Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix at Lymington Town Sailing Club

Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix and Bart's Bash at Lymington Town © Aimee Harper

Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix and Bart's Bash at Lymington Town © Aimee Harper

Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix and Bart's Bash at Lymington Town © Aimee Harper

Round 6 of the Magic Marine RS800 UK Grand Prix series took place at Lymington Town Sailing Club over the weekend of 19th – 20th September.

A very warm welcome greeted the competitors and as this will be the venue for the RS classes' Southern Championships in June 2016, it promised to provide a good opportunity for the visiting teams to familiarise themselves with this superb sailing venue.

The fleet drifted out of the Lymington River towards the race area in beautiful sunshine in the hope that the warm temperatures would trigger a sea breeze. Sadly it wasn't to be with racing abandoned for the day. The only compensation was the doughnuts awaiting the competitors as they came shore.

The club laid on a fantastic BBQ in the evening; just perfect in the unseasonably warm Autumn weather.

Four races were scheduled for Sunday, with the first race of the day incorporating Bart's Bash. Initially the prospect of the wind arriving looked no more hopeful than on Saturday, but the Race Officer knew better and sent the fleet afloat without delay into a gently building breeze.

With the tide in flood all day the first race began with what was to become a familiar pattern for the day with the fleet heading inshore to avoid the worst of the adverse current.

In the marginal twin-wiring conditions, Luke and Emma McEwen in Gill had a good battle at the front with Matt Humphries and Amy Cartwright, with Luke and Emma using their local knowledge to maximum effect eventually snatching the race win from Matt and Amy. Pete Barton and Chris Feibusch provided the entertainment behind by hooking up on the windward mark anchor warp, just managing to recover to take 3rd.

In similar conditions Matt and Amy sailed a very neat and tidy race and took the win in race two, with Pete and Chris recovering from hooking the windward mark (yes again!) in 2nd followed by Luke and Emma.

With the wind increasing slightly, this time it was Matt and Amy's turn to throw away the lead by hooking the windward mark, handing the race wind to the chasing Luke and Emma, and Pete and Chris 2nd.

Going into race four the battle for the overall win was now between Luke and Emma and Matt and Amy, with Pete and Chris potentially able to poach a second.

In solid twin-wiring conditions the three protagonists approached the windward mark in tight formation with prospect of a good three-way battle to decide the order of the podium. Luke and Emma rounded in the lead only to look back over their shoulders to see Pete and Chris once more hooked up on the windward mark. How they must have laughed as they sailed off for their third race win of the day to take the top step of the podium overall. Matt and Amy rounded out the day with a second to take second overall with Pete and Chris completing the podium in third, despite their comedy of errors.

It was very pleasing to see a number of new faces in the fleet with a number of mixed crews and an the all-girl team of Chloe Martin and Suzi Russell finishing a very respectable 7th and hopefully planning to join the circuit in 2016.

This was a wonderfully organised event with very warm hospitality provided the club. The RS800 fleet is really looking forward to coming back to Lymington in 2016.

For now the focus is on the Gul Inland Championships, which take place at Grafham Water over the weekend of 3rd and 4th October. This will be the final event of the season, where not only is there another title up for grabs, but the final pecking order of the 2015 Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix circuit will be settled.

Find all the Gul Inlands event information here.

Overall Results:

Luke and Emma McEwen win the RS800 open meeting and Bart's Bash at Lymington Town - photo © Sophie Beeton