Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix Event at Hayling Island Sailing Club

Luke and Emma McEwen win the RS800 Open at Hayling © Chris Feibusch

Congratulations to Luke and Emma McEwen who totally dominated the Magic Marine RS800 Grand Prix at Hayling Island Sailing Club this weekend with a tally of four 1sts! They were chased hard by Andy and Allyson Jeffries who were also on impressive form with 2 race wins in the fresher breeze on Sunday. The 25 boats enjoyed stunning conditions all weekend with lighter breezes out in the bay on Saturday and a perfect 15-18 knots on Sunday.

Congratulations to Becky Diamond on finishing in the prizes at her first ever RS800 event! Becky's crew was International 14 rock star Ed Fitzgerald, who was heard to say afterwards "these boats are awesome! I'm going to find it hard to get back into the 14 after this weekend!"..... well something like that anyway!

And congratulations to our other fleet newbies Jack and James Hawkins also finishing in the prizes at their first event.... (read Jack's thoughts on the event below)

Thank you Hayling Island Sailing Club for the fantastic race management and impeccable hospitality. This bodes well for our National Championships at HISC 25-28 August. Thank you also to our sponsors Magic Marine and Volvo Cars UK.

Jack Hawkins (49er Team Kernow) on sailing an RS800 at HISC

Hayling island put on a great open meeting for RS200s, RS700s and RS800s with the RS800 class impressing me most. I currently sail on the 49er as part of the British Sailing Team PP Programme. Due to the Olympic games my season has already nearly finished and I needed a class that could fill the gap, where I can have great racing, enjoy sailing the boat and continue adding skills to my sailing. So the RS800 looked like the ideal class to join.

The event at Hayling island gave us some mixed conditions from light to the windier end with some short chop on the second day. Over the two days six races were sailed. The amount of entries also provided a good standard of racing with some really tight battles with other boats on the water. None of this could have been done without the support of HISC's great race committee. It was a great experience to have really close racing within a very chilled and relaxed environment - this is what really made the weekend for me.

I personally think that the RS800 is a great boat to own. It provides great racing, a fun experience, and a great opportunity to sail a skiff with family and friends. It is also a great platform to meet new people.

Many thanks, Jack

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