2015 Magic Marine RS Aero National Championships – Day 1

by Frances Peters on 30 Aug 2015 Yesterday, 35 RS Aeros took to the water to make their final preparations for the first ever Magic Marine RS Aero National Championships. Several short sprint races with coaches on hand to offer words of advice set the bar high as sailors enjoyed 15 knots and bright sunshine in Portland Harbour.

Once the final tweaks to the boats had been made, much of the fleet gathered to enjoy the wonderful sunset (and equally wonderful beers) at the local pub on the water’s edge.

This morning brought more sunshine and spirits were high in the boat park. Many competitors could be found wondering the boat park, assessing their competition and discussing whether or not they too should be polishing their boat! Others occupied the balcony, soaking up the atmosphere – coffee and bacon bap in hand. There was only one thing missing… wind! With four races scheduled, it was set to be a challenging day.

A light breeze died to nothing as boats launched and a wait on the water ensued. The race committee persisted, and after a couple of attempts, race one got underway. The first race of the day saw all 74 boats on the same start line, competing in a handicap race using the PY system. The race made history as the biggest ever RS Aero start line to date, breaking the current record by 30 boats. In all the excitement and with the inevitable battle to claim a clear lane off the start line, several sailors began their series with a black flag.

After his recent World Championship win in the RS500 class and dubbed one of the favourites for the week, Peter Barton in the seven rig was forced to count a BFD for his first race.

While some struggled to fight back from a bad start in such a large fleet, others thrived under the pressure. Henry Jameson was among those in his element. Accustomed to leading the way in large fleets with a background of RS Feva and RS Tera sailing, he took the gun for the RS Aero Five fleet. Current I14 World Champion, Glen Truswell, led the charge in the seven fleet, while Luke Deegan of Antigua Sailing Club was first across the line in the nine fleet.

Now with a more established and stable 10 knot breeze, race two got underway. This time the three fleets were given their own starts, changing the strategy for some and offering a new opportunity at the front. Will Taylor of Brightlingsea Sailing Club took the win in the five fleet, while Matthew Caiger slotted in a second place. In the seven fleet, Peter Barton came back fighting with a second place, snapping at the heels of Glen Truswell, who posted his second bullet of the day. David Rickard took the lead in the nine rigs ahead of previous race winner, Luke Deegan.

The final race saw the wind drop again and so began a light and tactical race as sailors remained in the individual fleets. Henry Jameson reverted to form, posting another bullet to leave him topping the leader board overnight. Peter Barton went from strength to strength and won the final race of the day, leaving him second and snapping at Truswell’s heels overnight in the seven fleet. David Ellis of Lymington Town Sailing Club posted a second place in the final race for the seven rigs, putting him third overnight. Ben Rolfe of Burghfield Sailing Club took his turn to lead the way for the final race of the day in the nine fleet, leaving him in second place overnight behind Deegan.

Boats returned to shore to resume racing in the morning and there’s more breeze forecast. It’s all to play for with five races scheduled and plans to race in the bay.

Results are provisional as of 19:21 on August 29, 2015

5 Rig

Rank	Tally	Class	Rig	Nat	Sail No	Helm	Age	Gender	Club	R1	R2	R3	Total	Nett
1st	159	RS Aero	5	GBR	1463	Henry Jameson	13	M	Hayling Island SC	1.0	5.0	1.0	7.0	7.0
2nd	181	RS Aero	5	GBR	11	Will Taylor	18	M	Brightlingsea SC	3.0	1.0	3.0	7.0	7.0
3rd	214	RS Aero	5	GBR	1562	Matthew Caiger	15	M	Sevenoaks School	2.0	2.0	4.0	8.0	8.0
4th	212	RS Aero	5	GBR	1543	Debbie Degge	57	F	Bartley SC	4.0	3.0	2.0	9.0	9.0
5th	173	RS Aero	5	GBR	1107	Ben Poe	17	M	Sutton Bingham SC	5.0	4.0	7.0	16.0	16.0
6th	185	RS Aero	5	GBR	1173	Archie Hainsworth	14	M	Alton Water SC	6.0	9.0	5.0	20.0	20.0
7th	188	RS Aero	5	GBR	1183	George Catchpole	18	M	Waveney and Oulton Broad YC	7.0	8.0	6.0	21.0	21.0
8th	175	RS Aero	5	GBR	1109	Louis Wright	13	M	Hayling Island SC	9.0	6.0	8.0	23.0	23.0
9th	197	RS Aero	5	GBR	1301	Emily Davis	39	F	Great Moor SC	8.0	10.0	10.0	28.0	28.0
10th	215	RS Aero	5	GBR	1568	Caitlin Atkin	14	F	Bewl Valley SC	11.0	7.0	11.0	29.0	29.0
11th	187	RS Aero	5	GBR	1178	Cathy Bartram	52	F	Chew Valley LSC	12.0	12.0	9.0	33.0	33.0
12th	174	RS Aero	5	GBR	1108	Charlie Pearce	15	M	Dabchicks SC	10.0	11.0	12.0	33.0	33.0
13th	172	RS Aero	5	GBR	1103	Hugo Robathan	11	M	Oxford SC	15.0 BFD	13.0	13.0	41.0	41.0
14th	195	RS Aero	5	GBR	1296	Maggie Dunn	63	F	Lyme Regis SC	15.0 DNC	15.0 DNC	15.0 DNC	45.0	45.0

7 Rig

Rank	Tally	Class	Rig	Nat	Sail No	Helm	Age	Gender	Club	R1	R2	R3	Total	Nett
1st	224	RS Aero	7	GBR	1209	David Ellis	52	M	Lymington Town SC	3.0	5.0	2.0	10.0	10.0
2nd	204	RS Aero	7	GBR	1457	Glen Truswell	39	M	Castle Cove SC	1.0	1.0	9.0	11.0	11.0
3rd	211	RS Aero	7	GBR	1534	Fergus Barnham	22	M	Snettisham Beach SC	2.0	6.0	3.0	11.0	11.0
4th	156	RS Aero	7	GBR	88	Jack Holden	23	M	Arun YC	14.0	3.0	7.0	24.0	24.0
5th	168	RS Aero	7	EST	10	Ants Haavel	45	M	Tallinn Kalev YC	6.0	14.0	4.0	24.0	24.0
6th	220	RS Aero	7	GBR	1608	Robbie Wilson	48	M	Wormit BC	18.0	4.0	10.0	32.0	32.0
7th	167	RS Aero	7	GBR	1079	Paul Robson	34	M	Reading SC	5.0	11.0	19.0	35.0	35.0
8th	193	RS Aero	7	GBR	1216	Mike Saul	48	M	Yorkshire Dales SC	17.0	12.0	6.0	35.0	35.0
9th	194	RS Aero	7	GBR	1222	Luke Mapley	23	M	Felpham SC	16.0	7.0	13.0	36.0	36.0
10th	155	RS Aero	7	GBR	1	Tim Peters	51	M	Hayling Island SC	4.0	22.0	12.0	38.0	38.0
11th	186	RS Aero	7	GBR	1175	Peter Barton	47	M	Lymington Town SC	38.0 BFD	2.0	1.0	41.0	41.0
12th	217	RS Aero	7	GBR	1575	Mark Carleton	40	M	Papercourt SC	9.0	17.0	15.0	41.0	41.0
13th	162	RS Aero	7	GBR	1015	Chris Hobday	52	M	Gurnard SC	24.0	9.0	11.0	44.0	44.0
14th	169	RS Aero	7	GBR	1089	Kent Martin	45	M	Ogston SC	13.0	19.0	14.0	46.0	46.0
15th	183	RS Aero	7	GBR	1171	Ffinlo Wright	15	M	Isle of Man YC	12.0	8.0	31.0	51.0	51.0
16th	199	RS Aero	7	GBR	1305	Ed Storey	49	M	Yorkshire Dales SC and Ripon SC	15.0	21.0	17.0	53.0	53.0
17th	213	RS Aero	7	GBR	1551	Nigel Rolfe	51	M	Burghfield SC	23.0	15.0	16.0	54.0	54.0
18th	160	RS Aero	7	GBR	1653	Peter Freeland	14	M	Downs SC	11.0	20.0	24.0	55.0	55.0
19th	200	RS Aero	7	NED	13	Michiel Geerling	32	M	Braassemermeer	19.0	13.0	25.0	57.0	57.0
20th	179	RS Aero	7	GBR	1142	Rob Beaton	49	M	Royal Plymouth Corinthian YC	21.0	18.0	18.0	57.0	57.0
21st	161	RS Aero	7	GBR	8	Nev Herbert	45	M	Royal Lymington YC	8.0	25.0	26.0	59.0	59.0
22nd	176	RS Aero	7	GBR	1120	Tom Partington	27	M	Hayling Island SC	20.0	16.0	23.0	59.0	59.0
23rd	198	RS Aero	7	GBR	1302	Karl Thorne	45	M	Royal LymingtonYC/KeyhavenYC	22.0	30.0	8.0	60.0	60.0
24th	207	RS Aero	7	GBR	1490	Martin Clarke	52	M	Hykeham SC	10.0	31.0	20.0	61.0	61.0
25th	158	RS Aero	7	GBR	1206	John Hobson	48	M	Notts County SC	7.0	29.0	27.0	63.0	63.0
26th	153	RS Aero	7	GBR	1367	Harry Jones	14	M	Draycote Water SC	38.0 BFD	24.0	5.0	67.0	67.0
27th	210	RS Aero	7	GBR	1533	Finlay Barnham	24	M	Snettisham Beach SC	38.0 BFD	10.0	21.0	69.0	69.0
28th	223	RS Aero	7	GBR	1694	Nick Neve	54	M	Rutland SC	29.0	23.0	22.0	74.0	74.0
29th	221	RS Aero	7	GBR	1618	Dave Harris	64	M	Severn SC	28.0	27.0	29.0	84.0	84.0
30th	219	RS Aero	7	GBR	1601	Paul Harwood	56	M	Wimbleball SC	30.0	26.0	30.0	86.0	86.0
31st	209	RS Aero	7	GBR	1509	Peter Craggs	40	M	York RI SC	26.0	28.0	33.0	87.0	87.0
32nd	192	RS Aero	7	GBR	1211	Nicholas Eales	54	M	Lymington Town SC	25.0	33.0	32.0	90.0	90.0
33rd	165	RS Aero	7	GBR	1029	Judith French	56	F	Gurnard SC	27.0	35.0	28.0	90.0	90.0
34th	208	RS Aero	7	GBR	1500	Christopher Cope	48	M	Isle of Man YC	31.0	32.0	34.0	97.0	97.0
35th	152	RS Aero	7	GBR	1705	Neil Wharmby	47	M	Royal Lymington YC	32.0	34.0	38.0 DNF	104.0	104.0
36th	216	RS Aero	7	GBR	1570	Robert Holdway	57	M	Poole YC	33.0	36.0	38.0 DNC	107.0	107.0
37th	203	RS Aero	7	GBR	1428	Peter Townend	56	M	Chelmarsh SC	38.0 DNC	38.0 DNC	38.0 DNC	114.0	114.0

9 Rig

Rank	Tally	Class	Rig	Nat	Sail No	Helm	Age	Gender	Club	R1	R2	R3	Total	Nett
1st	205	RS Aero	9	GBR	1485	Luke Deegan	25	M	Antigua SC	1.0	2.0	2.0	5.0	5.0
2nd	218	RS Aero	9	GBR	1581	Ben Rolfe	19	M	Burghfield SC	3.0	9.0	1.0	13.0	13.0
3rd	163	RS Aero	9	GBR	1018	David Rickard	58	M	Gurnard SC	5.0	1.0	7.0	13.0	13.0
4th	154	RS Aero	9	GBR	1205	Simon Hiscocks	115	M	Weymouth and Portland NSA	6.0	5.0	3.0	14.0	14.0
5th	191	RS Aero	9	GBR	1208	Matt Thursfield	41	M	Chelmarsh Sailing Club	4.0	6.0	4.0	14.0	14.0
6th	196	RS Aero	9	GBR	1298	Richard Watsham	30	M	Starcross YC	9.0	8.0	5.0	22.0	22.0
7th	166	RS Aero	9	GBR	1036	Ian Swann	52	M	Hayling Island SC	2.0	3.0	18.0	23.0	23.0
8th	225	RS Aero	9	GBR	1689	Andrew Snell	41	M	Army SA	12.0	10.0	6.0	28.0	28.0
9th	182	RS Aero	9	GBR	1669	Giovanni Belgrano	54	M	Gurnard SC	11.0	4.0	15.0	30.0	30.0
10th	189	RS Aero	9	GBR	1489	Toby Freeland	18	M	Downs SC	7.0	11.0	13.0	31.0	31.0
11th	184	RS Aero	9	GBR	1172	David Batchelor	52	M	Isle of Man YC	15.0	7.0	12.0	34.0	34.0
12th	164	RS Aero	9	GBR	1023	Gareth Griffiths	61	M	Island Barn Reservoir SC	8.0	18.0	9.0	35.0	35.0
13th	206	RS Aero	9	GBR	1184	Robert Freeland	46	M	Downs SC	10.0	15.0	11.0	36.0	36.0
14th	151	RS Aero	9	GBR	1404	Ade White	58	M	Notts County SC	23.0 BFD	12.0	8.0	43.0	43.0
15th	178	RS Aero	9	GBR	1135	Phil White	35	M	Frampton on Severn SC	20.0	13.0	10.0	43.0	43.0
16th	222	RS Aero	9	GBR	1637	Adrian Neal	45	M	Sutton Bingham SC	17.0	16.0	16.0	49.0	49.0
17th	190	RS Aero	9	GBR	1207	Mark Tissiman	54	M	Chelmarsh/Saundersfoot SC	18.0	20.0	14.0	52.0	52.0
18th	180	RS Aero	9	GBR	1157	Chris Smith	52	M	Poole YC	14.0	19.0	19.0	52.0	52.0
19th	157	RS Aero	9	GBR	999	Ben Wallis	23	M	Spinnaker SC	13.0	21.0	20.0	54.0	54.0
20th	177	RS Aero	9	GBR	1132	Chris James	46	M	Exe SC	16.0	17.0	21.0	54.0	54.0
21st	201	RS Aero	9	GBR	1370	Jim Hood	44	M	Lymington Town SC	19.0	14.0	23.0 RET	56.0	56.0
22nd	171	RS Aero	9	GBR	1097	Chris Jones	57	M	Chelmarsh SC	21.0	22.0	17.0	60.0	60.0