29er Grand Prix at South Shields Sailing Club
by Melissa Heppell 6 Oct 20:51 BST
29er Grand Prix at South Shields © 29er Class Association
Last weekend saw a small but perfectly formed 29er fleet assemble at South Shields Sailing Club for the second of this winter's UK Grand Prix series.
The club laid on a fantastic event, with a super friendly club team working hard both on and off the water and a very warm welcome. The catering (provided by Yvonne and James, who produced a constant stream of fabulous nosh over the weekend) was amazing, and the sailors have all vowed to return to South Shields next year for more of that lovely rocky road cake!
The weather was superb, sunny and warm and a stiff breeze on Saturday along with a fruity North Sea swell out in the bay made for some exciting sea sailing and 5 very slick races were held on Saturday by PRO Jason and his team, with all the sailors coming ashore tired but happy.
South Shields is a truly spectacular sailing location, with stunning ruins on the hill overlooking the mouth of the Tyne as you leave the harbour, and the 29ers looked really impressive as they sailed out to sea. We were assured by the locals that the conditions were always this awesome.
Jas and Baz started the event strong with two bullets, closely followed by Finlay and Jo, with a shout out to Merryn and Will who got to the windward mark first in the first race at their first ever 29er event - clearly a team to watch for the future.
Ben and Jim took the third bullet, with visiting southerners Alex and Scarlett finishing the day with the final two wins. Overnight it was very tight at the top of the leaderboard, and in the evening the sailors and parents enjoyed a fantastic curry dinner and some extremely competitive games of pool at the club.
Sunday also dawned sunny and warm, but sadly with very light wind. PRO Jason and team set off out of the harbour bright and early with a can-do attitude and their patience was rewarded when the wind arrived.
The sailors launched and one race was held in a declining breeze, won by new combo Rachel and Alex, but then unfortunately what wind there was departed and the fleet headed in, giving the locals a cheerful sight as they filled the mouth of the River Tyne with brightly coloured spinnakers.
Final event standings were Finlay and Jo with a very consistent series taking the win, followed by Jas and Baz and then Rachel and Alex. First juniors were Tom and Daniel, and first ladies were Emilia and Thea. A big well done to the new teams who were taking their first steps in the class, it is great to welcome you to the fleet, and a special shout out Mathew and Archie who were also sailing on the sea for the first time, picking a fairly fruity day on Saturday to try seawater.
A massive thanks to PRO Jason and his race and team [Izzy, Ester, Sam, Duncan, Neil] supported by 29er parents, and to the wider South Shields Sailing Club team who worked tirelessly all weekend to make us welcome. Everyone had a fantastic time, and we look forward to visiting again (did we mention the cake?!).