The RS Aero NSW State Championships 2020 were held at Georges River Sailing Club over the weekend of 14th & 15th November for the first time on the beautiful waters of Botany Bay, Sydney, Australia.

There were 19 entries consisting of sailors from Balmoral, Georges River, Royal Prince Alfred, and Avalon Sailing Clubs, with one joining us all the way from Largs Bay in South Australia.

For many this was their first regatta in the RS Aero and we hope it was one to remember. To help keep those memories fresh, we were lucky enough to have Jon West Photography covering the event. There are some great photos available for purchase online from:

https://jonwest.photography/rs-aero-nsw-state-championship-2020

An excellent race officer set challenging but fun courses with the 6 scheduled races easily achieved over the weekend. The fleets had a great first day of racing with a light-medium 12-15 ESE breeze on the Saturday with plenty of fuel left in the tank for the following day. The breeze was much softer on Sunday, although the waves caused by the run out tide meant that a few competitors decided it would be a great day to have a swim.

Gary Ratcliffe from GRSC set the scene on the first day with a trio of first places in his 7, with Mark Hooper, also from GRSC on top form in his 9, until an equipment failure in the third race opened the field a little.

Overnight Mark fixed the issue and proceeded to dominate the fleet, and as is the Aero way, Gary provided tips to the other sailors which made day two closer at the pointy end of the fleet. The first 5 places in the 7 fleet was a fiercely competed affair with just one point separating third and fourth place.

A general consistency in results was seen across all the fleets, with the feedback from the competitors saying they had a great time, with some excellent close racing.

Finally, a big thanks to the RO Andrew McLachlan, GRSC for hosting & to all the volunteers that made this event such a fun, memorable, competitive regatta.

Full results can be found at:

ScoreIT