RS Aero Open at Lee-on-the-Solent Sailing Club
by RS Aero UK Class Association 22 Jun 2023 16:47 BST
17-18 June 2023
Twenty RS Aeros ventured to the seaside to enjoy two days of close fought racing from Lee-on-the-Solent Sailing Club. With the wind set to be predominantly light to medium, the fleet gravitated towards a good sized 17 boat RS Aero 7 fleet, with 3 RS Aero 9s off the same start line to help set the pace.
10-12kn South Easterly over the course provided a great match with the front of the RS Aero 7 fleet with a range of competitive sailor weights from mid-60s kg to 80 kg The heavier sailors generally edged forwards upwind and the lighter sailors were able to come back at them again downwind. At the end of Day 1 Chloe George (Lymington) had a 1 point lead over Peter Barton (Lymington) who in turn had a 1 point lead over Jack Lewis. Rory Cohen (South Cerney) led the RS Aero 9s and was well challenged to keep ahead of the lead 7s.
Day 2 saw a good variety in the breeze. Initially there was another well matched 10-12kn race. Then for Race 5 a nice 15kn came in and sailors got to stretch their legs and enjoy some fast planing reaches - and the Race Officer generously gave us a 3rd lap to have an hour long race to enjoy it!!!
By Race 6 the wind had swung south and the RO quickly set a new course. The new set of conditions with a challenging wave chop and cross current tested competitors. Jack needed a 1st and Peter needed a 1st or 2nd to win. However, with Graham Tribbeck (Lee-on-Solent) coming in hot from the left on the run to take the race win it was Chloe George, already enjoying her afternoon tea and cake ashore, who took the RS Aero 7 event win overall! The RS Aero 7s saw 4 race winners from the 6 races. Rory Cohen won the RS Aero 9s.
Thanks to Lee-on-Solent SC for being excellent hosts and for their generous portions of cake. Thanks to Rooster for supporting the prizes.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| RS Aero 7 |
|---|
| 1st | 3870 | Chole GEORGE | Lymington Town SC | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | (DNC) | 9 |
| 2nd | 4396 | Peter BARTON | Lymington Town SC | 2 | 1 | ‑3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 3rd | 4398 | Jack LEWIS | | ‑4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| 4th | 2890 | Andrew RAWSON | Weston SC | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | ‑5 | 18 |
| 5th | 3661 | Graham TRIBBECK | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | ‑12 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 28 |
| 6th | 4314 | Richard BENTLEY | Felpham SC | 5 | ‑9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 32 |
| 7th | 2811 | Tim BLACKMORE | Chichester YC | 11 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | (DNC) | 35 |
| 8th | 3170 | Nigel DAKIN | | 8 | 6 | 10 | ‑11 | 6 | 6 | 36 |
| 9th | 3148 | Callum ALDOUS | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 9 | 7 | ‑11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| 10th | 2677 | Jeff JACKSON | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 7 | 12 | ‑14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 52 |
| 11th | 3665 | Paul OAKEY | Porcherster SC | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 13 | (DNC) | 52 |
| 12th | 3046 | Steve JACKSON | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 6 | (RET) | 5 | 9 | DNC | DNC | 56 |
| 13th | 4309 | Mark ALDOUS | Felpham SC | ‑15 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 59 |
| 14th | 3328 | Klaus HARRIS | Swanage SC | 14 | (DNF) | 12 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 62 |
| 15th | 2171 | Paul CHANDLER | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 16 | 13 | ‑17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 64 |
| 16th | 2293 | Caroline MARTIN | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 13 | 14 | 15 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 78 |
| 17th | 2740 | Claire DARCH | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 17 | 15 | 16 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 84 |
| RS Aero 9 |
|---|
| 1st | 3130 | Rory COHEN | South Cerney SC | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | 1904 | Benjamin CLARK | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | (DNC) | 11 |
| 3rd | 3811 | Andy WILKINS | South Caerarvoshire YC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | (DNC) | 4DNC | 15 |
| RS Aero 5 |
|---|
| 1st | 2293 | Caroline MARTIN | Lee‑on‑Solent SC | (DNC) | 2DNC | 2DNC | 1 | 2DNC | 2DNC | 7 |
Next up for the is the RS Aero UK Southern Championship just along the coast at Warsash on 1/2 July as the UK fleet ramp up in preparation for the RS Aero World Championship in Sardinia in July and RS Aero 5 & 7 UK Nationals in Tenby in August.
RS Aero Events List here.