RS Aero UK Womens Championship and Coaching at Bowmoor Sailing Club

Bowmoor Sailing Club hosted an excellent weekend for the RS Aero UK Womens Championships with 20 RS Aeros competing in two fleets.

Saturday began with coaching from Sammy Isaacs-Johnson, beginning with looking over the boat and how to optimise your controls when on the water. Once afloat, focus was on light wind tacking, and being able to push your boat upwind through the tack, avoiding stalling, maintaining speed and getting a boost when exiting the tack. We were forced to do this under pressure with mini races later in the morning, and slightly longer races in the afternoon, focusing on boat speed and keeping the boat completely flat.

After sailing a barbecue was lit, followed by a party hosted in the clubhouse!

For Sunday's racing, the breeze varied between 5 and 15 knots, with frequent large shifts, making for some exceptionally challenging racing. The fleet opted to use RS Aero 5s and 7s, with separate starts for each. Race 1 was the most steady of the day, remaining between 10-12 knots for the majority.

Francesca Murphy (Pembrokeshire Performance SA) led the RS Aero 5 fleet around the course, taking home her first win of the day. Zoë Bazen (Bowmoor SC) got off to a brilliant start in the RS Aero 7s, holding off the fleet until the final lap when overtaken by Iona Willows (Lymington Town SC).

RS Aero UK Womens Championship and Coaching at Bowmoor - photo © RS Aero UK Class Association

In the second race, the average wind strength increased, leading to more than a few capsizes when the gusts came through. Again Francesca dominated the 5 fleet, and in the 7s Sarah Pickard (Bowmoor SC) fought it out with Zoë for the lead, with Zoë taking it at the end.

Both fleets then took a break for a nice lunch.

The fleet returned to the water for an exceptionally gusty and shifty final race. In the 5s, Karen Larr (Draycote Water SC) held off the rest of the fleet for a good amount of the race, but was pipped when the breeze dropped, giving Francesca her third race win.

The 7s had a real battle, with the top five places changing constantly throughout the race, and the title was yet to be decided. Lynn Billowes (RS Sailing) held the lead for a good amount of time, until Zoë and Iona battled it out up the final beat for the overall title.

Many thanks to Bowmoor SC for being fantastic hosts again, to Rooster for an awesome prize spread and to Sammy Isaacs-Johnson for an excellent Pre-Event Training Day on the Saturday.

Iona Willows wins the 7 fleet at the RS Aero UK Womens Championship and Coaching at Bowmoor - photo © Stephen Tanner

RS Aero 7 Results:

1st U19 Youth - Abigail Larr

Francesca Murphy wins the 5 fleets at the RS Aero UK Womens Championship and Coaching at Bowmoor - photo © Stephen Tanner

RS Aero 5 Results: