Billy Vennis-Ozanne Catch Up

Team Allen’s Billy Vennis-Ozanne was at the Allen supported J70 Worlds, so we had a quick catch up. Check out what Billy’s been up to and what he thinks of the A2020Tii blocks

Monique Vennis-Ozanne 29er Summer

After four weeks of exams throughout May and June I finally finished school and my summer of sailing in my 29er could began. I usually sail with John Mather, but, I also had the chance to sail with my brother Billy, who is also a member of Team Allen.

Summer started off in Kiel for the 29er Eurocup as part of Kiel Week. This week is always a good one, especially as a treat from finishing school a week beforehand. We were treated even more with sunny weather and wind all week. It was a week of many general recalls, the most I’ve ever experienced, and lots of black flags. Despite this, John and myself sailed a consistent series in 10-18knots most of the time to round up Kiel Week 18th out of 118, so a good start to the summer.

Next up was the Hayling 29er GP. There was a brief postponement leaving us sailors waiting in anticipation to get out onto the classic Hayling summer water; sunny, breezy and wavy. We had a slow start with a 9th and 10th then found our pace with two 2nds. The streak of 2nds continued onto Sunday with two more 2nds followed by a 1st and 5^th. This left us happily 2^nd overall in the 55-boat fleet.

Following the Hayling island event, my brother, dad and I drove the 1100 miles to Gydnia, Poland for the 29er World Championships. We had the van fully loaded to the brim with four 29ers, a Rib and plenty of spare parts. We arrived a few days early so we could do a cheeky bit of practising as Billy and I hadn’t sailed together since April. This would also be our second event together. I also needed some time to get used to having someone 20kgs heavier than John upfront again. We had a bit of breeze throughout the practice days and qualifying, Billy was loving the Allen 50mm pro-ratchets for the kite sheets as they reduced the load of the kite for his softy’s hands!

We had what could’ve been a very good qualifying series, scoring a 3rd, 2nd, UFD, 35th, 3^rd and 2^nd. The 35^th came after a frustrating pitchpole, nevertheless I’m still super pleased to have got some great results at my first World Championships. The final series was lighter, and Billy and I struggled a bit more due to our weight. We finally finished 36th out of 175 at my first Worlds, Which I am really pleased with.

The last event for me this summer was the Europeans, held in another amazing location.  Arco, Lake Garda, Italy. Nothing beats racing with the Garda mountains as your backdrop. Our qualifying was average apart from a 2nd and 3rd when the wind eased off briefly. Silver fleet was still a high standard with two world number ones amongst us and pretty windy conditions all week. Fortunately, there were no complications or breakages due to our reliable Allen hardware. We were able to really crank the Kicker and Cunningham on to depower us and not have to worry.

After the long week, with far too many 7am starts, we ended the event placed 13th Silver and 73rd overall out of 210 boats.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first summer of sailing the 29er and I am looking forward to the next one as the Worlds is on our home waters of Weymouth.

Thanks again to Allen for supporting me with the most reliable kit!

Jamie Harris Sailing Summer 2019

My summer started with the OK Europeans as part of Kiel week, my first major international OK event which I really enjoyed, competing against the top OK sailors was inspiring and the event ended on a high as I won the Junior (first under 23) title. With the World Championships coming to the UK in 2022 there is much hard training to be had in order to make the team and challenge the old-guard!

The next event on the calendar was 470 Junior Europeans in Vilagarcia De Arousa, Galicia Spain, crewing for Tom Collyer. An epic drive out and a week’s training on the shifty Atlantic estuary was followed by a week’s racing which threw up some surprising gain features, it was a brilliant experience and a steep learning curve.

After returning back to England my sister Bettine and I set straight off to Torquay for the RS200 National Championships. After a gruelling week of heavy winds, we managed to defend our First Junior Boat Trophy against tough competition. And we are very much looking forward to returning to the event next year.

Following my A-Level results day, I travelled to Weymouth for the 470 Nationals, two days training in roughly 20 knots, crewing for Rhys Lewis was followed by brilliant racing beneath Portland Bill, against many of the British Sailing Team. We finished 10^th and were pleased with our result in such a talented fleet and exciting conditions.

Next event is the Ok Nationals in Aberscoh before I set off to Southampton University this autumn, where I plan to study Engineering and sail the Solent as much as possible.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported my sailing this year, in particular TS5C Charity, Allen Brothers and my local sailing club Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club.

Joey Taylor/ Terry Hacker – RS Feva National Champions 2019

A summary of the RS Feva Nationals by Team Allen sailors and recently crowned RS Feva National Champions. Joey and Terry. 

The RS Feva fleet headed to South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club, Abersoch, for their 2019 National Championships.  With a forecast of building winds through the 4 days of the regatta, Saturday morning was all about boat preparation and getting our heads in the right place for 4 days of the challenging racing the venue is known for.

We launched late morning with the aim of getting 3 races in on the day.  The winds were lighter and shiftier than expected, with a little bit of chop but no large swell.  With the 94 boat fleet split into 2 flights we were in the first start and headed right up the first beat rounding the windward mark in about 10^th.  After a lot of place changing, both up and down, we had a strong second beat ensuring we started the regatta with a safe 8^th position.  For the second and third races the fleet was getting more aggressive on the start line, we managed to avoid any black flags and posted a 7^th and 4^th to finish the day comfortably placed in 7^th overall.

Day 2 dawned and the predicted wind had arrived.  Start time was earlier and the beach was busy with sailors ensuring their boats were properly set up for a tough days racing.  On the water the chop had increased with a 15kt to 20kt steady North Westerly providing some testing conditions.  We set our stall out early with a great pin end start in the first race, getting to the windward mark in 2^nd before taking the lead on the first downwind.  Once ahead we increased our lead to the finish to get our first bullet of the championship.  Race 2 followed a similar pattern, but we were caught out by the wind dropping on the final run allowing the boat behind to ride a gust past us to the finish, with us a close 2^nd.  The wind dropped further for race 3, although the odd big gust was still around to keep the fleet on its toes.  After another good start we led all the way to the last mark, just losing out with a poor rounding to finish 2^nd.  These were the final races of the qualification series and posting a 1,2,2 for the day was enough to go into gold fleet leading the championship.

The following morning the nerves were beginning to show as we prepared to launch wearing the gold championship leaders race bibs.  This was probably the most pressure I have felt at an event, knowing that all the other teams would be looking for us and wanting the no 1 spot for themselves.  Our nerves were temporarily calmed after another good pin end start in the first race, unfortunately after tacking to cross the fleet we capsized and found ourselves back in about 30^th at the windward mark.  At this point we felt we had nothing to lose and with great boat speed both down and upwind we clawed ourselves back to 10^th at the finish.  We knew we needed a good result in the next race if we were going to be in contention for the overall win, and after winning the pin end again we made no mistakes posting a bullet by some distance.  We carried this form into the last race of the day finishing 2^nd leaving us 1^st overall overnight with a discard still to come.

Waking up on the final day the nerves were in full flight as we were coming to terms with having the opportunity to win the event.  Our Squiddies coaches were great in calming us down before racing and we began to feel a lot calmer once we launched.  Conditions were even windier than previous days but, with the waves, were great fun and really suited our style of sailing.  Our biggest concerns were black flags, protests and gear failure but we kept ourselves out of trouble, the boat stayed strong (thank you Allen for providing the fittings) and we put our nerves behind us to close out the championship with a 1,1,1 scoreline for the day.

Overall, we really enjoyed the regatta and the SCYC were fantastic hosts.  Terry and I worked really well together as a team and this definitely contributed to our win.  Next event for us is the Inlands at Rutland at the end of June before the Worlds in Italy in July.

Check out the RS Feva rigging guide by 2018 World Champion and Team Allen sailor Ben Hutton-Penman here.

16ft Skiff Nationals

It’s been a long week! We had 28 degrees, plenty of sun and 8-15 knots every day (which is very unusual).

Picture sunny Queensland, with 28 degrees every day, and an 8-15 knot semi-seabreeze. Add 16ft Carbon Skiffs and a bar and you have yourself a 16 Nationals! With about 40 skiffs participating, there was plenty of competitive racing, and plenty of beers flowing after the racing. The fantastic part of our skiff class is that the skills vary considerably, from sailors with just 1 season worth of experience, to 25 years of experience; from weekend club racers to members of the Australian Sailing Team. It really is a regatta with some serious competition (despite the very social atmosphere).

There was close racing all week – one mistake would cost you 10 places and after 90 minutes of racing, there was usually only 5 minutes of difference between the front pack and the last pack. There were only a few protests, most of which were sorted out with a round of beers at the end of the day. The Eric’s boys had a very enjoyable regatta, despite results being far lower than expected without our usual crew. We definitely improved over the week, and had we had another regatta together after, our results would have shown!

I’ve had many comments regarding how well looked after our boat is, as well as how neat all the rope work is and how gorgeous the boat looks with the Allen kit. Definitely, a head-turning boat.

Looking forward we have the Botany Bay Championships and the Belmont Sprints which has plenty of fun.

Full results here

Nathan Edwards – Erics Removals Skiff – Team Allen

Megan Pascoe’s 2018 year in review

As the season closed in Antwerp last weekend it gave me a chance to look back at what an incredible year it has been in the 2.4mR.

I’ve had some amazing tight finishes to events this year with the Nationals in Poole, Frensham open, Dutch Nationals and the German Nationals all coming down to the wire. It was great to attend the UK Nationals, after so many years of missing it for one reason or another, and having it as part of the Poole Keelboat regatta is always a lot of fun. As was competing in Carrickfergus at the Irish Nationals. A great piece of water with the Irish hospitality that we all come to expect and love. Fortunately, I took the win at all 5!

The one that didn’t go down to the wire was the Worlds in Sweden. I was never sure how this one was going to go as I hadn’t been on open water in a big competition for a long time. Racing in Gavle in the past has been a bit hit or miss over my sailing carer, however, I love going back to big race courses and 75-minute races. The start of the event was great, scoring all top 5 results. the second half of the event, however, didn’t go to plan with my worst results coming in the last 2 races. Overall I was very happy finishing 2nd and a long way from third but there’s more work to go in order to get back to the top spot next year in Genoa.

Probably the biggest test this year was at the German Championships in Berlin. 48 boats entered into what turned out to be a very shifty and mostly light venue. We started with an exhibition knock out race which challenged me because I kept forgetting how to match race but it was a lot of fun. The real racing was even more challenging with a very high scoring regatta. Especially Saturday where the water was packed with every leisure craft and river cruise boats going. Most deciding that coming right through the middle of the course was a good idea. I was leading going into Sunday but a few mistakes made throughout the day meant I had to settle for second. Happy on reflection that in the light and shifty that I had managed to score well and consistent for most of the regatta.

Finally, we end in Antwerp, as always, on the Galgenweel. Antwerp is a great little city, with a lot of history, and is a nice place to hang out for a long weekend with friends celebrating the end of the season. Sailing as always on a small lake was tight and Ulli Libor and Dirk Jan Broertjes were going fast. In a long series of 13 races, it seems a long time to keep concentration over the 4 days. Saturday was fully wacky racing with more fluky conditions however, i performed well and managed to win for the 7th year in a row. Coming away with 7 from 7 makes a great culmination to my year.

It’s now back to work for the busy Christmas rush and a nice bit of casual club racing!

My Sailing Summer, Nick Evans – Allen Academy

My summer of sailing kicked off with a fun and relaxing time in a Feva during Cadet week at my home club, the Blackwater Sailing Club.

Immediately after Cadet Week, I travelled up to Pwllheli in North Wales to compete in the Optimist British National Championships. It was a tough event with mixed wind speeds and directions. My best results were 6th and 10th in senior gold I finished 37th overall and 15th Brit.

Not only was there good fleet racing at the Nationals, but also team racing was featured on the schedule for the first time. It took place on the lay day and around 30 sailors took part to practice their boat handling and team racing manoeuvres. My team managed to win 6 out of the 7 races, so we came first.

I then hurried back to the Blackwater Sailing Club to compete in Club week, a social event for sailors of all ages. I sailed in my optimist and won both main and second series. A tradition at the BSC is for all the series winners to compete together to see who is the ‘Cock of the Club’. I managed to win this beating my sister who was a close second.

Next up was the Europeans Team Racing in Lago di Ledro. This was the highlight of my summer. 30 degrees heat every day with a steady 7 knots, perfect team racing conditions. Our 4-person team took to the water wearing board shorts and rash vests, even in the 2 storms where it was still 25 degrees. We completed 17 races and won just under half, winning all our races on the first day so we had a really good start.

The penultimate event of my summer was the IOCA Late Summer Championships in Poole Harbour. It was 10 knots all weekend, gusty, shifty and sunny, champagne sailing. My first race was a respectable 13^th. My 2nd race saw a big right shift kick in, and unfortunately, I was on the left-hand side of the beat so I was 50th around the windward mark, a good downwind and final beat saw me into 20th. The final race was my best one of the day with a hard-fought 2^nd to the winner of the event Santi Sesto Cosby. We were tacking on each other constantly up the final beat. Day 2 started with a bang as I took the first bullet of the day! Race 2 was similar with a 5^th and I got a 7^th in the final race of the event. Overall I came 7^th out of 180 sailors (5th senior) and the worst bit was I didn’t even get a prize!

My final event of the summer was an Optimist open at my home club on Saturday. It was a one-day event with 4 tightly contested races. I managed to win 3 out of the 4 races so won the Open. I tried out a North R2 radial demo sail for North which was fun.

Thank you Allen Sailing for helping me throughout the summer with the new auto ratchet block, spars and sails, I’ve had an absolutely brilliant summer.

Graduate Northern Championship Winners

Brothers Ben and Gabe Hill won the Graduate Northern Championships at Bassenthwaite Sailing Club

“We had a great weekend at Bassenthwaite SC. Lighter winds on Saturday and with slightly stronger winds on Sunday we were able to win the last two races. Winning the Graduate northerns overall. Thanks to Allen for the support and Bassenthwaite SC for running a great event.”

RS Feva Rigging Guide With World Champion

Team Allen Sailor and RS Feva World Champion, Ben Hutton-Penman, was at Allen HQ giving his boat some TLC. We took the opportunity to make a basic rigging guide. Highlighting key points to check out when first setting up the boat. If you’re new to the RS Feva or Asymmetric sailing, this quick video will show you some of Ben’s top tips for rigging up.

Megan Pascoe at the Irish Nationals

After a good few years building up their fleet Carrickfergus Sailing Club decided it was time to host an Irish 2.4mR National Championship. Seventeen boats made the trip from far and wide across the Irish Sea, from North and South, and even Germany. Special mention to George and Ann Taylor for organising and making everything happen.

It was so nice to get back on open water and Belfast Loch didn’t disappoint with the weather. After a rather complicated briefing which included disappearing marks the fleet left the dock in bright sunshine and a nice 9 to 13 knots. Everyone settled into the tidal conditions of the first race with most heading up the shore. Local John Patrick mixing it up from the first mark with the old hands of Ulli Libor, Steve Bullmore and Megan Pascoe. Megan and Ulli escaped from the fleet with Kate Hedley reeling in Steve. These two spent the next few races stuck together at the finish even with a tie in the last race.

The fleet was tight for the following two races with Nev Millard joining the party with 2 second places. Adam Billany back in the boat after his A levels ended the day with a 3rd.

The fleet retired to the club for the evening with a great meal and spectacular view. Sunday despite a light forecast the fleet woke to a 12 knot Northerly. It was great to see quite a few sailors under the age of 20 and a mix of able bodied and disabled.

The Irish fleet has some new sailors in the fleet. Especially great to see Kevin Conway in his pretty blue boat which was getting faster and faster as the weekend went on.

Sunday decided the prizes. Ulli and Nev were battling it out with few points to split them in the shifty conditions. There was little gap from the front of the fleet to the back with everyone having really good racing.

The weekend ended with a barbecue on the club lawn and prizes. Megan won the event, Ulli held onto 2nd and Nev picked up his first major podium in 3rd. John Patrick won the Irish National trophy in 7th. Georgina Griffin was first Irish disabled in a hotly contested battle. Gina is also off to compete for Ireland at the Disabled World Championships later in the year.

The fleet had a great time at Carrickfergus SC, true Irish hospitality and a perfect piece of sailing water. Thanks to everyone who volunteered for the event, definitely one of the best venues I’ve been to in a long time. Now with the inauguration of an Irish class association 2019 Nationals look like being held in Kinsale.

Overall Results: