RS Aero Northern Championship at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
by Philip Whitehead 21 Jun 03:05 NZST
15-16 June 2024
RS Aero Northern Championship at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club © Paul Hargreaves Photography
Ellie Craig with a 6 rig from Basssenthwaite SC joined the home fleet of 10 Aeros for the Northern Championship at Yorkshire Dales over the weekend 15-16th June.
Saturday started with variable lightish winds. Phil Whitehead won the first race on the water with Keith Escritt second and Ellie third. Ellie won the second race on handicap with Phil the leading 7 followed by Keith again. Mike Saul was fourth on handicap (one of many 4ths!).
Keith won the 3rd race on handicap with Ellie second and Simon Byrne third. Race 4 was a little longer with Ellie winning by a good 18 seconds from Phil and Keith who managed to tie for second after an interesting beat to the finish.
After 4 races the evening curry was greeted well. Sunday dawned with forecast for stronger winds which suited Ellie (surprisingly... though sitting out hard does help !) who easily on handicap with Keith following, Tim Sadler (of Enterprise fame) and Ed Storey coming into their own.
The wind was building and Keith managed to fend off Ellie by 10 seconds on handicap with Tim and Ed again. The last race was a good force 4 with multiple capsizes, Ellie eventually stormed into the lead sailing hard and smoothly to take the win on the water.
A well deserved win overall by Ellie with the 2 grand masters Keith second and Phil third. A big thanks to our Commodore Lester Mulligan as race officer and team for some great racing. Ellie and her Mother particularly enjoyed the stay over in the Dales with our hot tub provided for the event!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Class | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | RS AERO6 | 3866 | Ellie Craig | ‑3 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 2nd | RS AERO7 | 3477 | Keith Escritt | 2 | ‑3 | 1 | 2.5 | 2 | 1 | ‑3 | 8.5 |
| 3rd | RS AERO7 | 3448 | Phil Whitehead | 1 | 2 | ‑6 | 2.5 | 5 | ‑7 | 6 | 16.5 |
| 4th | RS AERO7 | 2389 | Tim Sadler | ‑6 | ‑5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21 |
| 5th | RS AERO7 | 2907 | Ed Storey | ‑9 | 6 | 7 | ‑8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 23 |
| 6th | RS AERO7 | 3538 | Simon Byrne | 5 | ‑7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | ‑8 | 4 | 23 |
| 7th | RS AERO7 | 8 | Mike Saul | 4 | 4 | 4 | ‑9 | (DNF) | 5 | 7 | 24 |
| 8th | RS AERO6 | 3689 | Neil Spink | ‑11 | 8 | ‑9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 34 |
| 9th | RS AERO7 | 2606 | Bill Pickup | ‑10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | (DNF) | 42 |
| 10th | RS AERO7 | 1216 | Graham Young | 8 | 9 | ‑10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | (DNF) | 46 |
| 11th | RS AERO7 | 4433 | Tim Heaton | 7 | (DNF) | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 55 |