Gul RS300 Nationals at Prestwick Sailing Club - Overall

Bottoms up on final day of the RS300 nationals at Prestwick © Alan Henderson / www.fotoboat.com

Happy prize winners after the RS300 nationals at Prestwick © Alan Henderson / www.fotoboat.com

For the fourth day in a row the forecast was wrong, but happily every day it has been in our favour. On the final day we got 20 knots instead of the forecast 7, and with it some quite monstrous waves.

Steve Bolland (Bristol Corinthian), needing just one more decent result to secure the championship, was fastest out of the traps in race 9. However, it was beginning to look like a lightweights benefit when Tim Keen (Sheffield Viking) and Richard Kennedy (Thorney Island), who’s combined weight is only the same as 4th placed sailor Neil Beveridge, were 2nd and 3rd at the windward mark. Beveridge made the pies pay on the superb reaches though and moved into 2nd place by the leeward mark.

The problem with the second beat was that you knew you had to bear off onto the run at the end of it. The huge waves caused quite a few casualties, not least Keen and Beveridge, the latter still managing to finish despite breaking his main haulyard during the capsize.

Mercifully race officer Jim McCardell shortened the course at the end of the run as many of the fleet were showing their bottoms. The order at the finish was Bolland followed by a Scottish contingent consisting of Ian Baillie (Dalgety Bay), Neil Beveridge (Prestwick) and John Wilson (Prestwick).

The final race was run in similar conditions. Yeats, showing the results of a serious fitness campaign over the winter, led at the first mark from Bolland and Sam Sutton (Leigh & Lowton). Down the first reach these three were racing line abreast for much of the time before Bolland slipped ahead before the gybe mark. Baillie was also going well and the first 4 were separated by only 10 boatlengths at the leeward mark.

Bolland pulled out on the second beat having picked up a useful right-side shift. The run was no less tricky than the first race of the day but all of the leading protagonists survived I think (though I couldn’t spare much time to look around to check).

After another set of furious reaches the finishing order was Bolland, Yeats, Baillie, LeMare (Draycote Water) and Sutton.

This was an outstanding finish to a quite outstanding championship. Prestwick Sailing Club pulled out all the stops to put on one of the best regattas the 300 fleet has experienced and we will endeavour to return in the future. To top it all Neil Beveridge even wore his kilt at the prizegiving!

Many thanks to South Ayrshire Sports Council for sponsoring the event.

Prizewinners:

Master – Steve Bolland
Youth – Richard Kennedy
A rig – Mark Henman
Probationer – Nostrilboy Millar
Top Scot – Ian McBaillie
Top old bloke – Barry Steel

Overall Results: