Hello Everyone

I thought I would introduce myself as the new RS Feva Class Chairman.  My name is Nick Hutton-Penman and my son Ben has been sailing a Feva for about a year now.  We are located in Burnham-On-Crouch, Essex where we have a thriving and building Feva class.

Whilst Ben’s Feva career has been relatively short, I have been involved in the class for a number of years as my elder two children have both competed, in fact our first family Feva event was the Abersoch Nationals in 2011.  We have since competed in various Grand Prix, Nationals and Worlds before taking a break as there is a five year age gap between Ben and his older sister Kathryn (who some of you may have met in Medemblik as the Corinthian Otter support coach).

Having come back into the class, I am amazed at how the standard throughout the whole fleet has improved.  In 2011, whilst the front of the fleet was as competitive as it is today, there was a significant gap in ability across the whole fleet.  This gap has been much reduced and I believe that is down to two key factors:

1). The accessibility to good training for all levels of ability in the RS Feva class, and
2). A very active Class Association that looks to promote the boat and all sailors throughout the fleet

I have not had much time to chat to people since being convinced to take on the role but I will look to do so as we move into September and the events start again.  I am however very keen to hear what you all have to say so if anyone has any thoughts/ideas that they would like to share then please do not hesitate to contact me, my details are below.

I am pleased to take on the responsibility of Class Chairman and I would like to thank Jonathan Webster for his guidance of the class as Chairman.  My focus for the next year will be to ensure we maintain a thriving class that is seen as the main pathway boat for asymmetric sailing and that we maintain a coordinate training programme that is assessable to all.  I would also like to ensure that our various events give opportunities for all to compete and win prizes, very much supporting the “Pro-Am” concept that Jonathan created for the 2017 Nationals.

I would like to wish you all a great rest of the summer and looking forward to seeing you all in September when we commence our Grand Prix and selection series.

With every best regards

Nick Hutton-Penman