RS Feva's at RYA Volvo South Zone Championship

by Debbie Darling on 27 Sep 2011 RYA Volvo South Zone Championship was held in Weymouth over the weekend of 24th and 25th September 2011 to decide which sailors would be invited to the winter training programme in the RS Feva, Mirrors, Cadets, Toppers or Optimists, all of which are run by the RYA. This is seen as the first stepping stone for many sailors on their quest to become fully fledged RS sailors and possibly even Olympians.

Seventeen RS Feva’s from clubs within the south of England competed in six races over the two days. On the first day the sailors raced in light 8-10 knots, shifting, south westerly winds, which made for interesting and challenging sailing. With the Mirrors and Cadets starting ahead of them and sailing the same course, meant finding the way through these fleets successfully paid dividends. Elliot Wells and Jake Todd and Jamie Smith and David Brand from HISC dominated the racing, with James and Jess Eales from Royal Lymington YC not far behind.

On Sunday the sailors were greeted with more challenging conditions, with winds reaching 30 knots, in the gusts, from the same direction, which again meant sailing the shifts to get to the front. The sailors enjoyed some spectacular fast spinnaker sailing and the leading crew’s demonstrating amazing boat handling skills. Even in these challenging conditions the competition wasn’t decided until the final race, with Elliot and Jake finishing two points clear of Jamie and David, with James and Jess in third just ahead of Cameron Webber and Joseph Fenwick from Hill Head and Thornbury Sailing Club in Full UK RS Class Association website