eSailing Eric Twiname Junior Championships
by Sarah McGovern 11 May 2020 05:00 AEST
8-10 May 2020
Oscar Shilling taking part in the eSailing Eric Twiname Junior Championships © The Shilling family
RYA London and South East's Max Steele won the first ever virtual Eric Twiname Championships over the early May bank holiday, taking the title ahead of over 200 young racers.
With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the event proper, British Youth Sailing and the Eric Twiname Trust quickly came up with a solution: to hold the regatta virtually.
Traditionally held at Rutland Sailing Club, this year junior racers pitted their skills in the computer-generated seas off Portsmouth Harbour in J70s for the Virtual Regatta event.
The fleets were open to youngsters eligible to compete at the original regatta with the Laser 4.7 and RS Tera Sport classes open entry.
Podiums were decided over the first two days of racing in each class with the top two advancing to the final day's three race showdown.
The finals, commentated on by the British Sailing Team's Luke Patience and yachting journalist Mark Jardine, were a closely run affair with Laser 4.7 sailor Steele eventually coming out on top. The finals can be viewed below.
Steele said: "It went amazingly well, a big challenge but also a lot of fun - thanks go to the Eric Twiname Trust, and well done to all the competitors."
Tommy Millard from the South region and representing the Techno fleet needed a final race win to take second place ahead of Scotland's Topper sailor Oliver Bull who finished third.
Max Steele commented, "It went amazingly well, a big challenge but also a lot of fun - please pass on my thanks to the Eric Twiname Trust and well done to all the competitors."
Tommy Millard said, "Thank you very much for organising. Lot of fun for all the racers."
Chris Atherton, the RYA's National Performance Manager, said: "I was amazed at the eET Championship racing. The racing was technical and realistic and that just amplified the skill ability of sailors. It was great!"
Sarah McGovern, race organiser and RYA Performance Manager for Wales said: "It's great to see sailors being able to adapt and apply their sailing skills and knowledge into virtual reality.
"Hopefully it will be getting everyone's minds ready to get back on the water very soon. A very big thank you to the race team who also had to adapt to run an event virtually."
A rite of passage for young racing sailors, the Eric Twiname Championships was named in honour of sailor, author and journalist Eric Twiname.
Twiname made his name in sailing winning numerous national titles in a range of dinghy classes, as well as in team racing where he captained the British Universities Sailing Association.
He was also greatly influential in shaping the Racing Rules which govern racing in the UK, sitting on the RYA's Racing Rules Committee and working as the Racing Rules Advisor to the British Olympic Association.
Overall Results:
Topper Fleet
1st - Reuben Hudson (London & South East) - Reuben48177
2nd - Oliver Bull (Scotland) - Wng Cdr Oli
3rd - Roo Purves (Scotland) - Rooboat
Full results here
Optimist Fleet
1st - Platon Khodykin (South) - Platon K6283
2nd - Thomas Peace (South) - Splash-2
3rd - Ben Welfare (North) - Ben5500
Full results here
Feva Fleet
1st - Rose Hallam (South West) RocketR
2nd - Freddie MacLaverty (Wales) Bobby3465
3rd - William James (South West) WilliamTera
Full results here
Techno Fleet
1st - Tommy Millard (South) CEO of funny
2nd - Olly Cooper (North) Olly13
3rd - Dylan Galloway (Scotland) Dylan-Techno293
Full results here
Tera Sport Fleet
1st - Mark Jenkins Jauma (South) Mark2616
2nd - Dara Jenkins (North) Tera915
3rd - Freddie Sunderland (Midlands) - freddie tera
Full results here
Laser 4.7 Fleet
1st - Max Steele (London and South East) 21MaxSteele6648
2nd - Oscar Shilling (North) ShillsToPayTheBills
3rd - Henry Redmond (Midlands) Henry R 206839
Full results here
Show Down Final
| Pos | VR Name | Name | Sail No | R1 (J70) | R2 (49er) | R3 (Nacra 17) | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 21MaxSteele6648 (London & South East) | Max Steele | GBR 216648 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | CEO of funny (South) | Tommy Millard | GBR 4664 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Wng Cdr Oli (Scotland) | Olive Bull | GBR 48100 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | Platon K6283 (South) | Platon Khodykin | GBR 6283 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Reuben48177 (London & South East) | Reuben Hudson | GBR 48177 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 6 | ShillsToPayTheBills (North) | Oscar Shilling | GBR 190778 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 20 |
| 7 | Mark2616 (South) | Mark Jenkins Jauma | GBR 26160 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 22 |
| 8 | RocketR (South West) | Rose Hallam | GBR 61120 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 | Tera915 (North) | Dara Jenkins | GBR 9150 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 |
| 10 | Olly13 (North) | Olly Cooper | GBR 4692 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 29 |
| 11 | Splash‑2 (South) | Thomas Peace | GBR 6409 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 29 |
| 12 | Bobby3465 (Wales) | Freddie MacLaverty | GBR 6351 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 30 |
A very big thank you to the race team behind the scenes:
Race Officers
James Parker-Mowbray
Adam Millington
Matt Toynbee
Jonny McGovern
Chris Atherton
Graeme Rowe
James Dowrick
Josh Atherton
Results
Niall McLeod and team
Lorna Graham
Daniel Gibbons
Jamie Kerslake
Oliver Di Bartolo
Race Office
Sarah Knok-Johnson
Niki Paton
Sarah McGovern
Beth Mckellar
Richard Aspland
Race Commentators
Mark Jardine
Luke Patience