RS Aero UK Southwestern Championship at Salcombe Yacht Club
by Mark Ripley 20 Sep 05:19 BST
10-11 September 2022
With 13 RS Aeros on the famous Salcombe state line the South-western Championships hosted by Salcombe Yacht Club proved to be both a challenging and an exciting event.
For what could only be described as 'wacky races' a 100m lead could be lost in a matter of seconds as the wind weaved its way through the narrow ria valleys. The races consisted of all wind conditions on each and every leg as it funnelled over the hills and cliffs leading to very close and competitive racing throughout the fleet. It was never over, until it was over!
Saturday saw lighter winds on average and a flooding tide meant sticking to the edges when going against the tide was key, however some sailors took this strategy too literally by running aground on more than one occasion! Tacking practice was definitely needed as some up-wind legs meant 20+ tacks were in order.
The Sunday brought a completely different kind of racing. With tide against the wind, down winds often saw the RS Aeros drifting back up-wind. As was quickly found out by myself, Paul Bartlett and Jacob Chambers the tide seemed to be weakest in the main Fairway but this did lead to us all getting DSQ! Rounding off the weekend was one last nail biting race which managed to incorporate all points of sail in just one leg with all podium positions still up for grabs.
Thank you to Salcombe Yacht Club for the great event with beautiful weather and fabulous hospitality again!
Thanks to Lucy Burn for her photos; Instagram - @syc_sailing_photos & lbcreate.pixieset.com/sailing
FUN FACT: A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Good examples are Salcombe and Sydney harbours.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail | Helm | Rig | PY | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1181 | Mark Ripley | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 1 | 1 | (WAY) | 3 | 5 |
| 2nd | 3438 | Paul Bartlett | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 5 | 2 | (WAY) | 1 | 8 |
| 3rd | 3942 | David Cronk | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | ‑4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 4th | 3023 | Richard Watsham | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 2 | 5 | ‑6 | 2 | 9 |
| 5th | 2808 | Giles Bradford | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑9 | 9 |
| 6th | 2929 | Elliot Toms | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | ‑6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
| 7th | 2388 | Charles Gilmore | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 7 | ‑9 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| 8th | 1601 | Jacob Chambers | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 8 | 8 | (WAY) | 7 | 23 |
| 9th | 2270 | Andrew Petter | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 9 | 7 | 8 | ‑10 | 24 |
| 10th | 1964 | Sam Turner | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | (DNC) | DNC | 5 | 8 | 29 |
| 11th | 3502 | Mark Lambdin | RS Aero 9 | 1014 | 11 | (RET) | 7 | 11 | 29 |
| 12th | 3811 | Andrew Wilkins | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 10 | 10 | 9 | ‑12 | 29 |
| 13th | 3328 | Klaus Harris | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | 12 | RET | RET | (DNC) | 40 |
| 14th | 1159 | Sam Turner | RS Aero 5 | 1136 | 13 | RET | (DNC) | DNC | 43 |
| 15th | 1746 | Simon Ballantine | RS Aero 7 | 1065 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 48 |