Perfect conditions, sunny with 8 – 12 knots greeted the 50 boats taking part in the first Grand Prix Circuit event of the new season at Lee On Solent SC. The event was also the first squad selector for many of the RYA & Class Squads being run this winter.
The majority of fleet were over at 30 seconds to go so a General Recall flag was raised & a black flag put in place. Six boats were caught on the next starboard biased start. When the fleet got away there was perfect hiking conditions & it was Tom Darling & Will Dolin leading at the windward mark. Jamie Smith & Piers Nicholls were hot on their heels & took the lead on the final downwind leg as the course was shortened. In 3rd was Anna ( stepping in for a poorly Sam ) & Katie Prescott.
Three boats were caught black flag on the port biased start for the second race & leading at leeward gate was Flynn Davies & new crew Henry Jameson; 2nd Max Matthews & Guy Rivington with Tom & Will in the 3rd.
Max & Guy took the lead on the second beat which they held to the finish with Robbie & Alex King gaining to take 2nd & 3rd Tom & Will.
By race three the sea breeze had picked up to 14 knots. The warning signal for race 3 went up then down as the race was postponed whilst the wind settled.
Again it was Tom & Will ahead at the windward mark ahead of father & son team Daniel & Martyn Lewis.
Jamie & Piers were again flying downwind & took the win from Tom & Will with Jamie Jobson & Eve Gadd climbing to 3rd
Sunday saw a drop in temperature, cloud & 10 knots with lots of tide
Jamie & Piers reveled in the conditions to lead at the first windward mark with Flynn & Henry in 2nd & newcomer to the class Clark Rutter & Matt Thornton in 3rd. After lots of place changing due to shifts, wind speed variations across the course & strong tide meant that there was lots to play for.
In the end Jamie & Piers took the win from Robbie & Alex with Daniel & Martyn in 3rd
As the wind shifted so the 2nd race was postponed whilst the pin mark was re laid. The fleet eventually got away after numerous postponements due to the tide carrying the fleet over the line.
Girl Power came into play for race 5 as the new pairing of Louisa Coxson & Matthew Brown lead at the windward mark from fellow newcomers Sophie Hempsell & Izzy Welsch with Hannah Bristow & Bobby Hewitt in 3rd
Sophie & Izzy took the lead downwind with Harry Barker & William Spurway climbing to 2nd & Robbie & Alex now up to 3rd. The conditions were proving tricky with place changes upwind & downwind. But Sophie & Izzy extended their lead until mistakenly rounding the gate to go back up wind when the course was in fact two laps. This allowed Louisa & Matthew to take the win with Arthur Brown & Niamh Davies in 2nd & Sophie & Izzy now in 3rd
A big left shift caused another postponement whilst the course was re set for the final race. Three boats were caught black flag on the general recall. The fleet finally got away in 15 knots & three more boats caught black flag.
The leaders at the windward mark was black flagged Wills Murray & Will Ormerod with Daniel & Martyn 2nd & Sophie & Izzy in 3rd
By the 2nd windward mark Elliott Wells & Jake Todd had the lead from Max & Guy with Sophie & Izzy still in 3rd. The win went to Elliott & Jake but the 2nd place for Max & Guy was enough to win the Bolle Feva Grand Prix by two points from Jamie Smith & Piers Nicholls . Robbie & Alex King were one point behind in 3rd.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4890 | Max Matthews | Guy Rivington | Tudor SC | 6 | 1 | 4 | ‑21 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| 2nd | 4883 | Jamie Smith | Piers Nicholls | HISC | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | ‑9 | 9 | 19 |
| 3rd | 4734 | Robbie King | Alex King | Warsash SC | ‑7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| 4th | 3357 | Tom Darling | Will Dolin | HISC | 2 | 3 | 2 | ‑14 | 12 | 8 | 27 |
| 5th | 1486 | Arthur Brown | Niamh Davies | Royal Burnham Yacht Club | 4 | 9 | ‑16 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 35 |
| 6th | 2153 | Daniel Lewis | Martyn Lewis | Draycote SC | 5 | 13 | 10 | 3 | ‑29 | 5 | 36 |
| 7th | 4332 | Elliot Wells | Jake Todd | HISC | (OCS) | 6 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 38 |
| 8th | 4610 | Hannah Bristow | Bobby Hewitt | Leigh and Loughton SC | 10 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 6 | ‑18 | 45 |
| 9th | 2047 | Flynn Davies | Henry Jameson | Burnham SC | 12 | 4 | 15 | 8 | ‑30 | 12 | 51 |
| 10th | 4251 | Sophie Hempsell | Izzy Welch | Bosham | ‑24 | 22 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 52 |
| 11th | 1883 | Harvey Martin | Will Ward | Ogston Sailing club | 9 | (OCS) | 20 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 55 |
| 12th | 4631 | Emma Baker | Isabella Black | Weir Wood SC | (OCS) | 10 | 11 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 61 |
| 13th | 5028 | Will Taylor | Matt Taylor | Alton Water Sports Centre | 14 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 11 | (OCS) | 71 |
| 14th | 3424 | Courtney Bilbrough | Orla Mitchell | Docklands and Watersports Centre | ‑21 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 73 |
| 15th | 2508 | Jamie Jobson | Eve Gadd | RTYC | 16 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 40 | (OCS) | 79 |
| 16th | 4530 | James Eales | Henry Collings | RLYM/HISC | 18 | 17 | 8 | 19 | ‑21 | 20 | 82 |
| 17th | 4945 | Rebecca Lewis | Immi Slinn | Draycote Water | 20 | 14 | 17 | 25 | ‑27 | 7 | 83 |
| 18th | 4717 | Clark Rutter | Matt Thornton | Emsworth SC | 22 | 24 | 23 | 6 | (DSQ) | 13 | 88 |
| 19th | 4415 | Nick Robins | Alicia Campbell‑Bottoms | HISC | 13 | 19 | 27 | 11 | 20 | (OCS) | 90 |
| 20th | 2215 | Max Griggs | Cody Griggs | RTYC | 26 | 15 | 13 | 20 | 19 | (DNF) | 93 |
| 21st | 2791 | Cameron Harriss | Euan Harriss | Deben Yachts Club | ‑27 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 17 | 14 | 104 |
| 22nd | 4622 | Buzz Gilks | Poppy Gilkes | Queen Mary | 28 | ‑36 | 22 | 13 | 22 | 21 | 106 |
| 23rd | 453 | Harry Barker | William Spurway | Bowmoor | 37 | 44 | (DNC) | 10 | 7 | 11 | 109 |
| 24th | 4417 | Louisa Coxson | Matthew Brown | Bowmoor | 17 | 25 | 37 | 35 | 1 | (OCS) | 115 |
| 25th | 5045 | Wills Murray | Will Ormerod | Oxford Pirates | 8 | (OCS) | 7 | 24 | 24 | OCS | 117 |
| 26th | 4623 | Edward Norbury | Charlie Hutchings | Royal Lymington | 11 | 27 | 38 | 28 | 14 | (OCS) | 118 |
| 27th | 5000 | Anya Green | Charlotte Ormerod | HISC | 19 | 18 | 26 | ‑33 | 32 | 23 | 118 |
| 28th | 3626 | Alex Joesbury | Emlyn Williams | Port Dinerwic SC | (OCS) | 30 | 29 | 29 | 18 | 15 | 121 |
| 29th | 558 | Mike Lee | Monique Vennis‑Oza | Hill Head SC | 23 | ‑33 | 21 | 31 | 31 | 19 | 125 |
| 30th | 4361 | James Scott | Douglas Brierley | Wembly SC | 25 | 29 | ‑36 | 23 | 23 | 26 | 126 |
| 31st | 1276 | Alex Butler | Billy Vennis‑Ozanne | HISC | 38 | 26 | 30 | 17 | 25 | (DNF) | 136 |
| 32nd | 4037 | Libby Askew | Harriet Lucas‑Clements | HISC | (OCS) | 21 | 33 | 34 | 26 | 22 | 136 |
| 33rd | 2582 | Christian Thomas | Nathan Flanagan | Stokes Bay SC | 29 | 32 | 32 | ‑38 | 28 | 24 | 145 |
| 34th | 3999 | Huw Nunn | Dominic Cotterill | Bowmoor SC | 31 | 20 | ‑44 | 32 | 34 | 30 | 147 |
| 35th | 4000 | Ben Hopper | Larissa Conabeer | RTYC | 32 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 33 | (DNF) | 148 |
| 36th | 4635 | Matt Walker‑Morecroft | Alaric Bates | Bowmoor SC | 30 | 28 | 31 | 37 | (DNC) | 32 | 158 |
| 37th | 4145 | Tristan Payne | Ben Todd | HISC | 39 | 39 | (DNS) | 39 | 15 | 29 | 161 |
| 38th | 3362 | Ellie Walton | Harriet Winbush | Draycote SC | 33 | 34 | 35 | 42 | (DNC) | 28 | 172 |
| 39th | 306 | Zoe King | Katie Fiddaman | HISC | 34 | 40 | 41 | ‑44 | 35 | 25 | 175 |
| 40th | 4924 | Samuel Grade | Katie Prescott | Lymington Town | 3 | (OCS) | 12 | DNF | DNC | DNC | 177 |
| 41st | 5003 | Oskar Bisset | Max Taylor‑Nobbs | Downs Sailing Club | 35 | 35 | 28 | 30 | (DNF) | DNC | 182 |
| 42nd | 2523 | Connie Meek | Emma Barnett | 15 | 11 | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 188 | |
| 43rd | 4989 | Lewis Keen | Enzo Dagini | Bewl Valley | 36 | 38 | 34 | 41 | 39 | (DNC) | 188 |
| 44th | 4204 | Samuel Leedham | Jemima Leedham | Stamford School | 40 | 41 | 40 | ‑46 | 38 | 31 | 190 |
| 45th | 2165 | Ed Whattoff | James Rigby | Stamford School | 42 | ‑43 | 42 | 43 | 37 | 27 | 191 |
| 46th | 2915 | Rosie Robson | Molly Naylor | Stamford HighSchool | 41 | 42 | 39 | ‑45 | 36 | 33 | 191 |
| 47th | 3788 | Tim Bilbrough | Madeline Bilbrough | Docklands Sailing Club | (DNC) | 37 | 43 | 40 | DNC | DNF | 228 |
| 48th | 783 | David Nunn | Joshua Beck | Bowmoor | (DNC) | 45 | 45 | 36 | DNC | DNC | 234 |
| 49th | 5005 | Fiona Mulcahy | Francesca Linsey Brown | HISC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 270 |
| 49th | 4897 | (OCS) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 270 | |||
| 49th | 2307 | (OCS) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 270 | |||
| 49th | 4470 | Cristian Edmonds | Rafe Watson | Chew Valley SC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 270 |
| 49th | 557 | Lottie Johnson | Becky Johnson | Hill Head Sailing Club | (DNC) | DNC | DNF | DNF | DNC | DNC | 270 |