Volvo RS500 End of Season Championship at Datchet Water Sailing Club

Volvo RS End of Season Championships 2014 © LPB Aerial Imagery

Volvo RS End of Season Championships 2014 © LPB Aerial Imagery

Volvo RS End of Season Championships 2014 © LPB Aerial Imagery

The opportunity to meet travelling friends one last time this season, to participate in a big multi-class event, to experience the Thames Water method of invasive species control; what more could one ask? Unfortunately, these weren't enough inducements for the vast majority of RS500 sailors. It could be said that at least there were as many visitors as paying locals (I don't think Max ever officially entered, despite joining in on Saturday), but neither team was impressed that there were just the pair of us. But I did at least catch up with a number of travelling friends from other RS classes.

The forecast had been for wet and windy on day one and no wind on day two from early in the week, and so it proved. Saturday gave us gusts and squalls in the high 20s, although the average was probably high teens, and it was very unstable. The RS500s started with the RS400s, who had a decent fleet, so it was important to start with enough space to leeward to cope with the much lower angle that we sail on a windy beat. Peter Curtis and Sophie Jones had a flyer in race 1 and despite trying to keep out of the RS400s way, so they could enjoy their race, ended the first beat with only three RS400s ahead of them. They then chose to go the opposite way from the RS400s down the run, missed a big puff and didn't see the front of the fleet again. Mike Clapp and Tim Williams, meanwhile, discovered they had rigged the kite wrong and went to shore to sort it out. In race 2 Peter and Sophie were starting to get the measure of the RS400s and got up to 2nd on the water, before an incident with a stray RS800 barging through our downwind gate forced a diversion past the gate to miss a collision, and once again the front of the fleet disappeared. What was I saying about multi-class events? In race 3 Mike and Tim rejoined the fray, only to discover they still hadn't sorted the kite! The wind was a bit lighter in this race and the RS400s had a bit more of an edge over Peter and Sophie, as their handicap would suggest they should.

Sunday was a complete contrast to Saturday, being still and sunny. The racing was postponed an hour, but when we went afloat there was a reasonable 3-4 knots across the lake. Unfortunately, by the time the whole fleet was in the racing area it was getting a bit unstable, and then died completely. The RO set a limit of 1230hrs, by which time there needed to be something happening or we would be going home early. The wind came in with about 30secs to spare and the RO was able to squeeze in two races before our Cinderella time of 1345hrs. In both races Mike and Tim hit a big hole close to the top mark and were not therefore close enough to Peter and Sophie to make their correctly rigged kite (!) pay on the downwind legs. The wind actually filled in enough to have a trapezing kite reach in to the finish, so it wasn't all bad. In the much lighter conditions Peter and Sophie were coming in about half way down the RS400 fleet, which we thought was quite respectable.

So the boat was packed away and we joined the queue for the Quagga Mussel wash, which is a gentle chemical spray, rather than the killer shrimp high pressure jet that you get at Grafham. And so endeth another travelling season...

As part of its support of RS Sailing and the RS Class Associations, Volvo Car UK had a strong presence at the End of Seasons, putting on a variety of shore side activities, including a colouring competition, remote controlled cars and the Sail for Gold Game. Team Volvo sailor and London 2012 silver medallist Luke Patience who was competing at the event in the RS200 class.

Overall Results: