RS Tera Open at Desborough Sailing Club
by Ian Jameson 12 Apr 2015 10:55 PDT
11 April 2015
The RS Tera Open Meeting at Desborough Sailing Club saw a good total of 13 entries at this idyllic, family friendly club on the Thames at Shepperton, for the first Open Meeting of the year.
After a rainy and rather unpleasant morning, the weather could not have been better, warm with sunshine and true to form a very shifty swirling breeze that taught the young sailors a lot about sailing on the river, and caught a few of them out too.
The 8 PRO and 5 SPORT rigged boats raced as one fleet with results decided on handicap, over 3 races with one discard.
After a short practice before lunch, the fleet came ashore, sat on the lawn or one of the pontoons for a picnic and then headed out for the first race.
Race 1 was a PRO 1,2 3 won by Henry Jameson of Hayling Island Sailing Club, followed home by Harrison Pye of Draycote Water SC and then James Oakley of Middle Nene, Ralph Neville of Frensham Pond in 4th being the first SPORT rig home.
Race 2 saw Rupert Jameson of Hayling Island SC sailing a SPORT give the PRO's a run for their money, taking the win ahead of Harrison and then James.
In the third and final race it was all still to play for with one discard from the three races, it was really very open.
A very congested start saw Harrison get away and sail to race victory, and the event though it was very close behind him the wind became more and more fickle as the afternoon went on with big shifts, holes, gusts and the current to deal with, a real test of nerve.
In the end it was Henry and James who took 2nd and 3rd spots and in turn 2nd and 3rd overall, Ralph once again was first SPORT home.
Results were extremely tight with Harrison and Henry tied on points, broken by virtue of Harrisons two 2nd place finishes and Rupert and Ralph tied on points, broken by virtue of Rupert's win in race 2.
L. Barrett of Desborough SC was awarded the Ayton Endeavour Award for her performance on the day in her first ever event, well done.
A great place, fantastic people and a really good experience for all competitors, this event never fails to deliver, and the fleet will be back again in 2016.
Next event for the RS Tera Fleet is the Magic Marine Start of Season Championships at Northampton Sailing Club on 25th and 26th April.
Overall Results:
| Position | Rig | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | Net |
|---|
| 1 | PRO | H. Pye | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | PRO | H. Jameson | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | PRO | J.Oakley | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | SPORT | R. Jameson | 7 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | SPORT | R. Neville | 4 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | SPORT | F.Pye | 6 | 8 | 5 | 11 |
| 7 | PRO | N.Lomas | 5 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| 8 | PRO | M. Evans | 9 | 5 | 10 | 14 |
| 9 | SPORT | J.Oakley | 8 | 9 | 6 | 14 |
| 10 | SPORT | A. Davis | 10 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| 11 | PRO | L. Barrett | 11 | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| 12 | PRO | W. Simpkin | 13 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 13 | PRO | J.Stapleton | 12 | DNC | DNC | 26 |