Results / Gul RS400 Inland Championships Grafham Water S C - 02/10/2004

Everytime the RS400s go to Grafham Water it blows the dogs off their leads - and this year proved no exception. Close racing on tight courses combined with screaming downwind blasts is a winning combination that keeps Grafham as one of the most well attended venues on the 400 circuit. This year saw 57 boats turn out for the Gul sponsored Inland Championships. Fresh from his Nationals win (followed swiftly by an Enterprise World�s title), the clear favourite for the event was Nick Craig who, with crew Keith Bedborough always set the pace in these windy conditions. Challengers to the throne included the current 200 National Champion, Lee Sydenham, sailing with the current 200 Inland Champion, Tom Hewitson. The addition of all the usual front runners plus a few unknown entries sneaking in some practice before the �Endeavour� meant the outcome of the event was far from certain. The start of race 1 coincided nicely with a viscous squall that caught a number of boats napping, resulting in some early swims whilst the leaders powered off up the beat. First to the windward mark were Phil Jackson & Gerard Baron - just ahead of Craig & Bedborough. Jackson and Baron proved this was no fluke by holding on to the lead for 3 laps before Craig & Bedborough finally passed them on the 3rd run. Jackson & Baron fought back, re-passing Craig & Bedborough a couple of times before finally succumbing to the pressure and allowed Craig and the usual suspects through. Craig & Bedborough took the win, ahead of Jennings & Nicklin with Burlton & Bonsey in 3rd. After a quick turn around Race 2 saw Craig & Bedborough once again at the front. This time they lead from start to finish but were pushed hard all the way by Burlton & Bonsey in 2nd. After 6 laps of hard work however, a moments lapse of concentration saw Burlton and Bonsey swimming on the last gybe of the race, allowing Mark & Sam Littlejohn through to 2nd ahead Jennings and Nicklin in 3rd. By the start of race 3 the number of boats on the water was somewhat reduced � with the broken and bruised having gone for an early shower. Again, Craig & Bedborough led at the windward mark. A huge windshift on the first run nearly allowed Mark & Sam Littlejohn through but Craig & Bedborough managed to stay ahead from where they powered off to a substantial lead. The huge shift had left the course as a two-reach affair with no room to overtake. Mark & Sam Littlejohn finished 2nd ahead of Jennings & Nicklin in 3rd. After a tough day on the water, you might have thought that Saturday night in the bar would be a little quiet. It was anything but. Following a quick whip round, Dave (I don�t want a stag night) Shiel had a visit from a lady of the local police constabulary - with a thing for baby oil and bananas. WPC 69 certainly punished him for being such a girl and his results on the Sunday say it all really�.58, 58, 58. Despite warnings of gales, the fleet woke up to a gentle force 2. Mark & Sam Littlejohn must have had a night off the beer as they sailed a faultless race for 4 laps, closely followed by Craig & Bedborough in 2nd trying everything in their bag of tricks to get past. Finally, they picked up a couple of tasty shifts on the last beat to take the lead and hold on to the finish. Leading contenders Jennings & Nicklin chances were dealt a major setback following an attempted sinking attack by a start line cowboy but they sailed a fantastic race to recover to 9th place. As if to avenge their position in the previous race, Jennings & Nicklin attached their golden balls and got every single shift and gust just right to win race 4 by about 5 minutes. The chasing pack had a close battle for 2nd place with Roger (Malcolm) Gilbert & Greebo leading ahead of Craig & Bedborough with Burlton & Bonsey in 4th. With the wind building to a force 4 for the final race, Craig & Bedborough had already done enough to win the event but they struggled in the last race, recovering well from a poor start to finish 4th. Old rivals Gilbert & Greebo lead from start to finish whilst, still clearly angered by their first race attempted sinking, Jennings & Nicklin sailed another incredible race to recover from 30th at the windward mark to finish 2nd. The Littlejohns followed up in 3rd.