Results / RS Fat Face Racing Circuit Brixham YC - 12/06/2004

On June 12/13 26 RS400�s descended upon Brixham YC for the 4th event in the 2004 RS Racing Circuit event Sponsored by Fat Face. Forecasts during the prior week hadn�t looked promising, however everyone was pleased to see a moderate breeze blowing out in the bay. The black flag came into operation after the first aborted start of the weekend, and remained in place for the remaining races. This prompted the common sight of boats returning from a general recall to check who�d been disqualified. The first race saw Mark and Jeremy Littlejohn take a left hand shift on the first beat to lead at the first mark. However, with a shifty NW breeze, place changes downwind were always going to be a factor. Chris Jennings and Ed Nicklin made the most of the first run to move into the lead, a position they maintained to the finish despite pressure from Craig Burlton and Richard Brown, who finished second. Owen Modral and Dave Ellis made a good recovery after a poor first beat to finish 3rd. The second race saw six boats disqualified as a result of black flag infringements. Once again variations in wind strength and direction made for some interesting tactical racing. During the initial stages of the race Burlton/Brown and the Littlejohns battled for the lead. However the final run produced an extremely close finish with Jennings/Nicklin recovering from a mid fleet position at the first mark to win by less than a boat length from the Littlejohns, with Burlton/Brown a further boat length behind. The breeze increased slightly for the final race of the day. Once more the black flag caught out several boats, with three boats appearing on the sinners list this time. Once underway the fleet battled it�s way up to the first mark with some good close racing. Chris and Matt Bailey (the Grims) led at the first mark, but were overtaken by Jennings/Nicklin 100 yards down the run. However it was Burtlon/Brown that led at the first leeward mark, a lead they maintain to the finish. Tom Halhead and Ruth Johnson sailed well to finish 2nd in their new boat, with Jennings/Nicklin completing the top three. The fleet sailed ashore having had a great day�s racing, and looking forward to the combined party with the RS600 and RS200 fleets. Saturday evening provided perhaps the most unique form of entertainment ever experienced at an RS event. Brixham YC had laid on a BBQ, which was followed by �entertainment by Lesley Presley�. There had been much speculation as to what �Lesley Presley� might be, some of it printable. And yes, he was an Elvis impersonator! Strangely it wasn�t until the fleet had consumed copious amounts of alcohol that they fully appreciated Lesley, but it was a great party! Sunday dawned sunny and a few hangovers were evident around the boat park. With not much wind in the bay the fleet was held ashore for about 1 hour before launching. Once afloat, the first attempt to start the fourth race was sensibly aborted due to the wind dropping to zero with two minutes to the start. This prompted more waiting around and moving of the course within the bay until sufficient wind filled in for a race. Eventually the fourth race was started in a variable force 1-2 from the south. Modral/Ellis made the most of the conditions to win the race followed by Halhead/Johnson, with Paul Hilliar and Toby Ashton recording their best result of the weekend with a well-deserved third. The fifth race of the weekend was started in similarly variable winds. The first beat produced one of those scenarios where the middle didn�t pay, but being at one of the corners did! Stuart Hudson and Claire Cummings produced the perfect first beat coming in from the right hand side to take an easy lead at the first mark, a lead they held to the finish. Colin Smith and Amanda Pierpoint showed great light wind speed to take second place with Andrew Fox and Simon Birchill posting their best result of the weekend in third place. With time moving on and the wind faltering the decision was taken to cancel the final race, so the series results would be based on best 4 results from 5. The final placing were very close with Jennings/Nicklin holding on to their overnight lead to win with 13 points, Halhead/Johnson came second only a point behind on 14 points, Modral/Ellis came third with 16 points and Burlton/Brown fourth with 19 points. Smith/Pierpoint completed the top five with 20 points Thanks Brixham Yacht Club for their hospitality and excellent organisation.