Results / Spring Championships Queen Mary SC - 16/03/2024

Sailing photos thanks to Paul Stainsby.  Prize giving photos thanks to Bryan Ormond and Paris Thomas

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RS200

RS400 

RS800

RS200 Spring Championship at Queen Mary Sailing Club 16-17 March 2024, Rooster RS200 National Tour Event Number One

In a word, shifty.  The RS200 Spring Championships at Queen Mary SC were much more a mental challenge than a physical one, with pressure differences and huge shifts deciding the leaders.

In the RS200s the pink boat of Mark Thomas and Alex Ling got off to a flying start, finding an advantage buried deep in the right-hand corner of the first beat to lead by some distance at the first mark.  They would never relinquish that lead, although Owen Bowerman and Annabelle Orme did reel them back in somewhat.  It was striking how spread out the fleet were in the first race, as the early season rust was shaken off and getting the shifts wrong led to big losses.

In race two the fleet was a lot more closely packed, with Paris Thomas and Marta Uncio Ribera upgrading their third place in race one to a bullet.  Matt Venables and Bethan Matthews also came to the fore taking second, despite Venables reportedly being hampered by back pain at the tender age of 28.

In race three it was your correspondent's turn to lead.  At the first windward Nina Luckmann and I were cursing the race officer for adding an extra lap to the last race of the day, but to our surprise and delight we managed to extend away.  Admittedly that was at least in part due to Owen and Annabelle turning their attention to defence with Matt/Beth and Paris/Marta snapping at their heels.

Overnight it was tight at the top.  Paris and Marta edged it on 8 points, but a gaggle of three crews were all tied for second on 9 points.  After refuelling in the clubhouse, much of the fleet decamped to the local pub to follow the rugby, catch up on off season developments, and plan for this year’s pilgrimage to Mounts Bay.

The promise of more wind on Sunday didn't really materialise, with 7-12 knots greeting the sailors.  But those that spent a bit longer than yours truly looking at the forecast realised the defining feature of the day would be the breeze unsteadily but surely tracking right.  In the day's opener Mark/Alex, the right-hand corner connoisseurs, were again at the front.  This time Owen/Annabelle did reel them in.  But by engaging them in the run in to the finish, they allowed a late charge from Nina and me to sneak past the pair of them at the final leeward mark. 

I can't really tell you what happened in the next race, but Paris and Marta got back to winning ways while some of us committed repeated acts of self-harm by going left upwind.  A mention too for Victoria Hinkovska and Nik Wolfe, who are fairly new to the boat, posting an excellent second place.

Going into the decider Paris and Marta led by a solitary point from Owen and Annabelle.  Owen finally upgraded to victory following a remarkably consistent set of results on a tricky weekend.  But guess who was behind them - Paris and Marta again proving they had the measure of the conditions and some excellent speed to take second and the regatta by virtue of having two race wins to Owen and Annabelle's one.

Thanks to RO Paul Stainsby and team for setting a great course in testing conditions, Queen Mary SC for hosting, and our EaSEA tour sponsors Sailing Chandlery for the prizes.  Thank you also to our RS200 National Championship Tour sponsor Rooster.

Next up is the Waldringfield Easter Egg on 29-30^th March.  Enter online here

and then Itchenor SC on Saturday 20^th April for coaching from Ben Whaley and an open meeting on Sunday 21^st April.  Entry will be available shortly here

Report by Andrew Wishart

Up on Y&Y here

RS400 Spring Championship at Queen Mary Sailing Club 16-17 March 2024, Rooster RS400 National Tour Event Number One

Flat calm and a postponement greeted the RS400s dusting themselves off after a Winter break.  After a short wait, the racing got underway in 5-7 knots, building to 9 by the end of the afternoon.

Racing alongside the RS200s and RS800s but with staggered starts and a separate windward mark for the RS800s kept the fleets separated for the most part.  However, the shifty, gusty winds kept the end tire fleet on their toes all weekend and led to some really tight racing.

In the first race, Sam Knight and Chris Bownes made the most of the early shifts to lead, before Ian Martin and Emma Clarke pulled through to take the win, with Tom Halhead and Paul Hilliar sneaking through to second at the end of the race.

For race two, Chris and Nicki Webber found speed early on before forming a breakaway group with Martin and Clarke, and Ollie Groves and Esther Parkhurst.  Martin andClarke once again showing their class to take the win.

In the third race it seemed like the entire fleet was arriving at the windward mark in one big group.  The pack then splintered down the first run as a gust rolled through and brought Knighta nd Bownes, and Groves and Parkhurst into the lead.  During the four lap race it eventually became a battle where Halhead and Hilliar just lost out on the final run to Knight and Bownes.

Sunday looked like torrential rain and no wind but the weather cleared just as it was time to start rigging up!  And as it cleared, a decent breeze filled in - a gusty 10 knots that gradually dropped during the day to 6.

Sunday's first race (race four) was some of the closest RS400 racing seen in a long time.  We lost count of the number of different leaders during the four lap race but it was at least six boats, with Ed Whitehead and Karen Oldale ringing the bell to take a first mark lead from Jack Holden and Rob Henderson.  

The racing was mega tight with constant place changing and the final lap saw the leading trio of Halhead and Hilliar, Martin and Clarke, and Groves and Parkhurst pull a slender gap before it all reset on the final run.  Groves and Parkhurst did a great job holding the speedy Martin and Clarke out to the left on the final run, with those two managing to scrape ahead at the finish ahead of Halhead and Hilliar.

Finally the seemingly impossible happened for race five and the fleet spread out a bit.  The Webbers, Groves and Parkhurst, and Martin and Clarke pulled out a large lead after a split at the top of the first run.  

As they continued to pull away from the bulk of the fleet, Martin and Clarke held on to take the win and take the title with a race to spare.

The final race got away after a general recall on a heavily port-biased line.  Whitehead and Oldale rang the bell again on the first beat, looking fast.  By lap two, a wind shift had split the fleet in two.  The top five were super tight and headed by Whitehead and Oldale, and Groves and Parkhurst but on the final lap Martin and Clarke showed their class to sneak the win ahead of Groves and Parkhurst.

Overall an excellent weekend for everyone other than Welsh rugby supporters with some really tight racing that was well run by the experienced race team at Queen Mary SC.  It really was terrific to shake off the Winter cobwebs and get back to racing.  Thank you also our RS400 National Tour sponsor Rooster.

Lessons learned from the weekend

 - The major events with multiple RS classes in attendance are a fantastic way to catch up with old friends

 - Queen Mary launching is made loads easier by all the help from their friendly staff

 - Postponements are excellent business for the sailing club cafe

Report by Paul Hilliar

Up on Y&Y here

RS800 Spring Championship at Queen Mary Sailing Club 16-17 March 2024, Rooster RS800 National Tour Event Number One

Twelve intrepid 800 crews were eager to shake off the end of Winter at Queen Mary Sailing Club for the (slightly early) Spring Championships.  Evidently, the committee also made sure they booked the season early, ensuring a delightful gentle breeze and sunshine to kick-off the 2024 season.

After a friendly postponement to allow any stragglers to play the shifts on the M25 closure, Anna Ormond and I were hot off the starting blocks, attempting (and failing) to execute a port flyer.  All the teams soon realised the M25 closure was not the only shifts they would have to play with this weekend, with Queen Mary delivering some predicably unpredictable gusts and shifts.  Special mention to new-joiners David and Rowan Copse, who showed 1144 still had some magic to give crossing the fleet (and especially ahead of Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore who were enviously looking at the transom of their old trusted boat).  After much debate as to where to go, I eventually decided to keep quiet and do as my crew was telling me, leading us to play a risky yet impactful left corner breeze, edging us into the lead at the last windward mark and clinging onto that win with Tom and Guy hot on our heels.  

The wind picked up in the second race, which saw Tom and Guy find their usual pace, despite a lot of positions shuffling with Maria Stanley and Rachael Potter, and Monique Vennis-Ozanne and Hugh Shone close behind.  Across the fleet, the smallest mistake was unforgiven, with battles for every position on every leg.  Many thanks to Nick Charles and Dan Goodman who, seeing us coming in on port, decided to capsize in the middle of the RS200s spreader mark, ensuring a suitable gap for RS800s to sail through the cloud of RS200 and RS400s.

The race committee were very quick to get the next race going, and the fleet was soon lining up for a third race in now 10-15 knots.  Maria’s boat decided two races was enough, and elected to part ways with its rudder.  Monique and Hugh took the win, making sure a different boat won every race that day.

The sailors then gathered around a valuable debriefing led by coach Simon Hall (and assisted by Maria’s indisputable memory of every other boat’s decision rationale), analysing videos, tracking data and strategies of the day, before heading out to a well-deserved curry.

The second day saw a little drizzle (soon to be called off, thanks to the organisers excellent dealings with the weather man), but some solid 10-15knts winds. 

My recollections of race four are somewhat blurry, but I am sure it involved a careful balance of shifts, gusts and a maze of RS200 and RS400s, which (with careful planning, positioning and a sprinkle of luck) could be used as an ingenious weapon in any close battles against other RS800s.

Race five saw about as many boats in the lead as there were marks to round, with close battles throughout the fleet for each position on every leg.  Winning the start off the committee, Anna and I were delighted to hold our lane out to the middle-left, only to find that every boat that bailed and went right came back into the mix (or in the lead) by mark one.  In their generosity, Tom and Guy decided to give the fleet a head start, starting a few boat lengths below the line sag, but somehow still managing to come back, delivering unmatched speed and cunning on every manoeuvre, and claiming pole position again on the last lap. 

In the final race of the event, for some reason the fleet decided to line up on the starboard end of the line, creating quite some traffic on the start line, only to realise the wind had shifted back left 30 degrees.  Ralph Singleton and Dan F-H were, of course, true to form with a perfectly executed port flyer.  Yet, by this point, Monique and Hugh had sussed the first beat tactics and were (once again) rounding the first mark in first, doing their absolute best at keeping Tom and Guy behind for as long as they could...  But Tom and Guy were not sharing any first places today.

A massive thanks to Queen Mary for putting on such good racing in some very challenging conditions, and for all the competitors across the fleet from some intense, close and incredibly fun racing!  Thank you also to our RS800 National Tour sponsor Rooster.

Report by Bryan Ormond

Up on Y&Y here