Georgia Harding was awarded the Endeavor prize at the RS Tera Nationals for her perseverance to complete all the races especially in the windy weather on day 2- her confidence on the water and sailing knowledge has improved dramatically which is fantastic to see 😀⛵️
The new Sport fleet sailors from the MYSS had an amazing time at their first major championship really holding their own in some very challenging conditions, it was lovely to see the constant improvements in their sailing over the few days of the event and the massive leaps in confidence compared to the first day. Their biggest challenge this week was their first experience on a big start line crammed with boats which is something they had never experienced. If you take a look at the results it shows their improvements over the days which were evident on the water and their knowledge and experience has massively benefited from coming to this event!! They would also like to thank Isle of Man Steam Packet for their support ⛵️
http://www.pwllhelisailingclub.co.uk/HTML/2016_Racing_Results/RSTera/ResultsRSTeraNatiomnalsPwllheli2016Sport.htm
Final results for the RS Tera Nationals Pro fleet. Ben finished and amazing 3rd with 2nd and 3rd results all coming down to the last race which was held in extremely light winds, Ben did well to manage to hold his place in these challenging conditions. It was a lovely finish for Bens time in the Tera he has had a brilliant year coming 5th at the Inlands, 3rd at the worlds and 3rd at this nationals, as he has now grown out of the boat and is moving out of the Tera fleet after 7 years in the fleet into a 29er! It was a touching end to his time in this fleet at the Batchelor family were awarded the Family Ethos trophy for dedication to the fleet over the past 7 years. Ben would like to thank Isle of Man Sport Aid , the Isle of Man Steam Packet and Mark Cavendish for their continued support and sponsorship for this season- he is looking forward to the hard winter training ahead in the new boat with a lot to learn.
http://www.pwllhelisailingclub.co.uk/HTML/2016_Racing_Results/RSTera/ResultsRSTeraNatiomnalsPwllheli2016Pro.htm
Congratulations to Ben Batchelor and Matt Perry sailing the RS Feva who finished first overall. Alec Cope moved up to the Tera Pro rig for the first time and certainly gave Ben & Matt something to think about as he denied them another bullet in the final race.In the final race the top 4 boats all finished within 5 seconds of each other on corrected time!
In the Tera Sport fleet Peter Cope and Teddy Dunn had a close battle in each race with their positions changing almost every lap. They finished on equal points but the Racing Rules of Sailing do not allow tied results, so using the RRS scoring system Peter finished 3rd overall and Teddy 4th. Charlie Whitbread sailed a steady consistent series to finish 5th. Nickolas Ellis took part in is first ever regatta and had a close series with Tom Whitbread, only one point separated them in the end!
Peter Harper sailing his Laser 4.7 looked good on the water and he finished an impressive 6th in Race 2. A capsize in the final race lost him a few points and resulted in him and Tom finishing on equal points too!
Gwen Thornton and Wilf Kermode both took the helm in the Topper Topaz, taking two brand new crew of the Mugan brothers for their first racing experience. The Race Committee agreed that they have never seen the Topaz sailed so well and the two boats had some good battles around the course. The Mugan brothers were having their own mini regatta each driving their helms to do better than their sibling in the other boat! Gwen and William finished an impressive 6th place overall, with Wilf and Charlie bringing up the rear of the fleet with smiles and thumbs up on every lap!
Prizes were awarded to
Ben Batchelor and Matthew Perry – 1st overall
Alec Cope – 2nd overall
Peter Cope – 3rd overall
Teddy Dunn – best newcomer
Wilf Kermode & Charlie Mugan – Best improvers
Tom Whitbread – Best improver
Peter Cope – 1st Tera Sport
Gwen Thornton & William Mugan – 1st Topaz
A month ago RYA Coach Assessor Alan Jones joined us at 7th Wave to run an RYA Dinghy Instructor course for six candidates. The week provided us with typical Manx changeable weather from scorching sunshine to wind and rain. There were plenty of challenges for the candidates to overcome, long days and hard work. The team did really well, it is a big step making the transition from sailor to Instructor. Four of the six candidates were successful in achieving the Dinghy Instructor certificate. Congratulations to Emily Downs, Mathilda Jaggar, Patrick Cope and James Humphrey!! With a little more work and upon completed of their Action Plans Matthew Davin and Will Wright should soon have theirs signed off too 🙂
Dinghy sailor Ben Batchelor claimed his first race win at a world championship while on his way to third overall at last week’s RS Tera World Championships in Spain.
The five-day, 14-race championship in Santoña attracted more than 70 entries across two fleets, with young racers from as far afield as South Africa and Guatemala taking part.
The event was characterised by light and fickle winds which gave a big advantage to the lighter sailors.
15-year-old Batchelor, an Isle of Man Sport Aid and Cavendish scholarship athlete, showed superb tactical skill to stay at the sharp end of the 31-boat Pro fleet despite being 15kg heavier than eventual championship winner Jack Lewis.
Manx sailors tend to shine in heavy winds and rough seas, but Batchelor proved himself in the chess game of light airs sailing and fought his way into the top 10 in every race, taking his first world championship race win in race nine.
Racing in his first major regatta in the Pro fleet after moving up from the Sport fleet, 13-year-old Alec Cope took a superb fourth place in race eight and was in the top 10 going into the final day, before having to settle for 14th overall.
Meanwhile 10-year-old Teddy Dunn needed no time to find his feet in his first world championship experience, finishing 24th in the 41-boat Sport fleet and taking an outstanding 10th place finish on the final day.
Batchelor is the seventh local sailor to finish in the top five at the Tera world championships since the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, trained by the Isle of Man Yacht Club and 7th Wave, began competing in 2010. It’s the team’s best result since Greg Kelly was crowned Tera world champion in Italy in 2012.
Supported by the Isle of Man Steam Packet, the entire squad of eight young racers will be travelling to Wales next week to contest the UK Tera National Championships at the Plas Heli Welsh National Sailing Academy. Follow their progress by searching for the Manx Youth Sailing Squad on Facebook.
Our incredible Instructor Hannah Howitt is slightly crazy, she is totally committed to a triathlon training and events program. I have a huge amount of admiration for her. At the age of just 21 she trains like a true professional athlete, every morning swimming and biking, in the evening a run. She is one determined young lady. Last week Hannah took part in the British Triathlon Championship in Liverpool, where she finished 2 lady overall!!! An incredible result, watch this space for a Manx Commonwealth Games entry…..
Congratulations Ben Batchelor who has been awarded a Sport Aid Foundation grant and support from the Cavendish Foundation! Ben is excited to have Cav following his progress and mentioning Ben on Twitter 🙂 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/35594816
Ben Batchelor was the only Manx Youth Sailing Squad sailor able to travel to the UK for the first major Tera event of the year. The RS Tera “Start of Seasons” event at Northampton SC saw 72 sailors take to the water. 29 Pro sailors and 43 Sports. A great turnout for the start of the year.
The forecast of strong winds from the Arctic proved something of an anti climax as the threatened “Arctic Breeze” held off. The sun shone all weekend and the competitor’s had light winds and big wind shifts to deal with in a series of eight races.
Ben had a good event finishing 8th overall with a set of results of 3rd, 4th , 7th, 9th,9th,11th,17th,18th.
The next with event will be the RS Feva Nationals in Weymouth at the end of May.
Ben would like to thank Isle of Man Sports Aid, Isle of Man Steam Packet and Salamander services for all their Support.
