RS Aero Victorian State Champs at Sail Bellarine, Indented Head Yacht Club

by Australian RS Aero Class Association 3 May 2022 13:13 BST 30 April - 1 May 2022

RS Aero Victorian State Champs © Australian RS Aero Class Association

Off the back of receiving such a glowing report of the inaugural Sail Bellarine regatta in 2021, the Victorian RS Aero Class decided to incorporate their 2022 Victorian State Championships within the 2022 Sail Bellarine regatta hosted by Indented Head YC.

Unfortunately, we had a few sailors pull out prior to the regatta due to Covid & injury, nevertheless we saw a fantastic turnout with 30 x RS Aeros in attendance, making us the biggest class already. We had three NSW entries & a few from rural Victoria (Portland & Inverloch), thanks for making the trip!

Day 1's forecast ensured we would get the 3 allocated races in. We saw a windy 15-22 knots, whilst the sun was out for the duration of the time, the wind seemed glacial at times. Throughout the day the fleet saw large wind oscillations, mixed with big bands of pressure funnelling down the racecourse.

Ian 'Biggles' Johnson & Megan Ridgway managed to start each race with a clean pair of heels, thereafter using their superior upwind boat speed to lead the fleet in most instances. These two sailors where respective club house leaders after Day 1 in the RS Aero 5 & 7 fleets. At the conclusion of Day 1, in the RS Aero 7 fleet, the race was on for 2nd place it seemed, with four sailors within one point of each other. Peter Milne & Gary Ratcliffe used their upwind boat speed to secure solid days, whilst Michael O'Brien & Rhett Gowans chipped away, sailing consistently around the course to 'stay in touch'. Biggles was deservedly leading the hungry chasing pack, with it all to play for on the penultimate day of racing. Megan used her racing knowledge & big fleet race experience to manage the RS Aero 5 fleet, at times giving the RS Aero 7's a run for their money!

The most impressive aspect to come away from Day 1, was how the RS Aero fleet as a whole handled the challenging conditions. Two years ago, the majority of the RS Aero fleet here wouldn't have taken covers off their boats, fast-forward to 2022 and we had the fleet successfully manage the conditions, get around the race course with minimal capsizes. A real credit to the fleet's growth & improvement!

3 races on Day 1 meant some aches on Day 2! With some stretching & a few coffees in everybody's system the sailors were raring to go for the final two races. A lighter forecast for Day 2 offered some respite for the weary sailors, with a decreasing breeze starting at 15 knots, decreasing through the day to 5-8 knots. A lighter breeze saw the racing condense and become much tighter, this was highlighted on the final race where we had 15 RS Aeros round the bottom mark within 10 seconds of each other! On Day 2 it was imperative to get off the pin-end cleanly if you wanted to be racing at the top-end of the fleet. Those that tacked early on to get on 'the long port tack' did best. With lots of lead changes and aided by the discard, the final standings changed hands in the RS Aero 7's, whilst the 5's stayed the same.

At the conclusion of Day 2, Megan Ridgway won her second RS Aero 5 State Championships, with a very tidy 4 points. Diane Vukelic came 2nd & Fiona Ekins came 3rd, pipping Laurie Hoffman by 1 point.

RS Aero Victorian State Champs - photo © Australian RS Aero Class Association

In the RS Aero 7's, Rhett Gowans sailed a consistent last day to jump into the lead, winning his 4th Victorian RS Aero 7 State Championships in the process, Ian 'Biggles' Johnson came 2nd, behind by one solitary point, with the New South Welshmen Gary Ratcliffe rounding out the podium.

Thanks to Indented Head YC, St Leonards YC & Portarlington YC on running a great regatta, we look forward to supporting this regatta again in the future.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Pts
RS Aero 5
1	3006	Megan Ridgway	Sandringham YC	1	1	(DNC)	1	1	4
2	3085	Diane Vukelic	Georges River SC NSW	2	‑4	1	3	2	8
3	2501	Fiona Ekins	Black Rock YC	‑4	2	2	4	3	11
4	1389	Laurie Hoffman	Balmoral SC	3	3	(DNC)	2	4	12
RS Aero 7
1	1	Rhett Gowans	Mornington YC	1	‑6	4	1	1	7
2	2498	Ian Johnson	Mount Martha YC	3	1	1	‑6	3	8
3	3475	Gary Ratcliffe	Georges River SC NSW	‑6	3	3	2	2	10
4	3414	Michael O'Brien	Royal Brighton YC	2	4	‑5	3	4	13
5	3070	Peter Milne	Black Rock YC	‑7	2	2	4	6	14
6	2822	Pete Ellis	McCrae YC	5	‑14	8	7	7	27
7	2915	Ron Fergusson	Albert SC	4	10	‑14	9	8	31
8	2825	Chris Brain	Sugarloaf SC	‑15	9	11	8	5	33
9	2499	Danny Rayson	St Leonards YC	11	5	6	13	‑16	35
10	3120	Paul Ridgway	Black Rock YC	9	13	(DNC)	5	10	37
11	3467	David Parry	Mount Martha YC	8	8	9	12	‑13	37
12	3082	Luke Thompson	Sandringham YC	10	11	10	‑15	9	40
13	2674	Simon Pluim	Torquay SC	17	7	7	17	‑22	48
14	3058	Paul Rogers	Blairgowrie YS	13	12	13	10	‑15	48
15	3053	Tim Waller	Indented Head YC	12	‑16	12	16	12	52
16	1696	Paul Smart	Blairgowrie YS	14	‑22	17	14	11	56
17	2587	Antony Howard	Sugarloaf SC	16	‑18	15	11	14	56
18	3416	Samuel Bassham	Portland YC	18	15	(DNC)	18	17	68
19	3106	Kelvin Boyle	McCrae YC	19	19	18	‑21	19	75
20	2048	Aaron Flavell	Black Rock YC	‑23	17	16	22	21	76
21	2914	Christian Herr	Black Rock YC	21	‑24	20	19	23	83
22	1074	Brendan Chaplin	Black Rock YC	22	21	19	24	(DNC)	86
23	3542	Howard Hughes	Royal Geelong YC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	20	20	96
24	2826	David Drover	Black Rock YC	20	20	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	96
25	3546	Gary Plozza	South Gippsland YC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	23	18	97
26	3060	Paul Simmons	Indented Head YC	(DNC)	23	DNC	DNC	DNC	107
27	2937	Brian Case	St Leonard’s YC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	112

Coming up for the Aussie RS Aeros:

Icicle Regatta - Black Rock YC, VIC, May 2022
Our Icicle Regatta series starts this Saturday (07/05), running for 4 consecutive weeks. Racing starts at 1pm, with two races back-to-back each Saturday. The series is free for BRYC members and visitors are able to register through this link.
RS Aero National Titles - Largs Bay SC, SA, 12th-15th Jan, 2023