Yesterday we hosted our annual Sail for Gold Regatta at Port Erin, with 15 boats and 18 youngsters out on the water it was certainly a good spectacle to watch. The fleet comprised a wide range of classes, including an RS Feva, two Topper Vibes, one Tera Pro, two Topaz, a Laser Radial and six Tera Sports! Admittedly racing was slow due to the light breeze, but luckily, once the breeze had settled to the west it held and built slightly in the final couple of races.
It was great to see so many newcomers and more experienced sailors to take part. Among the top sailors were Patrick and Alec Cope, both really embracing the spirit of the regatta with Patrick helming the RS Feva for his petite crew and little sister Daisy, and Alec offering words of encouragement between and during races to younger brother Max who was sailing in is own RS Tera Sport.
Alec Cope stitched the series up nicely counting three bullets after discarding a second from Race 1 which was won by Patrick and Daisy Cope in the Feva.
The battle for second and third place was hotly contested by Georgia Harding and Nickolas Ellis, with positions changing frequently between them throughout the afternoon. It was Georgia’s day in the end with two seconds and a third to Nickolas’ two fourths and a second. This is the first time in five years that a girl has finished on the podium at this regatta, beating Amie Shute’s third in 2012 and the first time ever that a girl has won the RS Tera Sport fleet. Well done Georgia #thisgirlcan
Further down the fleet there was plenty of close racing and after four races Luke Crowe and Jake Orme, sailing in the Topaz’ finished on equal points with and without the discard! Charlie Mugan, Euan McConnell, Max Cope and Oscar Jackson all taking the helm in the this regatta for the first time enjoyed some close racing. Oscar seemed to have the upper hand in the middle of the fleet counting 5, 5, 6. Dylan Sewell, sailing his Laser Radial came fifth in Race 2, which is a great result for the Radial in this competitive fleet.
Peter Cope and William Mugan took on Wilf Kermode and Ben Brunschweiler in the Topper Vibe race, some “centreboard awareness” issues in the Kermode / Brunschweiler boat gave Cope and Mugan the lead after Race 1 and they went from strength to strength getting to grips with the kite and putting in some tidy gybes by the end of the day.
Overall results:
1st. Alec Cope (RS Tera Pro) 2, 1, 1, 1
2nd. Georgia Harding (RS Tera Sport) 3, 4, 2, 2
3rd. Nickolas Ellis (RS Tera Sport) 4, 2, 4, 4
4th. Patrick and Daisy Cope (RS Feva) 1, 3, 8, 9
5th. Oscar Jackson (RS Tera) 5, 9, 5, 6
6th. Jake Orme (Topper Topaz) 12, 11, 3, 3
7th. Luke Crowe (Topper Topaz) 6, 12, 6, 5
8th. Peter Cope & William Mugan (Topper Vibe) 11, 7, 7, 7
9th. Charlie Mugan (RS Tera Sport) 7, 6, 9, 8
10th. Dylan Sewell (Laser Radial) 10, 5, 10, 10
11th. Max Cope (RS Tera Sport) 9, 10, 12, 12
12th. Euan McConnell (Topper Taz) 13, 8, 13, 13
13th. Wilf Kermode & Ben Brunschweiler (Topper Vibe) 14, 14, 11, 11
14th. Jackson Katz (RS Tera Sport) 8, 13, DNC, DNC
