RS FEVA NATIONAL championships

Six Manly crews have just competed at the 2019 RS Feva National Championships over the weekend, hotly contested on the waters off Torbay by a sizeable fleet of 72 sailors.  This was an action packed few days and certainly produced some spectacular displays of sailing ability and gutsy performances!
 
There was an excellent turn out to Friday’s pre-regatta coaching sponsored by the Feva Association which included tips on pre-regatta preparation, nutrition, rigging, sail trim and responsibilities in a crewed boat delivered by Aaron Hume-Merry, Graeme Robbins, Hayden Whitburn, and Chris Brooks.
 
The weekend saw strong Northerly conditions prevail, bringing rain and big waves – great for the lively boats to really get moving off the wind!  It was quickly apparent from watching the tight racing that there has been a considerable improvement in the skill level of this fleet since last year and the fleet included some top local names such Olympian Simon Cooke and 2019 Tanner Cup winner Blake Hinsley.
 
Teeka Lastennet, one of our newer RCSF sailors commented; “It was my first nationals experience and I thought it was pretty fun.  I really enjoy sailing when there is a lot of wind and big waves.  I also loved seeing the sportsmanship of all the sailors, when we had problems all the sailors that passed us would ask if we were okay.”
 
For local RCSF and Manly SC sailor Maddie Rist, it was her second RS Feva Nationals.  “I really enjoyed the conditions off Torbay in comparison to last year’s Nationals.  I definitely noticed the standard of the fleet was higher which made it challenging but more rewarding. The highlight for me was surfing the big waves, it was easily the fastest I have been in the Feva!"
 
There were plenty of awesome highlights for our relatively new team, and each team has taken home their own unique learnings from attending this regatta from the importance of set up, to new gybing techniques and decision making.
 
Thanks to all the parents for supporting their sailors in attending this event and making it happen, we will look forward to taking part again in next year’s event!
 
Team Manly included;
Mattias Coutts and Aimee Bright (3rd)
Soren Johnston and Lucas Ruperti (7th)
Phil Wild and Sam Wild (10th)
Amelie Marseille and Daniel Brodie (11th)
Ben Tapper and Maddie Rist (13th)
Teeka Lastennet and Maxwell Garner (34th)

Full results at https://www.torbaysailing.club/rsfevanats-results.html