Results / GUL RS200 National Championship Exe SC - 20/08/2006

Gilberts dominate day 1 at the Gul RS200 Nationals. It was a hard day at the office for the 129 boat Gul RS200 Nationals at Exe SC yesterday but hugely enjoyable. The huge fleet has been bolstered by two boats from Japan who have chartered two boats via LDC from the Royal Navy. A very patchy force 2-4 from the WNW produced very varied wind strengths over the course area resulting in many large snakes on the run. Producing two results you could count was going to be very difficult and so it proved with spades. PRO and designer of the RS200 Phil Morrison set a huge course off Dawlish for the opening race which was a real challenge. Late and going right seemed to be paying and David/Emma Derby were a real dot on the starboard lay line to have a really healthy lead at the first mark. You did not want to gybe early down the run and going right really paid as many of the leaders had horror runs. Roger Gilbert sailing with sister Katrina took full advantage to win the race, a feat he was to repeat in race 2 after Mark Littlejohn/Emma Clark and Sarah Allan/Pete Rowley had all had turns in the lead. In such a large a fleet there is very tight racing throughout with the lead in the silver and bronze divisions being keenly contested. Robbie Burns and Vicki Simpson from Largs in the oldest boat in the fleet, 202 lead the silver division with Beavers Richard Hanby and Charlotte Collins leading the bronze division. Tom Hewitson won the coverted �fast pants� for dropping from 3rd to 50th on one run. Ian Pickard unsurprisingly won the duckhams award and is currently doing a tuning seminar for over 100 people in a bright yellow and pink one piece spray suit and bright purple gay cowboy hat. The weather conditions look almost identical for today so it will be another action packed day on the water at the GUL RS200 Nationals followed by the Harken and West Country Boat Repairs Heroes and Villans theme night. Pete Vincent.