Another great event at Burghfield Sailing Club and we were favoured with a good breeze, sunshine and a wonderful atmosphere, well we are in the tropics after all! This year Burghfield had the privilege of hosting the rescheduled RS Aero UK Winter Championships.
Race Officer James Anderson set a P shaped course with a fantastic long beat down the lake, two fast reaching legs and a downwind with plenty of gybing opportunities to test the nerve. The wind, well it did not disappoint at a steady 18 – 24 knots picking up to 20 – 28 knots at times! As such we ended up with two fleets – RS Aero 7 and RS Aero 5.
Down to the racing. There were three dominating individuals over the 4 races. Ben Rolfe not only won the RS Aero 7’s but cruised comfortably from mark 1 to the finish in all races he sailed with a commanding lead. In the RS Aero 5’s it was Frensham’s Ahlheid brothers, Tom and Tristan who simply dominated.
There was plenty of action behind this leading trio and calamities galore. It has to be mentioned that our esteemed Chairman, Richard Watsham, won the “Detour Pale Ale” prize. In what would have been a championship winning defensive manoeuvre if he was leading. But it all went horribly wrong as the gust came in causing the aggressive bear away forcing him well away from the competing field.
In the RS Aero 5, it was great to see Chloe George on the water and after a disappointing first race she managed to secure three 3rd places to finish 3rdoverall.
Back to the RS Aero 7’s, Papercourt’s Sam Mettam secured consistent results ahead of the chasing pack to secure 2nd place with Chris Rust in 3rd.
All in all a fantastic blast of a day with a real sense of achievement for all who sailed and big smiles. Well done everyone and a huge thanks to our race and safety teams for making this event a huge success.
Next up for the UK RS Aeros is the RS Sprint Champs at Rutland SC on Saturday 2nd April and then the RS Aero UK Spring Championships at Island Barn SC on Saturday 23rd April. Check out the 2022 RS Aero UK Events List; https://www.rsaerosailing.org/index.asp?p=events&rg=UK%20and%20Ireland