Lymington Town Sailing Club get into festive spirit

TWENTY-ONE RS Aeros hammered it out around a tight course at the top of the Lymington river in a fresh, gusty breeze for the annual festive edition of the showcase RS Aero Lymington Stadium Racing.

The fleet was quickly seeded into two divisions to fit onto the compact course and like a grid of go-karts headed off the start line on a reach and into the first corner. RS Aero 7s and RS Aero 5s raced the breezy qualifiers together before splitting into separate finals.

The crowd of onlookers were not disappointed as the fleet sped around the course, stretching and compressing as ferocious gusts rattled down with little warning across the river.

A few crazy swims were inevitable. It was excellent exercise and great training on what was a chilly but sunny day.

After six brutal sprints of two laps, scores were totted up, and the finalists announced. Ultimately, it was the RS Aero 9 European champion Greg Bartlett who stepped up to clinch the RS Aero 7s.

Lily Barrett seized her opportunity to take early control of the RS Aero 5 final to cross the finish line in first as the crowd went wild. Will Taylor was the winner of the best Christmas jumper competition to round off proceedings.

The club thanked all who volunteered at the event.

Results: RS Aero 7 final: 1st, Greg Bartlett, Starcross YC & Lymington Town Sailing Club; 2nd, Chris Jones, Sutton Bingham SC; 3rd, Peter Barton, Lymington Town Sailing Club. RS Aero 5 final: 1st, Lily Barrett, Island Barn SC; 2nd, William Homewood, Lymington Town SC; 3rd, Andrew Frost, Sutton Bingham SC.