Results / Boll� RS400 Grand Prix Stokes Bay SC - 20/04/2013

Stokes Bay 1^st RS400 Gul Open of 2013. 13 boats, shared event with our chums in the RS100s, B14 and Musto Skiffs.

First gun, E’ly F2, tide appeared to favour tacking out into the Solent to take advantage of the East-running tide, but this was less compelling than the lift off the shore, and the Allen brothers loped into a 30m, with John Cooper and Becci Wigley in hot pursuit. Some scuffling ensued on the mildly gripping spreader leg that resulted in Howard Farbrother and Dan Martin sneaking through into third, from Nick and Caroline Martin in 4^th, and Andy Hatch & Dan Hawkins (in a shiny, and therefore, elite rs400) in hot pursuit. Hatch and Hawkins sailed off looking for a newsagents, but for the others, positions and gaps stayed exactly the same, with Farbrother/Martin successfully fending off Martin/Martin until the last buoy and a moment of “which way now” confusion let the double Martin boat steal ahead through the despicable tactic of “knowing where they were going”.

After a prolonged bout of how-slowly-can-I-eat-my-cereal-bar, Messrs Farbrother/Martin took the next race due to excessive hunger, with again the really quite venerable Cooper/Wigley tenaciously intimidating the following pack with their shocking pink spinnaker, followed by the Paul and Mike Allen who held off the Lymington branch of the Martin mafia to take 3^rd.  In the meantime the club treated all four fleets to a damn fine sundowners session, soaking up the sun, and happy hour drinks in equal measure, before retiring inside for a curry, quiz and consequences . A great social you normally have to do a Nationals to get. Overnight Mr Consistent Cooper and Wonderwoman Wigley shared the lead with our ever-friendly token Northerners Paul Allen and Mike “bananaboy” Allen.

The next day dawned a little blearily for some, with the wind backed around to the SW for the first time that season. A black spinnaker appeared on the horizon from the direction of Gurnard, as prep continued the frenetic outlines of a certain Jim Downer and Jon Price could be discerned, heroically straining the limits of Newton’s laws to reach the start in time.

A mild F2 saw the fleet line up at the pin end to pick up the last of the west-going tide, which propelled people to the windward mark roughly in order of proximity to the pin.

Harriette and Jonathan Stone (Montserrat YC) led, with a cluster of boats close behind, gybing downwind trying to find the balance between tide and wind. Messrs Hatch & Hawkins poked out in front briefly before getting distracted by a little fluffy cloud and wandering off. Again the island side paid upwind, and Cooper/Wigley popped up at the front, with Mr & Mrs Martin tailing them to the finish. Farbrother/ Martin managed to sneak through to take the last podium slot third from an energetic Montserrat team.

Another long wait ensued, during which all fleets retired to the clubhouse to wait for the new wind. Jim and Jon led the charge ashore, and after a short pause to make a deposit, they thanked the RO, his family, the club and the mainland in general, and fled back to the Island before the tide changed and they turned into root vegetables, (ancient Island lore).

At this time Cooper/Wigley led overall, with a pretty in pink 2,2,1, from Farbrother/Martin 4,1,3, and a dust-off for 3^rd between Allen-Allen and Martin-Martin.

For the 4^th race, SW, F2-3 the majority hugged the shore to avoid the tide, however either by luck or judgement 1251 punched into a 30m lead by going straight up the middle (thank you RS100s!), and were followed round the windward by Stone-Stone, and Cooper-Wigley, the Allens, and the Martins. Positions were maintained until the finish, with the exception that the Martins took the suffering Allen brothers on the line, prompting an ejection of toys from said vessel, and stubborn search for replacements.

Going into the last race, points were tied, the wind had built marginally, and Simon Palmer sailing with Molly McMaster saw the opportunity to repeat their nationals form and shot off into the lead, with young tyros Jack Holden and Ollie Miller (with elite spreader settings) contending for bragging rights at the windward. Downwind and Holden Miller gybed off towards the mainland, and Farbrother/Martin soaked inside Palmer/McMaster at the gybe point, and crept into the lead for the final upwind leg. Downwind and Cooper/Wigley popped out the pink menace and snuck into second, with Holden / Miller 3^rd, and Palmer /McMaster finishing in 4^th.

This meant that Farbrother /Martin (1251, Queen Mary), took the event by a single point from Cooper / Wigley (1325, Lymington), Nick and Caroline Martin in third (1236, Lymington), by a single point from the toy-hunting 1395 (Paul and Michelle Allen, Leigh & Lowton). A great venue, great event, great social. Onwards to Arun!