Allen 29er GP1 at Weymouth and Portland National sailing academy.
The 29er is a skiff class using two sails upwind and three sails downwind. The 29er is a fast-manoeuvrable boat which allows for exhilarating racing in all conditions especially when it is windy. The 29er requires large amounts of physicality and skill to be able to sail the boat at speed in all conditions.
The first day of the 29er GP in Weymouth saw a short postponement for the 75 boats due to high winds in the harbour. After an hour of postponement, the fleet was released into gusty conditions of 16 knots gusting 20. Due to an unusual north-eastly direction a steep sharp chop formed in the harbour meaning teams needed to find drive in the boat to power over the chop. The racing on the first day was close with boat speed being key making manoeuvres risky and costly in the high winds. The first race was won by 2982 (Tom Storey/Ben Willett) in yellow fleet and blue fleet was claimed by 2905 (Elodie Edwards/Ewan Wilson. Both boats were able to find speed and drive in the windy conditions.
The Second day saw the fleet split into Gold and Silver. With windy conditions again in the morning boats fought for space on the line and this saw boats closely packed off the line and a well fought race by both fleets. Both fleets saw fantastic racing and close competition. The second race saw no drop in wind, not as the forecast indicated. This caused for close manoeuvres around marks with boats centimetres apart at high speeds. The third race saw a drop in wind for the silver flight start that allowed a gap to leeward which allowed 2175 (Cameron Sword, Tom Williamson) to get a great start off the port end and crossing the whole fleet. The drop in wind caused for small pulsing pressure down the course with the middle tending to benefit. The last race saw a considerable drop in wind with the middle paying up the first beat and the right paying up the second. All of this caused for a great weekend of competitive racing.
Due to the many Covid restrictions the class had to cancel all social events and class activities after sailing but even without this the class managed to put on a great event even with all the new challenges they are facing.
