Results / Irish Nationals Greystones SC - 14/10/2005
RS400 Irish National championships � Greystones S.C.
Dave Jones/Mark Hogan grab a last gasp victory in dramatic final race
30 RS400s flocked to the classic wave sailing venue of Greystones sailing
club for the Irish National championships, held for three days over 14th-
16th October, sailed alongside the RS200 event. On the eve of the
championship, before the fleet had even thought about setting afloat,
they were treated to typical Irish hospitality (and not a little
Guinness) by the locals.
With many a sore head, the fleet set sail on Friday morning in a solid F4-
5 with large rolling waves � classic RS400 downwind conditions. Once
race officer Arky Wainwright had finally managed to get the committee
boat to hold anchor in the large waves, racing got underway. The first
start was recalled, with Matt & Chris Bailey (AKA the Brother Grimm)
breaking their main halyard, then capsizing to fix it and drifting up-
tide through the start area as the race was being restarted. Early
speedsters were Greg O�Brien/Pete Rowley and Bill/Linda Handley, but it
was Paul Hilliar/Toby Ashton that worked the waves best to lead the
fleet. Down the first run, Dave Jones/Mark Hogan pulled through to
second place but never got quite close enough and Hilliar/Ashton had the
Ginster factor to pull away and win. Jones held second and O�Brien/Riley
third.
The second race got away with Jones/Hogan winning the favoured starboard
end of the start line but the Grimms made up for lost mainsail time and
stormed up the first beat to round just behind Hilliar/Ashton, with
Jones/Hogan in third. Jones blasted downwind in awesome wave riding
conditions and battled the whole race with the Grimms having the edge
upwind and Jones downwind, but never caught Hilliar, with Jones and the
Grimms close behind.
For race three, O�Brien and Rowley popped out of the pack again to lead
at the first mark, with the rest of the fleet close behind. Downwind in
the huge waves, Hilliar/Ashton managed to sneak past and fight off
O�Brien to win the race, with Jones/Hogan recovering from a dodgy first
beat to finish third.
At the end of day one, fat was clearly fast for some with Hilliar/Ashton
tipping in at 26 stone, but proving that the RS400 can accommodate a wide
range of crew weights, Jones/Hogan were a comfortable second despite
their 22 stone combined weight in the windy conditions.
On Friday night the fleet indulged themselves of yet more hospitality,
and �enjoyed� karaoke performances including Goodness Gracious, Great
Balls of fire and the memorable Gary Glitter look-alike singing �Do ya
wanna be in my gang?�.
Saturday started with an 18 knot/big waves forecast, but unfortunately
only got the waves as the fleet were held ashore until the wind filled
in. When the race got underway, it was with a very strong tide pushing
the fleet upwind in 6-8 knots. The fleet bunched at the top mark, with
Chris Hogan/Elaine Marsh Showing early pace, but as the fleet split
downwind, Jones/Hogan (jr) found some pace down the centre of the run and
took the lead from Hogan (snr)/Marsh and Bill & Linda Handley. The
leading bunch got away and these positions were maintained except that
Hilliar/Ashton snuck past the Handleys on the final run to take third.
Saturday�s second race got away in less tide and it was again
O�Brien/Rowley who initially led. However, their lead was not to last
long as when the fleet again split, a gust down the left side buried
O�Brien and shot the Handley�s into a comfortable lead, followed by Ffion
Haf Jones/John Jones. Coming to the end of the second lap, the Handleys
had maintained their lead but soon after Jones/Hogan and Hilliar/Ashton
shot past upwind in the light wind/big wave conditions. Over the next
two laps an epic battle ensued between the leading two, with
Hilliar/Ashton taking and then losing the lead down the final run, but
Jones/Hogan held their nerve best to take another bullet and prove
themselves masters of the light winds.
For Saturday night�s entertainment, 55 of the fleet sat down for a meal
at the local Italian restaurant �Diva�s�. After an excellent night, the
main problem with �Diva�s� location was that it was so close to the
sailing club bar that a number of the usual suspects didn�t make it home
until after dawn!
So going into Sunday�s racing with one discard applying, Hilliar/Ashton
held a slender 1 point advantage over Jones/Hogan, with Hogan (Snr)/Marsh
a further 9 points behind and still in with a chance. Two races were
scheduled and after a postponement to allow the wind to fill in, the
first race got away first time in 8-10 knots and a strong tide under the
fleet. Jones/Hogan got away to a flyer at the port end and soon crossed
to be clear ahead as the fleet arrived at the windward mark.
Hilliar/Ashton got clear of the pack but there was no catching
Jones/Hogan who sped off. Mark Reddington/Jane Sutor sailed a great race
but fell victim to a charging Hogan/Marsh, who snuck into third at the
final mark rounding.
Going into the final race of the event, the top two could not have been
closer, with Hilliar/Ashton�s 1,1,1,3,2,2 exactly matching Jones/Hogan�s
2,2,3,1,1,1 thus putting Jones in the driving seat. Whoever beat the
other with a counting result would win the championship. Would there be
a match race-style start or would the leaders leave it to chance?
With the tension mounting, the race got underway with slightly less tide
and 8 knots breeze. Jones/Hogan again took the lead up the first beat,
with the Grimms rounding on their transom and Hilliar/Ashton in third. A
long run against the tide initially saw Jones/Hogan stretch their lead
until a late wind shift put Hilliar/Ashton into the lead with Andy
Long/Louise Asman finding wind on the left to take second. These three
rounded the final windward mark well clear of the fleet but within 20
metres of each other and all gybed quickly out to the left. As
Jones/Hogan closed up and started to take Hilliar/Ashton�s wind, a gybing
battle ensued and with less than 200 metres to the final mark Jones/Hogan
just got their noses in front and just held on to record a famous victory
in one of the closest finishes ever seen.
This left Dave Jones/Mark Hogan with the win by a single point from Paul
Hilliar/Toby Ashton, with Chris Hogan/Elaine Marsh sailing a consistent
series to take third overall.
Many thanks go to Race Officer Arky Wainwright and the entire team at
Greystones S.C. for putting on a superb and incredibly friendly event.
Thanks also to Greg O�Brien for sorting out cheap ferry tickets for all
the English boats.
Rank | SailNo | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Nett |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 962 | David Jones | Mark Hogan | 2 | 2 | (3) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
2 | 1121 | Paul Hilliar | Toby Ashton | 1 | 1 | 1 | (3) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
3 | 1082 | Chris Hogan | Elaine Marsh | 4 | 5 | (7) | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 22 |
4 | 1126 | Greg O'Brien | Pete Rowley | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 | (16) | 8 | 5 | 30 |
5 | 1007 | Mark Greaves | Woosey | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | (10) | 9 | 37 |
6 | 748 | Andy Long | Lou Asman | 6 | 7 | 4 | (12) | 7 | 11 | 3 | 38 |
7 | 1274 | Bill Handley | Lynda | (11) | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
8 | 1276 | Mark Reddington | Jane Sutor | 12 | 9 | 11 | 11 | (17) | 4 | 8 | 55 |
9 | 1205 | Chris Bailey | Matt Bailey | (DNC) | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 OCS | 12 | 7 | 59 |
10 | 549 | Ffion Haf Jones | John Jones | 8 | 13 | (DNC) | DNC | 3 | 6 | 6 | 60 |
11 | 1140 | Simon Herriott | Seamus Gilshinan | 9 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 5 | (17) | 12 | 66 |
12 | 892 | Roy Van Maanen | Derek McConnell | (24 DSQ) | 10 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 68 |
13 | 1275 | Paul Lewis | Sam Parker | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 9 | (16) | 71 |
14 | 586 | Mark Usher | Anne Usher | (15) | 15 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 76 |
15 | 1188 | Demo Dave | Buzz | 14 | (DNC) | DNC | 14 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 77 |
16 | 1001 | Greg Bell | Ruan O' Tiarnaigh | 7 | 14 | 9 | (DNC) | 11 | 13 | DNC | 78 |
17 | 1172 | Alex Morrison | Jen Morrison | 10 | 16 | 14 | (DNC) | 12 | 19 | 18 | 89 |
18 | 481 | Dave Bell | Corin Westley | 16 | 17 | 15 | (24 DSQ) | DNC | 16 | 13 | 101 |
19 | 545 | Robert Galligan | Shane Mitchell | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | (20) | 20 | 17 | 109 |
20 | 581 | Richard Moran | Nina Huet | 17 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 21 | (DNC) | 112 |
21 | 857 | Fiachra Etchingham | Colm Maguire | 19 | 19 | (DNC) | DNC | 13 | 22 | 19 | 116 |
22 | 828 | Gerry Cannon | Roger | (24 DNF) | 21 | DNC | 15 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 116 |
23 | 1136 | James Gargan | Lorcan Moran | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 21 | (DNC) | DNC | 121 |
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