RS Feva Grand Prix at Lee On Solent SC overall

by Debbie Darling on 18 Sep 2012 Bolle RS Feva Grand Prix was held at Lee On Solent Sailing Club over the weekend. Perfect conditions, sunny with 8 – 12 knots greeted the 50 boats taking part in the first Grand Prix Circuit event of the new season. The event was also the first squad selector for many of the RYA and Class Squads being run this winter.

The majority of fleet were over at 30 seconds to go so a General Recall flag was raised and a black flag put in place. Six boats were caught on the next starboard biased start. When the fleet got away there was perfect hiking conditions and it was Tom Darling and Will Dolin leading at the windward mark. Jamie Smith and Piers Nicholls were hot on their heels and took the lead on the final downwind leg as the course was shortened. In third was Anna (stepping in for a poorly Sam) and Katie Prescott.

Three boats were caught black flag on the port biased start for the second race and leading at leeward gate was Flynn Davies and new crew Henry Jameson; second Max Matthews and Guy Rivington with Tom and Will in the third.
Max and Guy took the lead on the second beat which they held to the finish with Robbie and Alex King gaining to take second and third Tom and Will.

By race three the sea breeze had picked up to 14 knots. The warning signal for race three went up then down as the race was postponed whilst the wind settled.

Again it was Tom and Will ahead at the windward mark ahead of father and son team Daniel and Martyn Lewis.
Jamie and Piers were again flying downwind and took the win from Tom and Will with Jamie Jobson and Eve Gadd climbing to third.

Sunday saw a drop in temperature, cloud and 10 knots with lots of tide.

Jamie and Piers reveled in the conditions to lead at the first windward mark with Flynn and Henry in second and newcomer to the class Clark Rutter and Matt Thornton in third. After lots of place changing due to shifts, wind speed variations across the course and strong tide meant that there was lots to play for.

In the end Jamie and Piers took the win from Robbie and Alex with Daniel and Martyn in third.

As the wind shifted so the second race was postponed whilst the pin mark was re laid. The fleet eventually got away after numerous postponements due to the tide carrying the fleet over the line.

Girl Power came into play for race five as the new pairing of Louisa Coxson and Matthew Brown lead at the windward mark from fellow newcomers Sophie Hempsell and Izzy Welsch with Hannah Bristow and Bobby Hewitt in third
Sophie and Izzy took the lead downwind with Harry Barker and William Spurway climbing to second and Robbie and Alex now up to third. The conditions were proving tricky with place changes upwind and downwind. But Sophie and Izzy extended their lead until mistakenly rounding the gate to go back up wind when the course was in fact two laps. This allowed Louisa and Matthew to take the win with Arthur Brown and Niamh Davies in second and Sophie and Izzy now in third.

A big left shift caused another postponement whilst the course was re set for the final race. Three boats were caught black flag on the general recall. The fleet finally got away in 15 knots and three more boats caught black flag.

The leaders at the windward mark was black flagged Wills Murray and Will Ormerod with Daniel and Martyn second and Sophie and Izzy in third.

By the second windward mark Elliott Wells and Jake Todd had the lead from Max and Guy with Sophie and Izzy still in third. The win went to Elliott and Jake but the second place for Max and Guy was enough to win the Bolle Feva Grand Prix by two points from Jamie Smith and Piers Nicholls . Robbie and Alex King were one point behind in third.

Results - Top ten:

Rank	Sail No	Club	Helm Name	Crew Name	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Total	Nett
1st	4890	Tudor SC	Max Matthews	Guy Rivington	6.0	1.0	4.0	(21.0)	4.0	2.0	38.0	17.0
2nd	4883	HISC	Jamie Smith	Piers Nicholls	1.0	7.0	1.0	1.0	(9.0)	9.0	28.0	19.0
3rd	4734	Warsash SC	Robbie King	Alex King	(7.0)	2.0	5.0	2.0	5.0	6.0	27.0	20.0
4th	3357	HISC	Tom Darling	Will Dolin	2.0	3.0	2.0	(14.0)	12.0	8.0	41.0	27.0
5th	1486	Royal Burnham Yacht Club	Arthur Brown	Niamh Davies	4.0	9.0	(16.0)	4.0	2.0	16.0	51.0	35.0
6th	2153	Draycote SC	Daniel Lewis	Martyn Lewis	5.0	13.0	10.0	3.0	(29.0)	5.0	65.0	36.0
7th	4332	HISC	Elliot Wells	Jake Todd	(54.0 OCS)	6.0	9.0	12.0	10.0	1.0	92.0	38.0
8th	4610	Leigh and Loughton SC	Hannah Bristow	Bobby Hewitt	10.0	16.0	6.0	7.0	6.0	(18.0)	63.0	45.0
9th	2047	Burnham SC	Flynn Davies	Henry Jameson	12.0	4.0	15.0	8.0	(30.0)	12.0	81.0	51.0
10th	4251	Bosham	Sophie Hempsell	Izzy Welch	(24.0)	22.0	19.0	5.0	3.0	3.0	76.0	52.0

Full Results

RS Class Association website