The Bollé RS Feva GP circuit moved to Thorpe Bay Yacht Club last weekend. TBYC hosted a fantastic event laying on good race management, lovely food, decent weather (especially Sunday), top class debrief & a warm welcome.

The forecast was cold, cloudy but a decent breeze. In reality, the 34 boats were met with light winds & hazy sunshine pushing through the high clouds. Racing started earlier than normal for a Feva GP due to tides & Race Officer Rupert Snow explained to the sailors that flood tides were slack but ebb tides rip out down the Thames. A postponement went up whilst the race team waited for the fleet to get to the racecourse in 5 knots of breeze.

The first race got away clear but a calm patch appeared downwind of the committee boat & began creeping towards the Feva course. As the wind strength dropped boats started dropping their kites as they drifted downwind. The race was shortened to one lap & it was Jenny Smallwood & Jamie Webb first with Chay & Stirling Taylor 2nd followed in 3rd by Anna Prescott & Jess Eales. The wind disappeared, the tide started to ebb, boats struggled to stay with the committee boat so after an hour of waiting, rafted around the committee boat, racing was abandoned for the day. TBYC had laid on a debrief from Mark Asquith ex-49er Olympic Development Squad sailor, the informative session was followed by a complimentary meal for competitors.

Sunday started grey & damp but perfect sailing conditions. The fleet got away on a black flag start after the first recall. Shifty 15 knots of breeze with flat water & slack tides meant the fleet were well split & evenly matched up the first beat. First at the windward mark was Flynn Davies & Daniel Lewis with Elliott Wells & Jake Todd 2nd & Max Mathews & Guy Rivington in 3rd. By the leeward gate it was Elliott & Jake rounding to starboard as Max & Guy rounded in unison to port through the gate. Incredibly close racing in flat out hiking conditions. The race was shortened to 3 laps but leaders Max & Guy failed to spot the flag as did Elliott & Jake. Jenny & Jamie were first to spot the flag & took another win. 2nd to finish was Anna & Jess whilst Tom Darling & Will Dolin spotted their mistake & rehoisted to make it back to the finish to stay in 3rd.

The 3rd race got underway quickly & it was local boats at the front. Leading at the first mark was Jourdan Swindon & Alex Bradley with Elliott & Jake 2nd & Mo Hopper & Tally Eyre in 3rd. By the leeward gate Phoebe Warren & Tabby Peel had taken the lead which they held to finish as the breeze dropped to 10 knots. Max & Guy climbed to 2nd with Elliott & Jake 3rd.

The 4th race saw one boat caught black flag. Leaders at the windward mark were Flynn & Daniel again with Wills Murray & Will Ormerod in 2nd then Sam Grade & Katie Prescott in 3rd. Lots of changes at the front of the fleet with different leaders at different marks eventually it was Chay & Stirling taking the lead at the final windward mark which they held to the finish. 2nd Elliott & Jake; 3rd Anna & Jess.

The last race got away after a short postponement for a wind shift. The ebb tide was starting to affect the course but a big right shift half way up the beat allowed the back markers back into the race. First at the windward mark were local sailors Alex Farrell & Alex Warrington but as the breeze picked up again to 13 knots the fleet closed up. By the finish it was Tom & Will taking the win; 2nd Max & Guy. A 3rd for Anna & Jess was good enough for them to win the event.

Racing was incredibly close at the front of the fleet with two points separating the top 4.

 

Overall Results:

 

Pos Sail No Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts
1 4355 Anna Prescott Jess Eales Hayling Island 3 2 -4 3 3 11
2 2383 Jenny Smallwood Jamie Webb Wraysbury Lake SC 1 1 -9 4 6 12
3 4344 Chay Taylor Stirling Taylor Burnham Sailing Club 2 -7 5 1 5 13
4 4332 Elliot Wells Jake Todd HISC -6 4 3 2 4 13
5 3105 Tom Darling Wil Dolin Hayling Island 5 3 -7 6 1 15
6 4890 Max Mathews Guy Rivington Tudor SC -18 8 2 7 2 19
7 2047 Flynn Davies Daniel Lewis Burnham Sailing Club 4 6 -8 5 7 22
8 2012 Phoebe Warren Tabitha Peel Emsworth SC -21 11 1 9 12 33
9 4043 Alex Farrell Alex Warrington TBYC 7 5 -18 11 10 33
10 2508 Jamie Jobson Eve Gadd RTYC 8 10 12 (OCS) 9 39
11 4085 Samuel Grade Katie Prescott Lymington Town 12 -20 11 13 8 44
12 4071 Max Duce Ben Farenden TBYC -15 9 13 14 15 51
13 839 Jonny Watkins Wil Taylor Dabchicks SC (DNC) 26 6 12 11 55
14 2000 Jordan Swindon Alex Bradley TBYC 9 17 10 19 -20 55
15 4530 James Eales Katie Cruikshank HISC -27 15 16 8 17 56
16 1883 Harvey Martin Will Ward Ogston Sailing Club 14 12 14 -21 21 61
17 4039 Wills Murrey Wil Omerod Oxford Pirates (DNC) 18 17 10 19 64
18 3811 Rebecca Lewis Fiona Mulcahy RYA 17 13 20 15 -22 65
19 4051 Alex Hadley Teddy Elmore TBYC 20 14 (DNF) 17 14 65
20 2215 Max Griggs Cody Griggs Royal Torbay YC 16 16 22 -26 23 77
21 4604 Kathryn Hutton Penman Niamh Davies Burnham Sailing Club 23 -27 23 16 16 78
22 4361 James Scott Sam lythgoe Welsh-Harp London -22 19 19 22 18 78
23 4079 Madeleine Hopper Tally Eyre TBYC 19 (DNF) 15 20 26 80
24 3710 Loes Eikman Nynke Nell WV Aalsmeer 13 -25 21 25 24 83
25 4354 Oskar Bisset Taylor Knobbs Downs Sailing Club 11 21 27 -29 25 84
26 3424 Coutney Bilborough Callum Dixon DSWC -26 24 25 23 13 85
27 862 Oliver Barnes-Dean Peter Snow TBYC -28 22 24 27 27 100
28 4385 Libi Askew Emily Proud HISC (DNC) 29 28 18 RAF 104
29 4622 Buzz Gilks Poppy Gilks QMC -32 23 26 28 28 105
30 4850 Greg Watson Maddie Shields TBYC 30 28 31 24 (DSQ) 113
31 4150 Vicky Little Jacob Allard TBYC 29 30 29 (DNC) DNF 117
32 3458 Izzy Davies Lucy Pirkill Ichnor 10 (DNC) DNC DNC DNC 118
33 4222 James Russell Lauren Russell Alton 31 (DSQ) 30 DSQ DNF 126
34 4102 Matt Hill Joe Reeve Burghfield 24 (DNC) DNC DNC DNC 132
35 3908 ? 25 (DNC) DNC DNC DNC 133