Report by James Hutton-Penman and Rebecca Lewis

The record-breaking RS Tera Nationals 2010 sponsored by Optimum Time were held at Netley Sailing Club on Southampton Water over the weekend 26/27 June.
 
74 entrants from all over the country including a team from the Isle of Man. The fleets were split into two, the smaller Sport sail for those smaller and mostly less experienced sailors and the larger Pro sail for the heavier and usually older sailors.
 
On Saturday the competitors were treated to a beautiful day with light sea breezes. The club atmosphere was really friendly and the parkland surroundings made it fun for children off the water so there was plenty to do when not sailing.
 
Three races were sailed each day in near perfect conditions. The race officer setting nice long trapezoid courses with the Pros doing an outer loop and the Sports an inner loop. Racing was very close and the standard really good.
 
The first RS Tera Pro race was won by Josh Aldridge (Burnham Sailing Club), Matthew French (Dabchicks Sailing Club) was second and Maisie Letten (Hayling Island Sailing Club) third. Both Hamish Eckstein (Dabchicks) and James Hutton-Penman suffered gear failure. However with the help of the Tera parents and RS staff the boats just made the start of the second race  knowing there were no more discards available to them.
 
James won the second race with Tristan Bracegirdle (Castle Cove Sailing Club) second and Zoe Beyerman (Hayling Island Sailing Club) third. The third race took place in a dying breeze which made spotting wind important. Both Josh and James were sitting in the lower part of the top ten when they spotted breeze which took them up to 2nd and 3rd with the race being won by Maisie. Josh was leading overnight, Maisie was second and Matthew third.
 
In the evening the club organized a barbeque followed by a disco. Many families camped in the beautiful surroundings. Sunday started with a light land breeze. The race officer delayed the start until the sea breeze came in and we launched at about 12 noon. James won race one with Jonny Watkins (Dabchicks Sailing Club) second and Hamish was third. Hamish won the second race with James second and Tristan third.
 
The third race was delayed whilst the course was relayed as the wind had swung . In the final race James was lying in third place after the first lap but managed to overtake Hamish and Matthew going up the second beat to finish first with Matthew second and Hamish third. This gave James the title with Josh second and Tristan third. The race officer managed to get us home in time to watch the end of the first half of the England game but I think we all agreed the sailing was far more enjoyable than the match.

The RS Tera Sport fleet raced on the trapezoid course inner loop. There was a fantastic turnout of 52 sports. It was great to see so many there especially so many new faces.

As predicted, when they got us on the water it was light/medium winds.  It was tricky sailing as we had the tide to fight against.  The start line was packed a few people not knowing  which way to go, but we all got off ok in the end and the racing was really good. The tide was really strong in the 3rd race and caught a few people out as it pushed them over the start line. Day one saw a different winner for each race with Dan Venerables trying Tera’s for the first time rather than sailing his Topper to take a win in race one, Chrispin Beaumont lead for race two and James Eales new into Tera’s from Optimists as the winner in race 3.

At the end of Day 1 we all came off the water hot and tired, but after the tasty BBQ we all found some more energy and had a game of football on the field next to the club. This was great fun.

Day 2 was an even hotter day and lots of us went for a dip in the water to keep cool while we waited for the wind to come.  As soon as the wind came we were ready to go and back in sailing mode. Race 4 saw Chrispin convincingly show the fleet the way whilst James again took the gun in race five. It was all down to the last race and in the end it was two of the Tera National Squad sailors who fought it out. A good battle took place between Rebecca Lewis and Elliot Wells but down wind Rebecca managed to catch Elliott and get round the mark just before him and finish in the lead.

This win for Rebecca gave her the title with Dan 2nd and Elliott 3rd.

RS Tera National Coaches Jonathan and Ollie were on hand all weekend and were a great support.
 
Well done to Dabchicks Sailing Club who beat Hayling Island Sailing Club by one point to win the team prize.
 
All the competitors had a great time and we would like to thank everyone at Netley Sailing Club for making us feel so welcome and running such a great event. We would also like to thank the RS Tera Owners Club and RS for the great support. Next year hopefully our numbers will exceed 100 and good luck to all those going to the RS Tera Worlds in Carnac next month.  
 
Results - for the full results of the RS Tera Nationals click here

Photos - for class photos from Day 2 of the RS Tera Nationals click here, or for Fotoboat photos to purchase click here.