After a week back home to wash out the kit, restock the snack bag and earn some money helping to teach sailing to youngsters, Harrison headed off to the 29er Nationals at Weymouth with his crew Harry Jones.  The two Harry’s have known each other since 2008 when they were both vying for the youngest crew trophy at the Miracle Nationals in Brixham, and have raced against each other in RS Teras and Fevas since. At Weymouth they ended up with a placing of 13^th in the Silver fleet. The competition was very strong and challenging with a mixture of different weather conditions. They were pleased with this given that Harrison is new to the boat and they hadn’t done any races in the boat together; they saved their best result until the last windy day when they managed to stay upright during racing and posted a 6^th place. Safe to say the social side of the event proved popular and the pair are looking forward to the next event, the Grand Prix back at Weymouth 23rd – 24th September.

More time teaching sailing, getting GCSE results, unpacking and packing up different boats passed and before long the Pye wagon was on the road, back to Weymouth or Weybiza as it is known in some quarters! This time it was Fergus sailing his RS Tera Pro at the Nationals and Harrison helping out with the Regatta fleet coached event.

The wind was extremely shifty and testing throughout the bank holiday weekend starting off with highs of 7 knots before dying off.  The race officer managed to get 4 of the 5 completed races in on Saturday and a further one on Sunday.  After a challenging start to the event Fergus enjoyed finishing on a high with a 2^nd in the last race on Sunday. Racing on Monday was abandoned. This left him 17^th overall, a bit disappointed but philosophical.  All the time spent on the shore did not go to waste, by all accounts the chance to hang out together was welcomed by all. Super quick launches reacting to the release flag were perfected and post racing paddle boarding proved very popular. I think the record number of Tera sailors on the giant paddle boards was 17. The verdict of the event was shame about the wind but loads of fun nonetheless. Congratulations go to Ralph Neville of Frensham Pond for his deserved win in tricky conditions.

During the 29er event Harrison found that his Thermoskin Skiff Suit gave him the warmth and flexibility he needed in the 29er; Fergus was more comfortable in a Pro Rash Vest and Speedskin Shorts in the hot weather of the bank holiday weekend.

After the Tera Nationals we stayed on in Weymouth for the week so that Harrison could complete his RYA Dinghy Instructor course at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation (which he passed!). So now it’s back to school and sixth form for a rest until the next events.  Fergus will be sailing with crew Sam Blaker in the RS Feva Grand Prix at Northampton Sailing Club in a couple of weeks’ time. Then it’s back to Weymouth for the 29ers… the season is not over by a long way…