Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

2022 Hansa TT at Frensham Pond Sailability

by Lisa Skirrow 28 Sep 2022 00:04 BST 21 September 2022
Frensham Hansa TT - Hannah wins the 303 one person class © Tony Machen

The weather forecast was quite explicit, and not very encouraging - morning wind strength of 3mph, with an increase of up to 5mph for the afternoon. Yet still sailors gathered at Frensham Pond for the ninth event in the 2022 Hansa National TT Series.

As there was not enough wind in the morning to get the boats as far as the starting line, morning racing was abandoned. The wind picked up in the afternoon and the whole operation sprang to life getting all the sailors out ready for some serious racing. The Hansa 2.3 fleet was first to start at 2.15pm with three local boats - Lara Sturgis and Ray Bedwell got off to a good start with Andrew Lebec not too far behind.

Next up was the Liberty fleet start, followed by the single handed 303s and last were the double handed 303s. unfortunately the wind dropped off again with no boats getting more than half way up the first beat, so after 25 minutes the race was abandoned - much to the annoyance of Tessa Watkiss in a Liberty who had made good progress and James and Maddy Woosnam who reckoned they had passed almost all of the other boats despite being in the final start.

The breeze picked up again quite soon and so the whole process started again, after the patrol boat had shortened the first beat considerably.

The 2.3s set off once again with Andrew and Ray making good starts and progressing well up the windward leg. The wind was light all afternoon and so progress was slow. By the second beat the order had changed and Lara sailed a really good leg to win the race followed by Andrew and then Ray.

The Liberty fleet of six boats, three from Rutland, two Frensham boats and one from Whitefriars, seemed to encounter the weed around the start line with many boats needing their rudders lifted to clear them. Peter Etherton (Frensham) seemed to be seriously hampered by the weed and Ric Cassell (Rutland) also needed help from the power boat to get clear of the weed.

Ric then had a lucky break and sailed between David Durston (Whitefriars) and Tessa Watkiss (Frensham) at the start of the first beat and then got a friendly lift which gave him a big advantage and he rounded the windward mark in first place. Peter Etherton and David Durston continued to have problems with the weed and both retired early.

The Libertys managed two laps of the course and the final windward leg, with Ric taking first place followed by Tessa and Paul Pearson (Rutland).

The single handed 303 fleet was well contested with 9 boats sailing. Hannah Nicoll (Whitefriars) got an early lead and managed to hold onto that all the way through the race. Harry Kennington (Frensham) and Rory McKinna (Clyde Cruising Club) had a bit of a tussle at the windward mark on their first lap which will have slowed them both down a bit, but they rounded that mark in second and third places, but on the following lap Harry had managed to pull away from Rory and was very comfortably in second place.

Within the rest of the fleet Chichian Wu (Chinese Taipei Sailing Association) was sailing well at his first visit to Frensham, and locals Mike Everitt and Judith Riggs stayed the course, finishing in fourth and fifth. Richard May and Sarah Orme (both Frensham) both retired early having been frustrated by the light winds and weed.

The double-handed fleet had six boats: two from Frensham, two from New Forest, one from Chesil and one all the way from Carsington. The fleet stretched out a lot over the two laps but James and Maddy Woosnam got an early lead and managed to hold onto that eventually finishing first - local knowledge possibly to their advantage.

Steve Kitson and Jane Knight (New Forest) came in second with Ian and Enid Chearman (Carsington) came in third, ahead of Philip Hall and Tom Hepburn (Chesil), Andrew Holmes and Rowena Marsh (New Forest) and Colin Freeman and Brian Grimwood (Frensham).

This being the final meeting in the 2022 TT Series, the winners of the Ben Ainslie Team Trophy was won by the Frensham team (Lindsay Burns, Mike Everitt and Tessa Watkiss) yet again - the 15th consecutive year.

A big thank you to all of the helpers, local and visiting, who made the day such a success, and to the volunteers in the galley who kept all of the sailors and volunteers so well fed and watered all day.

Overall Frensham TT Results:

Hansa 2.3 Class
1st - Lara Sturgis (Frensham)
2nd - Andrew Lebec (Frensham)
3rd - Ray Bedwell

Hansa 303 one-person Class
1st - Hannah Nicoll (Whitefriars)
2nd - Harry Kennington (Frensham)
3rd - Rory McKinna (Clyde Cruising Club)

Hansa 303 two-person Class
1st - James and Maddy Woosnam (Frensham)
2nd - Steve Kitson and Jane Knight (Whitefriars)
3rd - Ian and Enid Chearman (Carsington)

Hansa Liberty Class
1st - Ric Cassell (Rutland)
2nd - Tessa Watkiss (Frensham)
3rd - Paul Pearson (Rutland)

2022 Hansa National TT Series Results Overall: (see also, full results)

Hansa 2.3 Class
1st - Lindsay Burns (Frensham)
2nd -Andrew Lebec (Frensham)
3rd - Lara Sturgis (Frensham)

Hansa 303 one-person Class
1st - Rory McKinna (Clyde Cruising Club)
2nd - Mike Everitt (Frensham)
3rd - James Woosnam (Frensham)

Hansa 303 two-person Class
1st - Philip Hall & Tom Hepworth (Chesil)
2nd - Steve Kitson & Jane Knight (New Forest)
3rd - Ian & Enid Chearman (Carsington)

Hansa Liberty Class
1st - David Durston (Whitefriars)
2nd - Paul Pearson (Rutland)
3rd - Ric Cassell (Rutland)

Related Articles

Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series overall
J/24 Wharf Rat team exceed their expectations Christian Seidel and his teammates on the J/24 Wharf Rat, had no expectations of winning their division at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in San Diego. Posted on 20 Mar
Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series day 2
A day of dominance The question of the morning around the San Diego Yacht Club as racers waited out an hour postponement for the morning fog to burn away was, "Who here can actually beat Chick Pyle?" Posted on 19 Mar
Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series day 1
Smooth start to sailing in San Diego The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series San Diego got under way on Friday with the fleets of San Diego's South Bay circles enjoying a slowly building west breeze that allowed four races to be completed in most classes. Posted on 18 Mar
What was intriguing at the RYA Dinghy Show 2023?
Remote operated self-bailers set one man's heart a flutter Determined not to let moving house (the day before) put him off, YachtsandYachting.com's website developer, Magnus Smith, attended his favourite boat show during the last weekend in February. Posted on 6 Mar
EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship announced
EUROSAF reaffirms its continued support for inclusive sailing The dates have now been set: The EUROSAF Inclusive European Championship 2023 will take place from 23 to 30 September in Los Alcázares, Murcia, in Spain. Posted on 21 Feb
Continuing to #BackTheBid
A bitter blow when it was announced Para Sailing would not be included in the LA28 Paralympics It was a bitter blow for sailing last week when the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that Para Sailing would not be included in the LA28 Paralympic Games. Posted on 7 Feb
Sailing not included in Paralympic Games for LA28
David Graham, "...an extremely disappointing day for our whole sport" World Sailing has vowed to continue supporting Para Sailing worldwide following the news that the sport will not be included in the Paralympic Games for LA28. Posted on 30 Jan
Selection procedures announced for Para Classes
At the 2023 Sailing World Championships US Sailing is excited to announce selection procedures for Para Classes at the 2023 Sailing World Championships. Posted on 27 Jan
Record-breaking Para Sailing year
LA28 decision countdown begins World Sailing is celebrating a record-breaking year for Para Sailing as the global sports community awaits the International Paralympic Committee's LA28 programme decision, expected by end of January 2023. Posted on 24 Dec 2022
Para World Sailing Championship 2022
Japan welcomes athletes from 13 countries to history-making event Japan is celebrating after hosting its first simultaneous Para World Sailing Championship with the Hansa Class Asia Pacific Championship, marking a major step forward for diversity and inclusion after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Posted on 25 Oct 2022