Results / RS Fat Face Racing Circuit Queen Mary SC - 18/03/2006

RS400s at Queen Mary Jennings/Bonsey take victory in spectacular conditions Queen Mary S.C. hosted the opening event of the RS400 Fat Face racing circuit for 2006. A cold and windy forecast greeted the competitors and many left boats on their trailers. However those who braved the conditions on Saturday were treated to some classic racing - over the weekend there were four different winners from six races. The boats were split into gold and silver fleets, with equal Fat Face vouchers going to each fleet. A windward-leeward course in gusts of 25 knots meant that the downwind legs took a good deal less time than the windward ones, and everyone took a swim at some point with some tentative early season gybing, especially at the downwind lay line a.k.a. the local swimming facility. In race one, Tom Halhead/Chris Bishop took an early lead, only to take an equally early swim, allowing Chris Jennings/Andrew Bonsey through into the lead, followed by Chris Gowers/June Riley and Paul Hilliar/Stuart Jagger. A quick recovery and fast sailing from Halhead/Bishop saw them back into second but couldn�t quite tag Jennings/Bonsey , who took the race win. In the silver fleet, Richard Gray/Jon Dyas took the win from Rob and Liz Jones. Race two and again the curse of leading saw Jennings/Bonsey make early use of the water wings as Halhead/Bishop and Gowers/Riley tussled for the lead in front of Hilliar/Jagger. Some enormous gusts and some of the fastest downwind legs many had experienced, so it was easy to spot the downwind lay line for the gybe as there were invariably a collection of upturned hulls! Halhead/Bishop held it together this time to win after a great race with Gowers/Riley. Jones/Jones took the Silver fleet from John Cooper and Becci Wigley. With the cold taking it�s toll on the fleet, a reduced entry set out for the third race. Jennings/Bonsey and Halhead/Bishop made the early running but Hilliar/Jagger pulled through to take the win, with Jennings/Bonsey holding off Halhead/Bishop to take second place. Gray/Dyas took the silver fleet again in a war of attrition from Jones/Jones. Sunday dawned and the weather was far more welcoming to competitors. Warm sunshine and a gusty 15 knots meant that the fleet was racing far closer together than the day before. With the windward mark set close to the edge of the reservoir and a gusty downwind leg, a premium was put on riding the gusts downwind. Race four saw the fleet split on the downwind leg, with the main beneficiaries being Jennings/Bonsey, who pulled through from mid-fleet to lead early on. Confusion reigned with one lap to go as the leading three all went for the finish line, allowing Gowers/Riley to come through to second on the basis that they could count accurately to five! Jennings/Bonsey had enough of a lead to hang on to win despite the diversion but Gowers/Riley lost second to the charging Halhead/Bishop. Silver fleet honours went to Howard Fairbrother/Louise Hosken, who held off Gray/Dyas in second. In race five, the downwind snakes and ladders continued, with Greg O�Brian/Fiona Clark and Gowers/Riley at the front with Gray/Dyas. These were chased by Jennings/Bonsey and Halhead/Bishop, with the overall title clearly going to be contested between these two. After an hour of incredibly close racing, Jennings/Bonsey kept their noses ahead just long enough to take the win from Halhead/Bishop and O�Brian/Clark. Gray/Dyas took the silver fleet result from Fairbrother/Hosken. In the sixth and deciding final race, Halhead/Bishop extended a sizable lead from the fleet and looked good for the title, with Jennings/Bonsey languishing in the pack. However, a missed shift on the penultimate downwind leg saw the Halhead/Bishop�s lead extinguished and they were suddenly in a five way battle for the lead. It was game on for the overall title as Jennings/Bonsey were hot on their heels. On the final beat, O�Brian/Clark hit the left hard and came out leading but behind them the final mark was getting fruity. Shenanigans between the top two saw Jennings/Bonsey taking penalty turns and Halhead/Bishop capsized following the collision. Hilliar/Jagger escaped downwind from the melee to claim second behind O�Brian, with Jennings/Bonsey just holding on to third and therefore taking the title from Halhead/Bishop. Gray/Dyas took the final race in the silver fleet and with it the overall silver fleet title. Many thanks to Queen Mary S.C. for making the best of Saturday�s testing conditions and putting on some superbly close racing on Sunday.