7 June 2024
Lucy F, Year 10
Over the half term break, I took part in the RS Feva* Nationals, where more than 100 boats competed over four days from the National Olympic Sailing Centre in Weymouth. With three or four races each day - and a strong breeze - it took a lot of strength and stamina to keep going. In fact, on the final day, many boats had to retire with broken masts and rudders.
My crew, Millie, and I have been training hard through the cold winter with the Southern Regional Training Group, rotating around various sailing clubs on the south coast. However, the RS Feva Nationals was a particularly tough competition, with the best sailors in the UK out in force. Despite a few dramatic capsizes, we managed a good place in the Silver fleet, although we had hoped to finish higher. A couple of tricky starts on the first day affected our overall result - but that’s sailing for you!
It was great fun to be part of such a big fleet of boats and an incredible experience to race hard in strong winds for four or five hours a day. Millie and I are very proud of ourselves for completing all 12 races in such challenging conditions.
*RS Feva is a double handed dinghy designed for young people.