UK 29er Allen Grand Prix Series 2022/23 Round 4 at Rutland Sailing Club

29er Allen GP4 at Rutland © 29er Class

29er Allen GP4 at Rutland © 29er Class

The Christmas Party one

The time for the Northern GP had arrived with a lovely late morning start, Christmas tunes were playing and a surprisingly windy looking puddle awaited. Would Rutland deliver the goods?

After some cheeky rounds of table tennis, Oscar was the one to beat on the land but could he keep it together as well as Poland's defensive lineup on the water? With the first races under way Noah and James showed domination at the committee with some very punchy last minute gap stealing skills. After a couple of bullets they were the ones to beat. With some rogue sleet storms passing through and the wind going up and down like the pound with Truss, most were ready to go in after the supremacy of FitzCross.

Race 3 began with some big left shifts, Oscar, the ping pong master, & Fin were looking good, but this is Rutland so with Ollie & Rob so far right they were praying in the church, no one was safe as they took a convincing win. Race 4 is a similar story as Ollie & Rob revisited the house of God again on the right.

The evening had a stacked raffle from the amazing sponsors Allen with countless winners, followed by the Christmas jumper competition. Zeb once again for a second year running had no votes so was dropped out of the game quickly. Some slick dance moves kept the party alive till late.

Day 2 is a similar story but a tad lighter, Sam & Chaz Gran with Oscar & Fin overly keen to get racing both getting UFD's in race 1. The Hayling crew dominated the first race with the Sydenham bros flat wiring their way to the finish just ahead of Gregan & Maya and with Kuba & Santi finishing out the race podium for HISC. Big well done to the local boys Dylan Beaty and Harry Rowlands GBR 157 taking a 5th whilst showing some unmatchable speed. Race 2 once again had another masterclass from the Sydenham bros.

Sam & Charlie had some catching up to do if they wanted to take the win and they didn't disappoint, ending with a double bullet combo. Amelie & Katy with some excellent shift skills took 4th overall and first girls.

Big shoutout to the fisherman who thought he'd caught the Nessy Monster of Rutland but hard done by when he realised he'd caught a pair of Jamies instead.

Thank you to the event sponsors Allen and Rutland Sailing club for hosting a wonderful weekend, on and off the water!

Overall Results: