The sun shone some of the time & the wind blew some of the time & the 2010 HISC Youth Race saw a record number of 38 RS Tera’s competing within three fleets. With winds ranging from 8 to 20 knots the series proved challenging but many are now well on their way to a future in dinghy racing . Thunder storms on Wednesday saw the racing adandoned after the windward mark & re-started again  at 5.30pm !

The Tera Pro fleet was won by Ollie Mathews who has only recently recently moved up to the ‘big rig’ ! The Tera Sport proved very competive with 21 starters & was won by Elliott Wells from fellow Worlds competitor James Eales with Sophie Tulloch in 3^rd.

The Red Ribbon fleet was sailed by those new to racing & the 13 boats battled it out on a triangular course with help & coaching on hand. Katie Cruckshank showed the way with Freddie Peters in 2^nd.

RS Tera Pro

1^st Ollie Mathews – HISC

2^nd Maisie Letten – HISC

3^rd Richard Cope – HISC

RS Tera Sport

1^st Elliott Wells – HISC

2^nd James Eales – Lymington Town SC

3^rd Sophie Tulloch – HISC

RS Tera Rede Ribbon

1^st  Katie Cruckshank – HISC

 2^nd  Freddie Peters – HISC

3^rd Miles Nelson - HISC

Published by BBC Isle of Man

James Kelly returned home on Monday as the newly crowned RS Tera Pro World Champion, after winning the title in France.

The 13 year old sailor told BBC Isle of Man he is 'over the moon' and wanted to thank everyone that has helped.

"It's just amazing, I've trained so hard for so long and I've got so many people to thank for their help," he said.

He is the first Manx world champion since Graham Scott in the 1980s.

Kelly claimed four wins, two seconds and a third in the 10-race series to claim the title.

Click here for link to video on BBC website.

Published by BBC Sport 

Manx teenager James Kelly has been crowned RS Tera Pro World Champion after a series of impressive results in the 10-race series.

The 13-year-old claimed four wins, two seconds and a third on his way to winning the title in Carnac, France.

Isle of Man coach Jenni Quillin said: "It is an incredible result for Manx sailing and we are incredibly proud to have a world champion."

He is the first Manx world champion since Graham Scott in the 1980s.

RS sailing operations director Jon Partridge said: "Sailing in the Isle of Man has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years."

The performance of the Manx youth sailing squad has been outstanding throughout the competition.

Hannah Howitt finished fifth overall, Izzy Sharpe was seventh and Amie Shute, who has recently moved into the Pro rig, finished 17th.

Greg Kelly finished seventh while Ffinlo Wright sailed a consistent series just outside of the top 10 and finished 16th overall.

Quillin added: " It's a superb result for the Isle of Man and the Manx youth sailing squad.

"In three years they have gone from competent local dinghy sailors to world class racers."

Click here for link to video on BBC website.

Report by Leslie Beaumont

The winds moderated and the seas calmed for the final race. In the Pro fleet Joshua Aldrige continued his charge winning their final race followed by Mathew French and Pietro Graceffa. James Kelly had already won Worlds and was happy to finish in 8^th.

RS Tera Pro Fleet

The final results were James Kelly 1st,  Joshua Aldridge 2^nd, Mathew French 3^rd and Pietro Graceffa in 4th.

In the Sport fleet the first three places had already been decided. To get fourth spot Crispin Beaumont had to beat Michele Vezzoli. The racing at the front was very close with many of the competitors being caught out by the tide around the windward mark. By lap two Crispin was in third and finished just behind Eion Lyden in third re-gaining fourth spot over all.

RS Tera Sport Fleet

The final results were Eion Lyden (IRL) !st, Brice Yrieix (FRA) 2^nd, Ugo Zunardi (ITA) 3^rd and Crispin Beaumont 4^th. In the Sport fleet all the UK sailors should be commended for their effort in very tough conditions.

Report by Leslie Beaumont

After a lay day the RS Tera fleet launched before the Fevas and returned after them, coupled with the 20 knot wind and heavy chop made for another tough day. The UK Sport fleet all battled hard but inevitably lost places to heavier competitors from the other nations. In the Pro fleet James Kelly wrapped up the Worlds title with one race to go resisting a late charge by Joshua Aldridge. In the Sport Eoin Lyden had also established an unassailable lead with two more wins and a second. Crispin Beaumont remained lead UK Sport boat but fell back to fifth spot by one point from Vezzoli Michele.

RS Tera Pro Fleet

Race 7 - Joshua Aldridge won, Pietro Graceffa took second and James Kelly got third spot.

Race 8 - This was also won by Joshua Aldridge  followed by James Kelly and  Tristan Bracgirdle taking third spot.

Race 9 - As on the previous day James Kelly from the Isle of Man won the last race followed by Joshua Aldridge and Mathew French taking third.

RS Tera Sport Fleet

Race 7 - This saw another win by Eoin Lyden from Ireland followed again by Birce Yriex from France and Third spot going to Ugo Zunardi from Italy.

Race 8 - This was won by Birce Yriex  Eoin Lyden from Ireland getting second  and  Ugo Zunardi taking third.

Race 9 - Was won by Eoin Lyden  followed by Ugo Zunardi with Julette Pavey in third.

Report by Golly Tucker, IRSCA

Another sunny day in Carnac. The predicted light condition evaporated before the start of the racing leaving another stiff breeze for the afternoons launch. This suited the UK dominated pro fleet but due lack of weight in the sport fleet compared to their foreign rivals meant another tough day.

RS Tera Pro Fleet

Race 4 The Italian Pietro Graceffa won the first piping beating the leader from the first day James Kelly into second place, third spot being taken by Mathew French

Race 5 This was also won by Pietro Graceffa followed by Joshua Aldridge and Mathew French taking third spot.

Race 6 This saw James Kelly from the Isle of Man returning to winning ways followed by Mathew French and Tristan Bracgirdle taking third.

This meant that at the end of day 2 James Kelly retained his lead with Mathew French in second and Joshua Aldridge in Third.

RS Tera Sport Fleet

Race 4 This saw another win by Eoin Lyden from Ireland followed again by Birce Yriex from France and Third spot going to Ugo Zunardi from Italy.

Race 5 This was won by Eoin Lyden with Brit sailor Crispin Beaumont getting second and Ugo Zunardi taking third.

Race 6 Was won by Birce Yriex followed by Ugo Zunardi with Eoin Lyden in third.

At the end of day 2 Eoin Lyden and Birce Yriex were tying for the lead with Ugo Zunardi in third. Top UK boat was Crispin Beaumont in fourth.

Report by Golly Tucker, IRSCA

The RS Tera Pro and Sport fleets hit the water promptly and on schedule at 13.30 as soon as the ‘D’-launch flag was hoisted. The sea breeze quickly built to a bit more than the forecast 9-12kts. It seemed to peak at something more akin to 16kt or so. The race officer had warned that one more race than scheduled might be attempted and so it was. Three races was a serious physical effort.

Maisie Letten, who wasn’t in the squads shot out of the blocks in race 1 to get a 3rd in the bag. But the days honours belonged to James Kelly with 2 firsts and a 6th. Josh Aldridge is only 1 point back on 9 for the day whilst 3rd place overnight is Hannah Howitt on 18. So there is at present a gap developing between the leading 2 and the chasing pack.

In the Sport fleet the variety at the front was amazing with 5 Nations in the top 6 slots and the Italians being the ones to score twice. The others were French, South African, British and Swedish. Brice Yrieix from France holds the overnight top of podium slot. Eoin Lyden from Ireland holds onto Middle step whilst Ugo Zunardi from Italy is in the final glory position. A long way to go though.

Crispin Beaumont is leading the British challenge currently in 4th but only off the podium on a tie break. Next race the discards start kicking in so stand by for a tightening of the positions after race 4.

Full results on the Yacht Club de Carnac website.

Eight young RS Tera sailors aged from 8 to 16 crossed the English Channel over the weekend for charity.

Ossian, Yann and Tristan Bracegirdle,  Ossie Bissett, Mathew French, Libby, Jonny and Rupert Watkins sailed from Dover to Calais in five hours in their 2.8 metre long  RS Tera sailboats..

Congratulations to everyone involved it the successful crossing - a first for the growing RS Tera class.

A full report is being written for publication . . . watch this space!

Published by the RYA on July 15 2010

The single-handed RS Tera joins the RYA's growing number of 'Recognised Junior Classes'

The RYA has added the RS Tera dinghy to it’s growing number of Recognised Junior Classes, deeming the single-handed dinghy class well placed in enabling sailors to progress their racing skills and enjoy a lifetime with the sport.  

The RYA Racing Committee endorsed the RYA Youth Steering Group’s (YSG) request to grant the RS Tera recognition after the Class Association worked with the RYA over the past months to satisfy the status granting criteria during the successful application process.  

The RYA YSG, a committee of volunteers who are responsible for endorsing policy, advising, challenging and liaising RYA Racing staff, aims to create the optimum framework of Youth and Junior Racing through maintaining a healthy vibrant and inclusive climate of Racing and Race Training in the UK for young sailors. And the addition of the RS Tera class to the RYA’s programme is an exciting step.  

Duncan Truswell, RYA Youth Racing Manager commented: “The RS Tera, which is the first class to be recognised at this status since the inception of a revised policy in the spring of 2009, delivers a comprehensive programme of domestic competition for a wide range of abilities.

“The class has established itself as a popular and versatile training, and race training boat which already has a strong representation within some key clubs and centres.

He continued: “We hope that by working more closely with the Tera Class Association we will be able to provide a more robust pathway for sailors to progress from introductory schemes within clubs and centres to regular participation in racing and race training providing them with a vehicle to enjoy a lifetime within the sport.  

“Facilitated via a growing number of Tera fleets in clubs as well as increasingly established regional and national class association activity, the Tera provides straightforward, and clear progression into regular racing activities.”  

“The YSG are keen to commend the hard work of the volunteers within the class who have worked hard to ensure that the criteria are met and offered a useful test of the revised policy,” he concluded.  

The YSG intend to publish the timeline for the consideration of any further applications for class recognition, as well as the process to review existing class recognition status’ in the near future.  

The RYA will now help support the class association in moving their training forward to provided more opportunities for junior sailing progression. 

If you missed the H2O show with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on BBC Radio Solent last Friday here's an opportunity to listen to the podcast which includes an interview with Race Officer David Henshaw about the RS Tera Nationals at Netley Sailing Club the following day.

Interview starts after 1 minute.

If your browser is not displaying the media player you may download the interview via the following link:

Download 24MB (right click & "save target as")

Report by Bish Clow

My name is Bish Clow and I am thirteen years old. I have been sailing at Netley Sailing Club for two years now. I mostly sail an RS Feva or a Topper during our Club's sail training sessions and crew for my Dad on a RS Vision. Up until 5 weeks ago I had never sailed a RS Tera but since our club had bought three new Teras as training boats for the Juniors, and we were hosting the National Championship, I thought I would like the experience of racing at this level so I decided to give it a go! 

Two weeks ago the National Tera Squad came down for a weekend's training and I was able to take part in Saturday's training session. Ollie, who is one of the RS coaches, got all the squad moving around and warming up on land first before getting us on the water and practising. This was really great fun and I learnt a lot about the boat. Johnathan, the chief coach, was very generous with his time and knowledge and helped me and Dad learn lots on how to set the boat up and the class in general. Dave Machin, our Junior club training officer, let us make a few new additions to one of the club boats to help make it more comfortable for me, and I was all set to go.

I was a bit nervous on Saturday morning before the race. My friend Thomas Blake from the club was also going in for the championship and his Dad Chris gave us a very helpful chat before the main briefing, about race rules and strarts which helped a lot to focus my thoughts. It wasn’t long before Mum was taking the trolley off me and I was pushing off for the start of the first race. I soon began to really enjoy myself. The weather conditions were bright and hot, with a light, constant sea breeze. I thought my strengths that day were on the run down wind, but my weakness was not doing too well going up the beat in light winds especially when the tide is against you! On Sunday's races the winds were even lighter at first and the first race was difficult for me but my friend Thomas did fantastically well in the light winds and managed a 2nd against 50 other boats. (Wooo go Tom!) I finished 29th overall and am just very happy that I took part. I really enjoyed sailing the Tera and it was an ideal boat for me to get involved in big fleet racing for the first time.

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.

The RS Tera joins the Top 10% of dinghy classes with over 50 entries* for the National Championship 2010, sponsored by Optimum Time, at Netley Sailing Club over the weekend 26-27 June.

Netley Sailing Club, overlooking Southampton Water and surrounded by the Royal Victoria Country Park, is an ideal venue for the RS Tera Nationals with racing in front of the clubhouse and free camping available adjacent to the dinghy park for competitors.

The Nationals has already attracted RS Tera sailors from across the UK from Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Isle of Man, Kent, Norfolk, Somerset and Warwickshire. With 10 days to go till the event there's still time to enter - details and online entry via the Nationals website: RSTera.org/Nationals

RS Tera Training Weekend at Netley SC - photo © Leslie Beaumont

The RS Tera is an ISAF International Class and member of the UK RS Class Association and International RS Classes Association (IRSCA).

* Yachts & Yachting National Championship Attendance Table 2009

The final RS Tera National Squad training session came to a close last weekend but because it has come to the full-on racing season where the squadies' winter training will be put to full effect.

The weekend began on the Saturday as the squadies arrived with their boats to be welcomed by Netley S.C - providers for the squad training and host club for the 2010 Nationals. Jonathan [Lewis] kicked off the weekend by getting the group together to reflect on what had happened since the Squad had last been together as a group which included events and successes or disasters; for example Tommy destroying his boat at the RS Feva Nationals.

After the briefing the Squad got on the water for a mini-regatta which for some people got a bit too competitive due to the fact that Jonathan had told them there were prizes to be won, so there was close racing with positions rapidly changing throughout each race. The objective of the day was to see how the sailors handled pressure at the front of the fleet and how their sailing was affected. 

The next day the Squad had a briefing on the beach discussing ideas on what we should do for the day left. Jonathan decided on doing rolling starts with Pro and the Sport fleet starting together. This caused problems for Sport sailors due to fact the Pro sailors would be able to power up quicker and get on top of the Sport sailors. After going in for lunch the Squad set out again for some racing but by then the wind had picked up and the smaller sailors were struggling to keep the boat flat and powered up. The racing was fast and furious with the heavy weather sailors prevailing over the light and non-aggressive.

Due to the fact that it was an onshore breeze the sailors undid there mainsheets and drifted in instead of grinding their boats up the beach. The weekend ended with a debrief about what each individual had learnt that weekend and what Jonathan and Ollie thought the sailor should improve on.

So the first bunch of National Squad sailors has completed their training and now the real work begins. At the end of this season some of the sailors will move on to bigger boats but will hopefully remember their days in the Tera Squad and for the rest of us we will need to sail as well as we can to ensure selection for the 2011 Squad.

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

By Andrew Weeden

20-21 February 2010 - 28 junior sailors arrived at Draycote from clubs as far apart as Bartley, Rutland, Rudyard Lake and Shropshire to hone their sailing skills under the guidance of Jon Lewis, assisted by Phil Walker. The theme of the weekend was “leaking boat lengths”, a term used to demonstrate how a number of small mistakes added up to cost races.

Saturday morning started with a brief and then out onto the courses where coaches watched individual sailing skills before offering advice on specific areas of improvement. Lunch was followed by a video de-brief before more specific areas of coaching were set up.

Sunday morning started with snow, which made getting to the club the first challenge of the day. The brief for Fevas looked at the roles of helm and crew within the boat for each phase of the course and the importance of team communication towards a successful race. This was taken out onto the water for a short session which included the skill of gybe drops. The Teras had the costs of “crashing and bashing” in lost places demonstrated by on course incidents and were encouraged to seek clear water and clean air to maximise boat speed.

After lunch three back to back 20 minute races were run to consolidate the coaching during which a improvement by all across the fleets were clear to see. The day concluded with a final de-brief and a chance to ask the coaches any final advice.

A big thank you, once again, to the RYA Volvo Championship Club scheme for financing some of the coaching, also to Jon Lewis and Phil Walker for some inspirational coaching and advice through-out the week-end, Simon Loveridge for organising and co-ordinating the week-end and of course to the parents for their support.

If you would like to be involved in future weekends for Teras, Fevas or 29ers please contact office@draycotewater.co.uk for details.

By Jenni Quillin

Manx Youth Sailing Squad training - photo © Dave Kneale

The conditions varied from strong wind and rain to light breezes and sunshine for the Manx Youth Sailing Squad’s second training session with RS Tera GBR Squad coach Jonathan Lewis. Six Manx sailors were invited to join the GBR RS Tera Squad following their performance at the UK RS Tera National Championship last September. They will all be representing Great Britain at the RS Tera World Championships in Carnac, Brittany this summer.

Jonathan spent three days on the Isle of Man, continuing the coaching programme he had begun on his last visit to the Island in November. He was impressed that the team had continued to train through the winter and that they had been practising the techniques which he introduced on his last visit. Boatspeed was the focus of this coaching session and the sailors worked hard to improve their upwind and downwind performance and boat handling.

Manx Youth Sailing Squad training - photo © Dave Kneale

Squad members Hannah Howitt, Izzy Sharpe and James Kelly have recently progressed to the RS Tera Pro class. All three have enjoyed some excellent sailing and the extra power provided by the Pro rig.

Younger squad members Amie Shute, Ffinlo Wright and Greg Kelly will compete this season in the RS Tera Sport. Amie has been with the Squad for two years and is a consistent sailor who puts a lot of thought into her racing. The youngest member Ffinlo was new to the Squad in 2009, his sailing has improved dramatically during the training sessions with Jonathan. Greg Kelly has an excellent track record finishing 3rd in the 2008 RS Tera Inland Championship, 3rd the under 12s at the RS Tera European Championship and 10th at the RS Tera National Championship in 2009, he is the quickest Tera Sport sailor in the MYSS and there are high hopes for a good result at the World Championships.

All six members of the Manx Youth Sailing Squad will attend a GBR Squad training weekend at Draycote Water next month to prepare for the World Championships. The Manx Youth Sailing Squad were the grateful recipients of a grant from Manx Telecom’s ‘It’s Our Community Awards’ to help meet their costs of attending this vital training weekend.

Manx Youth Sailing Squad training - photo © Dave Kneale

Save £75 / €75 on all online entries before 31st January 2010. Time is running out to take advantage of this amazing offer so hurry and book now!

You also need to book accommodation and ferries as soon as possible as it is an extremely busy time of year and some ferries are already booked out.

Carnac is a fantastic venue for the championships and I encourage all Tera sailors to come along and have fun.

By Tristan Bracegirdle (aged 11)

Photo: Paul Handley

On 21 and 22 November, we had the first RS Tera Squad training weekend at Bough Beech Sailing Club. At the beginning of the weekend, our coach, Jonathan Lewis, divided the RS Tera National Squad into two parts – the Pro sail squad and the Sports sail squad.  I am in the Pro squad. The Pro sail is the bigger sail. My brother Yann, who is 9, is in the Sports Sail squad. There was also a RS Tera Open training event for Bough Beech Sailing Club and my little brother, Ossian, who is 7, joined in.

On the first day we learned about sailing by the lee and “reverse flow” which is where wind enters the sail via the leech and the tell tales fly backwards. This makes the boat go faster because the sail is generating power as the wind flows around it rather than just pushing you down wind.  This made us all go surprisingly faster down wind.

We also had a look at making the kicker and the outhaul have more purchase and run more smoothly. I learnt that when you are going down wind if you pull in your mainsheet when you are doing reverse flow you will heel to leeward which can save you from a death roll and that if you let the main out you will heel to windward. At the next training event, we will be looking at the down haul in more detail.

On Sunday, Jonathan began by going over our boats to see how we could make improvements. We talked about general heavy weather sailing in detail in preparation for going out.

The wind then began to build and soon it was howling.  The windsurfers on the reservoir could not stay up and it was difficult to see from one side to the bank on the other. We were told to go inside the club house to have an early lunch and thought the event might be cancelled. I was really disappointed.

However, our coach, Jonathan, decided that we should go sailing. He said that if we went out in these conditions, when normally racing would never take place, it would build our confidence.  He said we would be sailing at our limits and we would never encounter anything worse in a race so we should cope easily.   The biggest boys went out first. I struggled quite a lot to begin with as I had only just changed over to using the Pro sail. I managed to do a death roll but this was the only time I capsized and it was right at the beginning.  After that, I really enjoyed the experience.  It was unbelievably exhilarating, screeching along downwind and with the wind on the beam.

My brothers Yann and Ossian said they really enjoyed it too. They both capsized once.

Thank you to everyone at Bough Beech Sailing Club for hosting our first Squad weekend.

Photo: Paul Handley

Photo: Mike Taylor

Manx Youth Sailing Squad training.

Jenni Quillin reports from the Isle of Man

RS Tera national coach Jonathan Lewis visited the Isle of Man on 14th & 15th November to run a training weekend for members of the Manx Youth Sailing Squad.

Manx sailors impressed RS coaches at the RS Tera National Championship in September when the squad brought home the National Team Champions Trophy. Based on their performances at the Nationals the 2010 GBR RS Tera Squad will include Manx sailors Amie Shute (age 12), Izzy Sharpe (13), Hannah Howitt (14), James Kelly (13) and Greg Kelly (11).

The squad were due to attend training in the UK throughout the winter although owing to the logistical difficulties of travelling from the Island coach Jonathan Lewis will provide two intensive training sessions on the Island this winter. Squad members will attend the RS Tera training weekend at Draycote in March.

The Manx weather provided plenty of wind throughout the weekend. Despite the conditions the team were out on the water on both days. The youngsters sailed well and demonstrated their ability in the strong winds and big waves. Jonathan spent most of the weekend working with the sailors to improve their technique, particularly downwind work, sailing in waves, boat setup and race tuning. Jonathan made an excellent impression on the young sailors and each member of the team responded to him well.

The Manx Youth Sailing Squad was formed in 2008 and the team has achieved good results to date. Training is given by local coaches Phil Hardisty, Don Edwards, Rob Cowell and Jenni Quillin. Boats and training facilities are provided by 7th Wave RYA Training Centre in Port Erin.

Izzy Sharpe and Hannah Howitt during the Manx Youth Sailing Squad training.

Jonathan Lewis and MYSS member Ffinlo Wright (age 9) during the Manx Youth Sailing Squad training.

All photos © Jenni Quillin

Zoe Handley reports on the RS Tera Race Squad 2010

Congratulations to the thirty talented young sailors from across the UK, age between 9 and 14, who have been selected to join the RS Tera Race Squad 2010.

Guided by our National RYA Race Coach Jonathan Lewis and his assistant Ollie Spensley-Corfield, our squad will take part in four winter race training weekends ready for a busy 2010 race season which will include the UK National Championship at Netley SC on June 26th/27th and the second RS World Championship in Carnac, France, 25th – 31st July.

For further information regarding future RS Tera events and training see www.terasailing.com

By Elliott Wells (competitor, age 9) reports after sailing at Northampton SC on 24/25 October

Saturday Open Training - We had many start practises and short course racing. We sailed follow my leader which I found quite hard to do but Tommy Darling was really good at it. At lunch time we came in and had jacket potato with baked beans.

After lunch we had more onshore coaching with Olly Spencley-Corfield and then back on the water for more start practising. We had some racing and finished the day ashore with a de-brief from Olly. Debbie Darling took the beginners out on another course to do some basic training.

Sunday Open Meeting - The day was warm and bright and windy, 22 Tera entered from 11 different clubs. Racing was postponed due to the high winds until around midday as more rescue cover became available

Race 1 - To reef or not to reef was the question of the day. Left the slip way and headed for the committee boat when I was hit by a gust my Tera went into a nose dive and it was all could do to stop it capsizing I thought it was going to sink! I decided to head back to the slip way and put in a reef. I could now handle the boat a bit better in the gusting wind which the race officer (Richard Goodenough) said was stronger than 25kn at times.

Tera’s were capsizing all round me but most boats made it to the start line. I crossed the start line and headed for the left hand side and tried to stay clear of other Tera’s but I got hit by a strong gust that knocked me over and laid the Tera on its side. I was soon back upright and round the top mark in about 6th place.

Bearing away on to a broad reach a couple of Teras got into trouble and I had to avoid them, managed to get through the gybe and took off down the second reach managed to pass two more boats and took one rounding up the leeward mark. I had to remember to go through the gate and to sail safe and try and avoid another capsize.

The race officer sent us round again, I managed to survive another windward leg and the boat ahead of me capsized on the last leeward mark allowing me to move up to 3rd place. My friend from HISC Eliot Spensly-Corfield finished in 2nd and the race was won easily by Josh Aldridge from Burnham SC.

Race 2 - We finally went afloat for at around 3.00 the gusts still blowing hard, nearly all entries made the start line. I had a late start at the committee boat end and had trouble sheeting my main in. I headed up the left hand side again but I could not get clear to tack over, when I did tack I was hit by a gust of wind that capsized me right over and I had to swim round to the daggerboard. Once upright I headed for the top mark and rounded in about 10th or 12th place. I had two good downwind legs, sailing fast. I found going up wind very hard as my arms where hurting so took it easy as I did not want capsize again, I crossed the line in 5th place. Ahead of me was Alex Russell from NSC with Crispin Beaumont in 3rd from Bartley Green and Flyn Davis from Burnham in 2nd and another win for Josh who I think lapped me. Elliot Spensley- Corfield had trouble with his mainsheet.

We had great weekend in very testing conditions a big thank you to all the NSC members that helped us on and off the water and thank you to Olly Spensely-Corfield for his help on Saturday.

Overall Results:

1st Josh Aldridge (Burnham SC)
2nd Elliott Wells (HISC)
3rd Will Robinson (Rutland SC)
4th Oskar Bisset (Downs SC)
5th Alexander Russell (Northampton SC)

Open training day for RS Feva's & RS Tera's at Ogston Sailing Club in Derbyshire on Saturday November 7^th, start time 10 am. Coached by Debbie Darling past Olympian.

The cost will be £10 per person.

If you'd like to join in please book your place with Julia Ward tel: 07748 118555 or email julia@waltonhay.co.uk

There will be two 'works boats' available to those new to Feva's.

If you have any further queries contact me debbie@rs-association.com

The RS Tera South Africa Class Association members celebrated their inaugural provincial regatta with the Eastern Cape Provincials at Mossel Bay 25 to 27 September. Congratulations go to winner John-Mark Olivier. Sean Farnham earned second place and Patrick Bulter who sailed really well to beat Dane Hennegan by two points took third place. See full-write up in Documents.

Ru Watkins reports on the RS Tera Nationals, 19/20 September

The RS Tera UK National Championships 2009 took place this weekend with forty boats competing in warm sunshine at Dabchicks Sailing Club on the East Coast. Light winds and strong tides made for a challenging event for the young sailors. This year saw the inaugural UK Pro-sail Championship, a small but talented fleet enjoyed a hotly contested regatta.

In the Sports fleet, consistency proved to be the order of the day with the more experienced and older sailors leading the fleet. James Hutton-Penman (Corinthian Otters) with three race wins out of the six added 2009 RS Tera Sports Champion to his 2008 Inland’s title. Josh Aldridge (Burnham SC) and William Taylor (Ardleigh SC) battled hard for second place, each holding the other to second place in the final two races. In the end Josh Aldridge took second with William Taylor third placed.

Crispin Beaumont (Bartley Green SC) Tristan Bracegirdle (Castle Cove SC) Flynn Davies (Burnham SC/Corinthian Otters) and James Kelly (Isle of Man YC) all fought hard with positions changing over the final three races. In the end places were decided on those who managed to make best use of the tide with Crispin taking overall fourth place, Tristan in fifth, Flynn sixth and James Kelly seventh. The remainder of the fleet followed the pack and enjoyed some great and spirited racing.

In the Pro fleet consistent sailing rewarded Matthew French (Dabchicks SC) with the 2009 Pro National Champion title. Harry Gozzett (Dabchicks SC) who won races 3, 4 and 5 took second place. The battle for third and fourth was fought out between Jonny Watkins (Dabchicks SC) and Hamish Eckstein (Dabchicks SC) with Hamish narrowly clinching third overall position in the final race.

The Isle of Man team (James Kelly, Greg Kelly and Isabel Sharpe) pulled off a coup against Burnham SC to take the Sport Team Trophy home; a well deserved team win. Rebecca Lewis (Draycote Water SC) won the prize for top placed girl while Abi Proven (Dabchicks SC) was awarded the Endeavour prize for her first outing in a Tera and successfully finishing every race.

Jonathan Lewis, the newly appointed RS Tera National Coach was delighted with the effort put in by all the sailors and the spirit of the young Tera sailors.

Our thanks also go to Dabchicks Sailing Club for organizing such a special and well-conducted event and especially to the OOD and all his team for the running and management of the event, Paul Jackson.

Overall Results:

National Champion: James Hutton-Penman (Corinthian Otters)
Pro National Champion: Matthew French (Dabchicks SC)
Top Girl: Rebecca Lewis (Draycote Water SC)
Top Team: Isle of Man YC (James Kelly, Greg Kelly, Isabel Sharpe)
Endeavour: Abigail Proven (Dabchicks SC)

Pro Fleet

Sport Fleet

All photos © Clare Turnbull / www.fotoboat.com

Congratulations go to James Hutton-Penman (Corinthian Otters) the 2009 RS Tera UK National Champion and to Matthew French (Dabchicks SC) the first RS Tera UK Pro National Champion.  Well done to everyone who took part, it was a great weekend of sailing.  Full results and event write-up can be found in ‘Results’.

The UK National Championship will be taking place at Dabchicks SC on Mersea Island on 19th -20th September. 35 Tera sailors have entered so far but there is still time to join the fun as registration will remain open until 16th September.  Event details can be found in ‘2009 Registration Information’, just click on left hand Rules/Docs tab.

August 2009 Newsletter has now been published.  See Newsletters on toolbar.

50 sailors took part in the RS Tera European Championships hosted by YC Acquafresca on Lake Garda which concluded yesterday.  Congratulations go to Matteo Dall'agnola (ITA) who became the first RS Tera Pro European Champion and Kevin Olsson (SWE) the first RS Tera Sport European Champion. For event write-up and final results, click on the Results tab on the left hand margin.

This weekend, 4/5th July, Aldeburgh YC will be running open race training on Saturday with the Open meeting taking place on Sunday.  Also coming up this month, Royal Burnham YC will be holding an Open meeting on Saturday 11th July and the Hayling Island SC Open takes place on Saturday 25th July.  Full details of all these events can be found under Rules/Docs, scroll down to Sailing Instructions for event posters and Notices of Race.

Matthew French, the RS Tera National Champion, added the Inland Championship title to his collection this weekend. Many congratulations to Matthew and also to runner up Crispin Beaumont of Bartley SC and Tristan Bracegirdle (Castle Cove SC) who took third place. Matthew and fellow team member's, Jonny and Rupert Watkins from Dabchicks SC on the East Coast won Top team from Draycote SC, the host club with last year's winners, Sutton Bingham SC taking third place. Sutton Bingham SC will be hosting an Open meeting this coming weekend, Sunday, 14th June.

The 2009 Inland Championship will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 6th & 7th June at Draycote Water SC.  There will be a short training session on Saturday morning before the first race for all including anyone new to racing.  We had a fantastic turn-out last year for the event which was won by James Hutton-Penman of Corinthian Otters with Sutton Bingham SC as the top club team.  Click on Rules/Documents on the left-hand bar and scroll down to Sailing Instructions for full details of the event.

We had another successful race training weekend, this time at Dabchicks SC on the East Coast. Special thanks go to race coaches Niall and Ollie and also to everyone at Dabchicks who helped organise the event and made the visitors so welcome. If you are interested in taking part in future race training events please contact the class secretary.

The RS Tera Open season started with two successful race Opens at Bough Beech SC and Desborough SC.  Congratulations to Jonny Watkins and Yann Bracegirdle for their respective overall wins - See Results for more.  The next RS Tera event is a squad training weekend at Dabchicks SC on 9 - 10 May.

The RS Tera race training season has begun with two training sessions completed, the first at Ardleigh SC in March followed by training at Hayling Island SC this weekend which marked the first event for the newly formed RS Tera Race Squad. RYA Racing coach Alex Grassick led the Ardleigh event, covering boat handling and race starts for the growing group of keen East-coast Tera sailors as well as a few visitors from further afield. The event was a great success and thanks go to Alex and Ardleigh SC. The Hayling Island SC event took place in sunshine and an ideal 5 to 8 knots of wind. A group of 20 Tera sailors spent the weekend improving their race skills ready for the open racing season under the expert guidance of ex-Olympic sailor and RYA Racing Coach Debbie Darling and RYA Racing Coach Alex Grassick. The next RS Tera Race Squad training weekend will be held at Dabchicks SC on May 9/10, but before then the Tera class will have back to back Open meetings on Sat 18th Apr at Bough Beech SC and Sunday 19th at DSC, with informal training for beginners in the morning at Desborough SC before racing in the afternoon for the Nauticalia Trophy. See Events and Newsletter 10 for further details on dates and Race Squad training and Documents for the Bough Beech Open Notice of Race and Desborough Open poster.