RS Aero Spring Championships at Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club

Aero 7s, 6 seconds from the Race 3 start, with race winner, Sammy Isaacs-Johnson, is at pin end during the RS Aero Spring Championships at Island Barn © Kate Symons

Aero 7s approach leeward mark - 875 is Sammy Isaacs-Johnson - RS Aero Spring Championships at Island Barn © Kate Symons

This great class came again to Island Barn for its 2025 Spring Championships on 10th May. We had sunshine and warmth all day and out of a cloudless sky came winds ranging from 5 to 15 knots, with a remarkable short squall of over 25 knots - not sure why.

As well as a gradual, all day, shift from north east to south east, there were constant mini-shifts of up to 25 degrees, often within a starting sequence, making start line and mark setting quite entertaining, and for the sailors, not an easy read. The writer confesses to unintentionally providing a port bias to most starts, for which he apologises.

The Aero Open is a challenge for a host in that it amicably caters for all sailor-weights with a range of sails ranging from 5 sqm (Aero 5) to 8.6 sqm (Aero 9), with intermediate classes of 6.3 sqm (Aero 6) and 7.2 sqm (Aero 7). The Springs Champs are thus 4 events in 1.

The course was a rectangle of 4 movable marks, which provided an inner loop, windward / leeward, course and an outer loop, windward / leeward, course, with interconnecting reaching legs.

We gave the Aeros 5 and 7 the outer loop and combined start, and the Aeros 6 and 9, the inner loop, in a second, combined start. Each start was a 3,2,1,0 minute sequence with 1 minute separating the two sequences.

This gives a committee-boat-helpful, class-separated finishing sequence over a single finish line of Aero 7s, then 9s, then 5s, then 6s. A very clever arrangement.

Happy Island Barn committee boat team during the RS Aero Spring Championships - photo © Kate Symons

We had a few OCSs, usually the same boat (yet to discover transits), but not one general recall. Thank you sailors.

Okay. Race management over. Now the action.

The 7s and 5s got away to a clean start on a slightly port biased line. Sammy Isaacs-Johnson (A7) executed the best pin-end start, and stayed in the lead, which lengthened on each lap, to the finish. Andrew Rawson (A7), from Netley, was second and Island Barn's Isla Todd (A7) was 3rd, after a very close race with Paul Halliwell (A7), also of the home club, 4th.

It's a pity only one Aero 5 competed, as this is a great youth boat. Youth, where are you? Not all in ILCAs, surely. Evelyn Tucker (A5) from Papercourt was the sole 'fiver' and of course scored the first of four firsts. Easy pickings.

On the second start, for 9s and 6s, Jeff Davison from Island Barn, a past masters's world champ, read the port bias on the start line, timed his start perfectly and led from pin ent to the finish. Andrew Barnett, also from the home club, chased well to finish 2nd, with Dave Ryder, new to Aeros and improving fast, 3rd. In the 6s, Gareth Griffiths (A6), Island Barn class captain, beat several 9s to finish first Aero 6.

Mind your head! Aero 7s gybing at leeward mark during the RS Aero Spring Championships at Island Barn - photo © Kate Symons

To save your time, Race 2 was a carbon copy of Race 1, first and second being identical to those in Race 1 in all classes; though in the Aero 9s Andy Norman beat Dave Ryder to third.

During the lunch break the course was swivelled 40 degrees clockwise to suit the veering wind.

In Race Three, first start, Isaacs-Johnson (A7) continued his winning ways, Andrew Rawson (A7) continuing to follow in second.

In Race Three, second start, remarkable things happened. The biggest shifts of the day, 25 degrees, were occurring and Griffiths in his diminutive Aero 6, read them all perfectly to beat all the Aero 9s. Davison (A9) lost his winning touch, trailing in 5th behind Barnett (A9) and Paul Playle (A9) (Island Barn).

With one race to go and a discard to be applied, the winners of Aeros 5, 6, 7, were already decided. However in the 9s, Barnett was on 5 points and Davison on 7. So very much all-to-play for. Davison's Race 3 errors were expunged; he made a perfect pin end start. Barnett got caught up in a five-boat melee and only managed to improve to third. This was not good enough, as Davison had sailed away into a commanding lead which he held to the end. His third race fifth was discarded and he posted a perfect score of 3 to win the Aero 9s.

Aero 9 winner, Jeff Davison, finishes well clear of field in Race 4 during the RS Aero Spring Championships at Island Barn - photo © Kate Symons

In the Aero 7s, Isaacs-Johnson threw away the last race by starting an unnecessary fourth lap (!), generously allowing his perennial rival, Rawson, to slip into the lead for a first. But with a discard, Isaacs-Johnson also scored a perfect 3 to win his class.

Griffiths (Aero6) discarded a first with a perfect scorecard to take first prize, and, of course Tinker, the sole Aero 5, took the prize for this class back to Papercourt.

The closest tussle of the day goes to the 3rd place competition between the Aero 7s of Isla Todd and Paul Halliwell, both of Island Barn. After discards, both had equal points of 10, and equal count back placings, so the final race decided affairs. Halliwell's 3rd just pipped Todd's 4th, to take 3rd overall. Well done both - you both showed you don't need to win in dinghy racing to have close, exciting, competition.

Overall Results: