A foggy morning engulfed Burghfield as 34 RS Aero sailors descended on the club to compete for this year’s RS Aero UK Spring Champs. Our PRO for the day was Ian Bullock who did a fantastic job of keeping all the sailors hopes up in the briefing for the fog to clear and a breeze to fill across the lake. After a pleasantly lazy morning and early lunch the mist steadily disappeared and the breeze started to fill in, bringing on a hype of activity – BREEZE ON!
With light winds assured on Burghfield’s sheltered lake and with everyone’s agreement the five boat RS Aero 5 fleet were upsized to RS Aero 7s by the kind loan from other sailors who were using their RS Aero 9s. This produced better racing for all and some constructive variety for sailors with two equal 17 RS Aero Class races for RS Aero 7s and RS Aero 9s.
Ian set separate Inner and Outer loop courses and we were off with marginal hiking! The 9 rigs were up first and the line was all clear – just! It came down to tactics and intuitive risk management as gusts and shifts frequented the 4 races. Dave Lynall (Bowmoor SC) took pole position to lead all 4 races with great speed and to win the 9 class over all. In the 7 rigs, Jonathan Bailey (Hunts SC) flew around the course with three 1sts to take the overall win from Ralph Nevile (Frensham Pond SC). The RS Aero Rooster UK Youth team certainly were reaping the rewards of their winter training with 1,2,4 & 5th the in the RS Aero 7 class and the 5th in the 9s!
Off the water there was a good vibe between all sailors with an interesting and challenging afternoon’s sailing. The prize giving had a wonderful spread to include prizes for the RS Aero UK Winter Championships and ten stage UK Winter Series, in addition to the RS Aero UK Spring Championships. The prize draw for the ‘50% off’ voucher for a new sail was won by Noah Rees of Torpoint Mosquito in Cornwall.
An enjoyable afternoon sailing in the warm sunshine was had by all and a big thank you to Ian Bullock, his team and Burghfield Sailing Club. Many thanks to SpeedSix for their support with a generous selection of prizes for the Spring Champs.
Next up for the RS Aeros in southern UK is the Broadwater SC Open this Saturday 21st of April followed by the mass RS Reunion Regatta on the 28/29th at Hayling. For full details of all UK events see the UK Events List; https://www.rsaerosailing.org/index.asp?p=events&rg=UK
The RS Aero UK Spring Champs was supported by SpeedSix. This event was round 1 of the UK Southern Circuit supported by Rooster and Noble Marine and round 2 of the Thames Valley Regional Mini Series.
Category Winners
- 1st Youth, RS Aero 7 – Jonathan Bailey, Hunts SC
- 1st Youth, RS Aero 9 – Tim Hire, Royal Lymington YC
- 1st Lady – Caroline Martin, Lee on Solent SC
- 1st Master – Chris Jones, Sutton Bingham SC