RS400 Eurocup at Yacht Club de Carnac

For those that had come from an early season diet of inland sailing where gusts, shifts, flat water and endless in/out style hiking was the norm, the first three days of the RS400 EuroCup in Carnac was a disorientating experience.

Here, in the superb and open waters of the Baie de Quiberon, the steady breeze meant a big shift was five degrees while gusts that barely registered as more than a couple of knots made the racing more about boat speed than tactics. When the wind did pick up, so did the waves, forcing some of the more candid inland experts to admit that they had had to remind themselves about the different techniques that were required to haul themselves to the windward mark.

And then there was the tide. Not so much as to make it worthwhile to bang a corner for some current relief, but certainly enough to mess up otherwise carefully planned laylines into the busy first windward mark. Coming in on port, having been swept up to the layline, as the majority of the fleet piled in on starboard, (having been swept below their layline), was frequently a recipe for chaos.

Such head to heads were not solely the behaviour of the busy mid fleet either. One clash in particular (naming no names, 1321 and 1418) that happened at the sharp end of the fleet was the talk of the dinghy park for some time afterwards.

Day 1 - The four day event got under way in a gentle 8-10 knots of breeze under overcast skies that had threatened to turn to showers. The 33 boat fleet set off on a couple of three lap races in which Jim Downer and Jono Price (1321) made their regatta intentions clear by posting a first and a second. In what was to turn out to be the needle match of the event for overall honours, Jon Heissig and Nicky Griffin (1407) took the win in the second race as they slipped through the fickle conditions towards the end of the race when a large dark cloud drifted over the course area.

Day 2 saw brighter conditions with a touch more breeze providing a wake up call for those that had accidentally over refreshed during the evening. In addition there were three back to back races to make sure that systems were fully flushed and re-set by the time the fleet returned to the shore.

Once again the steady 12-14 knot breeze that built through the day along with some decent sized legs, provided plenty of opportunity to get into one's stride. Once again the Downer/Price combo led the field with a second and a first before tripping up and gathering an OCS in race three which was won by Alex Barry and Richard Leonard (1126).

Meanwhile, in the middle of the fleet, Nick Martin and Ben George (1444) and Paul McLaughlin and Michael McKinkey (941) were among those battling in the thick of the action.

Day 3 started with a northerly gradient breeze which then stopped for a mid-morning break shortly before racing was due to start as the developing sea breeze pushed back against the shore and cancelled out the breeze. With little option but to sit and wait until one or the other of the two opposing breezes won over, race officer Tony O'Gorman flew the postponement flag and applied another layer of sun screen before squinting towards the shoreline for signs of a change.

One hour later and we were under way in sparkling conditions that built into a 20knot foam-up for the downhill slides. For those that liked the breezier conditions there was no more to ask for. For the flyweight whippets the long beats were a challenge.

Sadly for the former, there was no third race but plenty of tall stories and gossip for the early evening post race beers. Among them was the surprise fall from the front line for Downer/Price who had scored a 4th and an 11th. Former National champions Stewart and Sarah Robertson had added another OCS to their score line, (having gained the first one in the last race of the previous day), forcing them to keep an 18th and ruling them out of podium contention. But the most popular chat was of Heissig/Griffin's quiet but consistent wriggle to the front of the fleet with four second places in a row, placing them in the lead with just one day to go.

Day 4 – As if to ensure that the event enjoyed a full and fair range of conditions the northerly gradient breeze gradually wound it's volume down through the morning as the sea breeze developed to provide a light and shifty weather day. While the lake sailors were rubbing their hands, race officer O'Gorman's finger nails were taking a bashing. Could he squeeze two races in before the breeze switched off?

The answer turned out to be no, but not for the want of trying. Instead the fleet 'enjoyed' a light airs race in 6-8 knots before conditions decayed completely.

The race had been a nail biter for the front runners too, which in the end saw Downer/Price take a second to give them an overall win, while overnight leaders Heissig/Griffin were black flagged, dropping them to second overall. In winning what was to be the final race, Barry/Leonard had secured third overall.

Although there were no silver and bronze splits in the fleet, further down the field in the overall standings Steve Restall and Chris Stubbs (1189) took 10th while Nick and Nick Zammit (1393) finished 20th.

But perhaps what made this event stand out for all, irrespective of where you finished, was the quality of the racing and the superb range of conditions spread over the short event. In the 400 fleet at least, you would have been hard pressed to find any complaints – even if you had spent the winter training inland.

There are lots of photos of the event from Phillipe Viglia and Pascaline Samson at www.facebook.com/YachtClubCarnac

Full results are available here