The IOMYC hosted an RS Tera Open Meeting last weekend, 13 junior sailors entered the event.  There were six races sailed over the weekend.  The conditions were ideal for the first day of racing on Saturday with a light SE breeze, which provided a gentle introduction to those who have not raced before.

The Tera Sport fleet had some incredibly close racing; Ffinlo Wright won race 1, Amie Shute won race 2 and Greg Kelly won race 3.  Ffinlo was in the lead overnight with five points, Greg and Amie equal second with seven points each.

 Three boats raced with the Tera Pro rig, Hannah Howitt, Izzy Sharpe and James Kelly each scored one win during the first day of racing.  Hannah was leading overnight with five points, James second with six points and Izzy third with seven points.

The forecast was for a bit more wind on the Sunday, however by the start of race one the SW wind had dropped significantly, there were still some waves to play with outside the harbour.  A course was set between Carthure Perch and Alfred Pier to try and give some shelter for the competitors.  The result was some variable winds, waves on one side of the course and flat water on the other side, some tough decisions for the competitors and frequent position changes on the windward legs.

 Ffinlo had to a good start in race one and finished in first place with Greg Kelly a close second, putting Ffinlo three points ahead at the start of Race 5.  Then the positions were all to change.  Ffinlo was over the start line and had to restart and Greg led the Sport fleet for the whole race.  He had some stiff competition from newcomer Matthew Petts both were neck and neck at the last leeward mark.  Greg finished in first place with Matthew a credible second and Ffinlo third.  Greg now led the fleet and needed to keep Ffinlo behind him to win the series.  

Greg had a poor start to Race 6 and battled up the first windward leg to regain his position at the front of the fleet.  Meanwhile Harriet Quayle sailed an excellent race and finished in second place.  Ffinlo finished third giving Greg Kelly the overall win for the series.

 In the Pro fleet James sailed well and won Races 4 and 6, Hannah won Race 5 and Izzy sailed consistently finishing second in every race on Sunday. Overall James finished first, Hannah second and Izzy third. 

 It was great to see so many young people entering this regatta, on the whole there were some excellent performances and it is hoped that all the sailors will continue to race throughout the season.

 Thanks to Race Officer Mick Kneale, Event Co-ordinator Cathie Ashurst, all the safety crews and 7^th Wave for providing additional boats for competitors.

 Overall Results:

RS Tera Sport Fleet 1^st Greg Kelly 8 points 2^nd Ffinlo Wright 9 points 3^rd Amie Shute 15 points 4^th Harriet Quayle 18 points 5^th Matthew Petts 22 points 6^th Imogen Wild 27 points 7^th Michael Moore 31 points 8^th Thomas Moulden 36 points 9^th Tony Pitt 57 points

RS Tera Pro Fleet 1^st James Kelly 8 points 2^nd Hannah Howitt 9 points 3^rd Izzy Sharpe 10 points

Report by Brian Partington

Photos: Fleet Shot © Dave Fraser

Other Photos: © Dave Kneale

... so says a Tera parent in South Africa in a letter to Sailing magazine in SA. The Teras had a hugely successful first participation recently in the Western Cape Championships and there is much ordering of new Teras going on and clubs making Teras their official junior single hander. The enthusiasm and the freshness in approach and attitude looks like it could enthuse a whole new generation of South African sailors. Indeed there are 6 Teras selected to represent SA at the Tera Worlds in Carnac this summer. They are all very welcome indeed. There is even 1 Feva trying to come as well!

Hans Thijsse had this to say: " Both my children have now migrated from the Optimist to the new RS Tera sailing class and are delighted with their choice especially as being strict one design the RS Tera champion sailors re determined solely on personal ability and effort and not by how much money parents can afford to spend on the latest high tech equipment " New, bright thinking indeed and totally reflective of feedback we've had from all over.

Watch out world - you know what the SA competitive spirit is like, irrespective of where they are at the moment you can be sure that they produce hard and fair competitors. Goodie - I look forward to meeting them all in Carnac.

Report by Martyn Lewis

Photo © Karen Hiles

Warm sunshine greeted the 12 Tera sailors to Draycote Water on the 17^th / 18^th April. The forecast was for light winds over the weekend but despite the lack of breeze the intrepid Tera’s ventured out after lunch for 2 back to back races. Sun block, hats and fluid were the main priorities for the day. The start of the first race was very competitive with tricky conditions for all. Crispin showed great boat speed and disappeared into the distance on the first triangle with the 2 Pro sailors Flynn and Joshua, but found a calm patch at the leeward mark allowing the fleet to close the gap. Tom Elliot Jamie and Anya sailed a great second beat with Anya leading at the windward mark but decided to take a penalty turn allowing Crispin back through to take the win with Tom 2^nd and Anya 3rd. The rest of the fleet were swapping places frequently with plenty of banter between them presumably about what ice cream they would be having on return to the beach!

 Race 2 saw a similar pattern with close racing on the first beat between all the fleet. William showed great boat speed downwind using the reverse flow technique to his advantage, I’m sure the visiting Tera Squad Coach was impressed! Will Joe and Elliot exchanged places on the beat as the wind shifted to and fro. Despite the light conditions Rebecca took advantage of some fresh breeze on the last triangle to take Anya on the penultimate reach. So places at the end of race 2 were Crispin Rebecca Anya.

 Sunday greeted the Tera sailors with even less wind! Time for chilling out with ice cream and maybe a little boat maintenance for the parents. After a lengthy postponement and some feedback from the fleet, the race team decided to go for it. Two races back to back with the Tera sailors showing great skill in getting their boats to move in the very light airs. Crispin turned on his secret outboard motor and won both races taking the event. The competition for the remaining places was hotly contended with close racing for 2^nd 3^rd and 4^th places, Anya taking 2^nd and William 3rd. Credit due to Ruby whilst not finding the conditions easy finished all the races, a quality to be admired. In the Pro fleet Joshua gave the lead away in race 4 thinking it was the finish, they were tied on points but this mistake gave the overall win to Flynn (lesson learned the hard way)!

 A big thank you to Draycote Water and all involved in the event and of course to the Tera Sailors for taking part.

 Pro-Fleet Results

 Sport Fleet Results

Photo © Paul Handley

As in previous years the Desborough SC Junior Tera Open day marked the start of summer with blues skies throughout the day and enough breeze on the River Thames to ensure good racing.

In the first race Flynn Davis and Josh Aldridge of Burnham SC pulled out in front with Flynn leading until the last mark, only yards from the finishing line.  Then to the surprise of the onlookers Flynn started sailing to windward again before realising a few seconds later that he should be sailing to the finish – but it was too late and Josh crossed a couple of boat lengths in front to take first place.  Jamie Aldridge finished third and Edward Horton of Desborough SC fourth.

Flynn was determined to make up for this in race two and after a close race with Josh he proved the point by winning with Josh second and Jamie third again. 

This set the scene for a showdown in the third race and Flynn seemed at times to be the more determined to win, pulling out what looked like a comfortable lead.  But never say never when river racing - Josh caught a useful lift as Flynn was losing way in a lull and quickly Josh sensed that he was still in the race.  On the last beat Josh took the lead and held it to the finish to win the race and event.  Jamie took got another third and Josh Dalton of Desborough was fourth.

Josh was presented with the beautiful Nauticalia Trophy for winning and Matt Renton of Desborough, age 7 years, won the Ayton Endeavour trophy for sailing consistently well and finishing all races despite only having learnt to sail the week before.

Our thanks go to Desborough SC and all their helpers and to Nauticalia for their generous sponsorship.

Results: 1. Joshua Aldridge (Burnham SC) 2. Flynn Davis (Burnham SC) 3. Jamie Aldridge (Burnham SC) 4 Edward Horton (DSC) 5 Josh Dalton (DSC) 6 Matt Renton (DSC) 7 Nick Pepall (DSC)

Report by Paul Handley

On-line entry is now open for the RS Tera Grand Prix event at Draycote Water Sailing Club

Information about the weekend and online entry is on our RS Tera Grand Prix page.

Those of you bringing brothers or sisters to the event who may like to sail then there is opportunity to charter one of Draycote's Club Teras. The rate for the Teras would be £25 for the weekend. If the wind exceeds Force 4 then the hirer must be prepared to cover the cost of any breakages.

If you’d like to book a charter Tera then please contact Adam Pretty at Draycote via adam@draycotewater.co.uk