We had originally planned to hold the first race of the year on March 14th, but due to the COVID-19 emergency, we have postponed it to April 3rd. The race date will be decided in advance by the Kanagawa Sailing Federation, who will hold a sea surface adjustment meeting, so various considerations are required in advance. Given the circumstances, we are very happy that we were able to hold the first race of 2021. Two AERO boats, launched in March, also took part, and the race was attended by 13 boats: one TERA, one QUBA, two FEVA, one VAREO, seven AERO, and one RS500.

The winds were relatively moderate to strong up until the day before the race, and we had been working hard on our pre-race practice, but the forecast for the day was initially for a light breeze (about 1m?). T-kun, who will be competing in TERA WORLD to be held in Denmark in August this year, has been busy practicing, and this time he and his father were also participating!

To prevent overcrowding, the opening ceremony and skipper meeting were held on the beach from 10am. The weather was clear and sunny all day, with a wind of about 2m from the east at 10am. However, by the time the boats began to set sail for the 11am start, the wind had changed to about 1m from the west-southwest, and it was easy to joke that if we set sail too late, we wouldn't make it in time for the start. As I am on land and cannot report on the situation at sea, please check the results on our website. The first race started safely at 11:00. The start was about 1.1m west. Three races were held, each lasting between 30 and 40 minutes. The RS500/AERO/VAREO races were three laps, while the TERA/QUBA/FEVA races were two laps.

Fortunately, the wind gradually shifted to the east, becoming a west 3.2m at 12 noon, then west 3m at 1pm, west-southwest 3m at 2pm, and south-southwest 3m at 3pm, gradually shifting southward.However, with winds of around 3m, we were able to successfully complete three races and one practice race. After three long laps, several boats returned to the beach, while the others were able to enjoy a full day of sailing until the fourth practice race.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no award ceremony to prevent crowding, and instead we sent emails to everyone after they had returned home. Everyone made their own way home at their own pace. First of all, it was a great day that we were able to hold the event in perfect weather.

The next tournament will be RS Games' Spring Championship 2 on Sunday, May 9th. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

As a side note, the conditions for participating in RSGAME are to be an RS Association member (3,000 yen per year, with RSGAME entry fees of 1,000 yen per entry/500 yen for juniors) and a JSAF member ( 6,500 yen per year). Thank you for your cooperation.
Secretariat: Suzuki * From the Japan RS Class Association blog