royal Lymington Yacht Club | ‑22 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 25 |
| 10th | 2645 | Joeseph Henderson | Welsh Harp Sailing Club | ‑14 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 31 |
| 11th | 3596 | Ben Stokes | HISC | 21 | ‑24 | 6 | 5 | 32 |
| 12th | 625 | Ben Stokes | HISC | 9 | ‑22 | 10 | 15 | 34 |
| 13th | 3029 | Holly Fisher | HISC | 11 | 8 | 16 | ‑21 | 35 |
| 14th | 2090 | Toby Thomson | FPSC | 10 | 12 | ‑23 | 16 | 38 |
| 15th | 2872 | Holly Mitchell | HISC | ‑17 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 40 |
| 16th | 3242 | Liam Whelan | HISC | ‑30 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 43 |
| 17th | 2852 | Katy Fisher | HISC | 15 | 16 | 14 | ‑19 | 45 |
| 18th | 190 | Alex Sydenham | Dell Quay SC | ‑29 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 48 |
| 19th | 3585 | Toby Field | Emsworth | 18 | 17 | 17 | ‑20 | 52 |
| 20th | 2459 | Mark Soars | FPSC | 12 | 30 | ‑32 | 14 | 56 |
| 21st | 2300 | Samuel Osbourne | Royal Victoria Yacht Club | 16 | 20 | 20 | ‑31 | 56 |
| 22nd | 2214 | Andrew Soars | FPSC | 28 | 9 | 24 | (RET) | 61 |
| 23rd | 2348 | William Stratton‑Brown | FPSC | 19 | 19 | 27 | ‑29 | 65 |
| 24th | 1933 | Sam Stuart | FPSC | 13 | 27 | ‑29 | 28 | 68 |
| 25th | 3398 | Max Halliwell | FPSC | 23 | 29 | (OCS) | 18 | 70 |
| 26th | 68 | Harry Slight | Emsworth Sailing Club | ‑32 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 70 |
| 27th | 2670 | Alex Baker | HISC | 25 | ‑31 | 21 | 25 | 71 |
| 28th | 1662 | Ollie Bradshaw | Emsworth | 26 | ‑28 | 19 | 27 | 72 |
| 29th | 2616 | Mark Jenkins | FPSC | 24 | ‑26 | 26 | 23 | 73 |
| 30th | 2155 | Fergus Law | FPSC | 27 | 25 | ‑28 | 26 | 78 |
| 31st | 1387 | Charlie Baker | HISC | 20 | 21 | (DNC) | DNC | 83 |
| 32nd | 2387 | William Ahlheid | FPSC | 31 | ‑32 | 31 | 30 | 92 |
| 33rd | 1482 | Sam Masterton | FPSC | 36 | ‑38 | 22 | 36 | 94 |
| 34th | 3401 | Jago Halliwell | FPSC | 40 | (RET) | 30 | 24 | 94 |
| 35th | 2260 | Joshua Inglesfield | HISC | ‑38 | 33 | 33 | 32 | 98 |
| 36th | 2369 | Barnaby Law | FPSC | 33 | ‑35 | 35 | 33 | 101 |
| 37th | 2356 | Charlie Williams | Emsworth | 34 | 34 | 34 | ‑35 | 102 |
| 38th | 2637 | Maddy Franklin | FPSC | 35 | 37 | ‑38 | 34 | 106 |
| 39th | 1889 | Lawson Nunn | Brightlingsea SC | ‑41 | 36 | 36 | 37 | 109 |
| 40th | 2573 | Samuel Banes‑Walker | FPSC | 37 | (RET) | 37 | DNC | 116 |
| 41st | 1995 | Zac Hardie | FPSC | ‑39 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 116 |