Results / Winter Championships Oxford SC - 16/02/2002

The opening meeting of the RS 400 calendar, the winter championships, was held at Oxford Sailing Club over the weekend of 16th & 17th February. The 39 RS400s that entered the event were greeted with sunshine and a fickle northerly breeze, which built throughout the day to about 12kts. After two recalls, which resulted in the black flag being introduced, race one finally got underway. In the shifting breeze it was hard to tell who was getting the better of it but David Giles and Fiona Clark from Weir Wood rounded the first buoy just ahead of Rob Drive and Mark Greaves from Leigh and Lowton. Craig Burlton and Andrew Bonsey form Northampton overtook both these two downwind, while James Date and Nick Hughston also joined this leading group. The final upwind leg proved decisive with Giles breaking clear and holding on to the finish followed by Burlton, Date and Lark. Race two saw the black flag hoisted straight away. Burlton lead around the windward mark followed by Lark, Giles and Tony and Amanda Woods. Places changed constantly. The second downwind leg this time proved decisive however when Giles gybed later onto starboard than the other three and picked up a useful lead at the leeward buoy. Giles held the lead to the finish followed by Lark, Burlton and Woods. After the next start Rob Drive sailed away from the rest of the fleet as in he was in a race of his own. As it turned out he was, having been adjudged OCS at the gun. Some new faces were contesting the lead. Hywel Roberts and Melissa Storey from Queen Mary were holding off Phil Jackson and Gerard Barron from Parkstone and John Date and Karen Falcon from PDSC. Giles, however, after a poor start was working his way through the fleet. At the finish Roberts took the gun followed by Date and Giles. Sundays dawned bright and windless. The fleet was bolstered by the addition of Roger Gilbert, the national champion and Nick Craig, the inland champion. There was the usual mutterings of �let�s go home� from the heavy weight crews of the fleet but the race officer, Nigel Vick, had other ideas and after a two-hour delay race four got away in the lightest of breezes. It was anyone�s guess what the shifting breeze would do but those who guessed left up the first upwind leg were rewarded handsomely. Mark Hobin and Mark Gibson from Oxford built up a useful lead and look set for a win before going too far left down the final offwind leg. Burlton took the lead only to be passed by Lark and Craig who took the first two places. Time permitted only one more race and with Giles struggling to an eleventh place in the fourth race the meeting could be won by him, Lark or Burlton. With a committee boat bias end to the line, a good start to race five was vital. It was Giles who managed to start at the committee boat and had soon built up a large lead that was not seriously challenged. Behind him Burlton was struggling to hold of Woods and David Vincent and Andy Lynch of Stokes Bay Sailing Club. In the end he managed to do so with Woods third and Vincent fourth. With three wins and a third to count David Giles and Fiona Clark took the meeting from Craig Burlton and Andrew Bonsey with Rob Lark and Mark Greaves third. At the prize giving special thanks were given to Fat Face for their generous sponsorship as well as Oxford Sailing Club for putting on a great weekends sailing. Report to follow 1. David Giles/Fiona Clark Wierwood SC 2. Craig Burlton/Andrew Bonsey Northampton SC 3. Rob Drive/Mark Greaves Leigh & Lowton SC 4. Tony Woods/Amanda Woods Leigh & Lowton SC 5. John Date & Nick Hughston PDSC 6. David Vincent/Andy Lynch SBSC