Results / Gill European Championships Fraglia vela Riva - 28/07/2014

Photos by Paul Wyeth

By Sarah Robertson and Roger Carter

Lake Garda is a perennial RS400 favourite, so it seems fitting in our 20^th anniversary year that a record 45 boats made the biannual pilgrimage for the RS Eurocup, including 18 teams from Scotland, 3 from Canada and 2 from Cork.

On Day One, and sailing on the easterly course, the race officer skilfully slotted in a great race in an almost Ora, and although he valiantly tried to get a second start off the dying breeze dicatated that it made more sense to head for home and the free pasta / beer party laid on by Fraglia de la Vela Riva. Stars of the day were Jon Gorringe and Nicola Bass, with special mention to Neil McLellan and Oli MillingSmith discarding their perpetual under-achiever tag with a great 5th place. The party was followed by a live thunder and lightning very very frightening display, which included much scrambling around the dinghy park to secure boats that were getting blown around a bit.

Day 2 dawned bright and the remnants of a light northerly Peler greeted the 45 teams keen for another great days racing.

Race One.

The fleet got off cleanly and the difficult choice was between the cliffs for a lift or out to get more breeze, a mix of the two with a decent right hand shift at the first windward mark seemed to be the way to go. Back on form, the Oakeys were first around the windward mark and disappeared into the horizon with a huge lead. The chasing pack were following down a one sided run meaning there were minor place changes. The breeze started to die for the second lap and the chasing pack had a great race with plenty of place changes as boats chopped from left to right up the long shifty beat looking for the breeze. Instead of gybing off down the second run Carter and Einstein hit the cliffs and a header and good breeze and ghosted all the way down and a few boats began to follow. The boats in at the cliffs were looking very good but eventually the breeze filled in from the left and carried those boats down to the line. The “2 crews”, Bedborough and Brown clinched a last minute second from David Rose and Ian Hefferman (who had made the long crusade from Cork), followed by Carter from the left, and the Metcalfes, Gorringe and the evergreen Robertsons in that order.

Race Two

In true Garda fashion the wind then shutoff completely, and then flicked Ora-like through 180 degrees and steadily increased to F4-5 accompanied by a little rain. After much fast-pin adjusting and a very efficient course reset, a clean start and the fleet split up the first beat more or less evenly with boats either sailing off the biased port end or tacking straight off the committee boat and heading for the cliffs. After much close tacking up the cliffs, the boats who came out early did well but the ones who held on ended up overshooting the windward mark. In the end the boats that went left were the ones that gained and first around was Gorringe, then “back on form” Howie Farbrother / Desperate Dan followed by Elaine Turner / Sijbrand Jimjams and the Robertsons. Turner and the Robertsons gybed early to overtake Howie / Gorringe and the Robertsons led up the second beat until the breeze began to die off. Gorringe then regained the lead and went into the last run in 1^st, only to lose it again more or less on the line as the Robertsons found a magic puff to plane past for the bullet. Howie secured third with the Oakey’s sneaking into a significant 4^th and Turner hanging on for 5^th.  Very close tight competitive racing right down the fleet with lots of places to be won in the shifty conditions, and even small mistakes being punished with several places lost.

So that’s the sailing bit, but much more importantly we already have a few Duckhams nominations :-

1)     The Robertsons (yet again) faced transport and logistical challenges achieving the drive from Edinburgh to Riva with only one side light and no indicators on either car or trailer

2)     Simon Grey receives a nomination for shouting at his crew when the kite jammed –only to find he’d left all his kids lifejackets stored under the foredeck

3)     Dave Hardcore and his tent. He pitched in a hurry, hit the pub in a hurry, came back several hours later in less of a hurry only to discover the inner tent was back to front and he couldn’t figure out why his tent door had disappeared.

4)     A quote was overheard in a thick Irish accent as the breeze disappeared and the rain was lashing “this wasn’t in the Garda brochure”……

With an 11am start setup for tomorrow and the aim to get 3 races in the fleet hopes for an end to the rain and a return to classic Garda conditions ! On the social and family front we have daily kiddies movie nights, Ladies night, Australian night, Scottish night and several RS parties all to squeeze in. It’s not all about the sailing !

Day 4 - Gorringe / Bass continue to dominate in a Classic Ora

Despite the rumours circulating the dinghy park that the “Ora” was simply a myth, Thursday delivered in style with the fleet launching in a light northerly at 11am only to be greeted at 12pm by a drop followed by 180 degree swing to the south and steady increase to a perfect F4-5. The days racing on the cliff course was tight and exhilarating with right generally paying up the beats, and the cliffs sometimes paying downwind so plenty of options to gain places . Jon Gorringe and Nikki Bass continued to stamp their authority on the regatta with a very consistent 1^st and 4^th. Jim Downer saw a return to form with a convincing bullet in the 2^nd race , and the Oakey Coakeys and Howie / Desperate Dan both secured useful seconds in the breezy conditions to pull themselves up the leaderboard. So overall Jon was clear at the top on 11 points – Stewart Robertson close behind on 16 points, and with just 2 points separating the next 4 places it’s all to play for.  Elsewhere in the fleet there was incredibly close racing with several duckhams-esque events being noted (e.g Neil McLellan double backflip) as issue-ettes became problems in the breezy conditions.

An important part of the day is the après sail sun downer beers and free pasta on the sailing club balcony where tall stories and broken limbs can be compared. Subsequently the Gill “Boom of Doom” party in the Yachting Bar was very well attended by the 400s , mostly trying to force as many pints down Gorringe’s throat as possible. Special mention must go to the resident RS Band “Steel Strum” who performed brilliantly with their unique combination of a steel drum, guitar, bass drums and percussion performing everything from 60s classics to current chart toppers. Everyone eagerly awaits the final day showdown and with the forecast looking good it will hopefully be “more of the same please”

Final Day (5)

The final day of the Gill RS400 Eurocup dawned bright with a few hazy heads and minor bicycle-related injuries after the fantastic Thursday social with live entertainment from resident live band “Steel Strum”. It was very tight at the top of the leaderboard and conditions looked very promising with a light northerly breeze and clear skies suggesting classic Ora conditions.

Race Nine

The fleet got off cleanly and split evenly between the cliffs and middle. Again it was Elaine Turner / Sijbrand Jimjams who came out best and were first to the windward – closely followed by Bedborough then Downer who all gybed back into the middle. The following pack sailed onto to the cliffs and hit hard right and it wasn’t clear which side would get most pressue. At the leeward Downer rounded first, followed by Turner – and then Gorringe won the charge from the right to round ahead of Robertson who just sneaked inside of Bedborough. Bedborough / Brown had a great 2^nd beat playing the shifts up the middle to arrive at the windward in a significant first which they held to the finish, followed by Gorringe, Robertsons and Turner.

Race Ten

Gorringe having the event already in the bag headed for home leaving the rest to scrap it out. Port end biased then a tack onto a long port leg. The leg was further enhanced by the presence of 2 large ferries and an attendent Polizia RIB which parked up in the middle of the course. Downer hit hard right and gained the advantage to be first at the mark, closely followed by the Robertsons and Howie / desperado Danno with Bedborough / Brown in close pursuit. Bedborough brought an end to proceeding with an impromptu hull inspection at the spreader gybe. Downer sparkled off into a convincing lead, followed by Robertson and Howie.  

This left Jon Gorringe and Nikki Bass as very worthy Eurocup champions, with current national champions Robertsons Senior taking runners up and “the 2 crews” Bedborough / Brown just squeezing onto the 3^rd podium position ahead of Paul and Mark Oakey.

Overall everyone agreed the 45 teams have had an amazing week. The Fraglia dela Vela race organisation as always was first class, owed in no small part we suspect to the amount of red wine consumed on the committee boat. And many agreed that the mix of light and breezy conditions made it a much more interesting regatta than the customary “bang the cliffs” conditions which we sometimes experience. The weather has made it a little challenging for many of the shore crews who have had to keep families amused on the damp days – however one of the beauties of Garda as a destination is that there are so many other things to do in and around Riva.

Next up –even bigger and better – are the 20^th Anniversary RS400 nationals at Mounts Bay on 24-28^th August. We’re expecting a bumper turnout in this fantastic location, and charter boats are still available so if you want to get involved please contact Heather Chipperfield or Keith Bedborough for more details (www.rs400.org).

FINAL RESULTS BELOW