RS400 Magic Marine Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club

by Sam Knight 10 Oct 2016 18:07 BST 8-9 October 2016

The RS400 fleet descended on Grafham Water Sailing Club for the penultimate event of the championship series, the Magic Marine Inland Championship. Memories of the warm and sunny Summer Nationals and Europeans were quickly banished by a chilly Northerly breeze with a side offering of drizzle at arrival. This soon cleared in time to rig and make the crucial hikers/Winter suit decision and launch onto a gusty and shifty race course, this was going to be a day for calm heads and clear thinking!

PRO Peter Saxton laid a long windward/leeward course and got the first start away bang on time and at the first attempt. Jon Heissig and crew Nicky Griffin set the pace, leading practically gun-to-gun leaving the fight for the minor placings to everyone else. In the end it was the Leigh and Lowton crews of Richard Catchpole/Gary Coop and Dave Exley/Mark Lunn who found a way through to 2nd and 3rd.

The second race started in slightly more wind and once again it was Jon and Nicky in front at the top mark. However, in close pursuit this time was Bartley based Sam Knight and Sam Pickering, and it was this pair who found a sizeable gust to sweep them into the lead downwind. Behind the front two it was a tight battle for placings, with several boats taking up the running before Chris Pickle and Matt Sharman eventually pulled through to take 3rd. In the battle for the bullet Jon/Nicky got the better of the shifts on the last upwind leg, taking another well-deserved win.

Having peaked in the second race, the breeze was now becoming increasing light and fluky. This showed as team Heissig/Griffin were caught on the wrong side of a long shift, leaving them in a fight in the mid-field. This time it was the northern duo of Dave/Mark and Chris/Matt who took up the running, Dave and Mark building a good lead to take the race with another crew, Ben Robertson and Karen Baldwin coming home in third. Overnight, it was anybodies to take with Dave/Mark and Jon/Nicky on joint points in the lead and the next 9 boats within 10 point of each other.

The majority of the fleet took advantage of the excellent Grafham catering with a meal at the club, followed by a one or two (or three, four, five and six) drinks before retiring. The more hardcore were to be seen attending the local Wheatsheaf pub and not returning for several hours!

Sunday dawned bright and breezy, with many chilly campers able to hear the wind whistling through the masts in the early morning. Come race time the wind had abated somewhat, but was still a touch more than the day before allowing some fun on the downwind legs! Clearly the two lead boats had over-indulged the night before, as they posted their discard results allowing someone else a crack at a race win. Taking full advantage of this was Caroline Downing with crew Jason McDonnell, racing away from the rest to take an easy bullet, showing great speed in the fluctuating breeze. Chris and Matt once again were 2nd, with the Sams pulling through for 3rd.

Having cleared their heads, Dave and Mark found their groove for the penultimate race. They were completely untroubled from start to finish leaving Chris and Matt to take another second and Jon and Nicky in third. It was these three boats that were going to be fighting in the last race for the title. Jon/Nicky and Dave/Mark had the two bullets apiece, but Chris/Matt were putting together a remarkable string of top three results. Would this consistency pay off?

Straight from the go in the last race, it was clear it was going to be tight in this winner takes all final bout. Coming to the end of the second lap, Chris/Matt and Dave/Mark were battling for the lead, and Jon/Nicky had recovered from a bad start to just sneak inside Sam/Sam at the leeward gate for third. Somehow they found a way up the last beat to split the two Northern boats, with Chris/Matt in the lead and Dave/Mark now in third. Manoeuvres and counter manoeuvres were carried out all the way to the bottom gate, but no-one could find a way though the other. Therefore Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman finally scored a first, taking the inland Championship title with it. Dave Exley and Mark Lunn had done enough to secure second therefore leaving third for Jon Heissig and Nicky Griffin. These three had been a class above the rest of the fleet for the whole weekend; there was a ten point gap from third back to Sam Knight and Sam Pickering leading the rest in fourth.

Chris echoed the thoughts of the RS400 fleet in his speech, thanking Grafham for their excellent race management and hosting, both on and off the water. Racing was started promptly and efficiently every time, with fantastic courses and good long races. On-shore the catering was top-drawer and welcoming, with the Full English breakfast much appreciated by many after a cold night of camping. Thanks to the Old Salt Loft for their customised event prizes of boat bit bags and wine bags. You can order your own personalised RS400 kit at the RS400 Class Association shop here: http://uk.rs400.org/index.asp?Fleet=RS400&Selection=Shop Next up on the Magic Marine Championship Circuit is the End of Seasons at Rutland SC 5-6 November. The Southern Tour finishes on 22nd October at Oxford SC.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1st	703	Chris Pickles	Matt Sharman	Delph SC	‑9	3	2	2	2	1	10
2nd	1186	Dave Exley	Mark Lunn	Leigh & Lowton SC	3	4	1	‑11	1	3	12
3rd	1454	Jon Heissig	Nicky Griffin	Llangorse SC	1	1	6	‑7	3	2	13
4th	1202	Sam Knight	Sam Pickering	Bartley SC	6	2	‑8	3	8	4	23
5th	1396	Richard Catchpole	Gary Coop	Leigh & Lowton SC	2	‑9	7	5	4	6	24
6th	1414	Caroline Downing	Jason McDonnell	Bartley SC	(DSQ)	7	5	1	6	12	31
7th	1189	Steve Restall	Chris Stubbs	Downs SC	5	6	9	6	‑17	8	34
8th	1452	Howard Eeles	Chris Bownes	Bartley SC	11	5	4	4	11	‑19	35
9th	1017	Sean Cleary	Annalise Nixon	Oxford SC	8	‑16	10	10	7	5	40
10th	1161	Ben Robertson	Karen Baldwin	N/A	4	12	3	13	15	(DNC)	47
11th	1203	Richard Gray	Jon Dyas	QMSC	‑16	13	13	9	5	10	50
12th	1407	Hamish Gledhill	Alistair Banks	West Riding SC	13	(DNC)	12	8	10	7	50
13th	1131	Ben Williamson	Charlie Ticehurst	Welton SC	7	11	‑16	15	14	15	62
14th	1450	Wayne Hancox	Adam Whitehouse	Bartley SC	12	10	11	16	‑20	16	65
15th	564	Jacob Ainsworth	Kayleigh Roberts	South Shields SC	‑18	14	17	14	16	14	75
16th	1301	Mick Whitmore	Sarah Whitmore	Eastbourne Sovereign SC	19	20	‑21	21	12	9	81
17th	904	Grant Blake	Jessica Barker	Oxford SC	15	15	20	‑23	9	22	81
18th	1241	Ray Workman	Robin Kirby	RNSA	17	18	18	‑20	13	17	83
19th	1453	Stuart Halman	Anna Walsh	Leigh & Lowton SC	14	‑23	14	22	22	13	85
20th	1398	Sarah Allen	Gavin Stanley	QMSC	10	8	15	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	93
21st	1210	Mike Partridge	Claire Davis	HISC	‑25	19	22	17	25	20	103
22nd	1228	Andrew Johnson	Simon Plant	Grafham Water Sailing Club	21	22	25	18	18	(DNC)	104
23rd	1003	David Moore	Bob Hodkinson	Blithfield SC	20	17	23	25	21	(DNC)	106
24th	1392	Christopher Stanton	Jules	QMSC	23	24	19	(DNC)	23	18	107
25th	1380	Jon Willars	Richard Brameld	Welton SC	22	21	‑24	19	24	21	107
26th	1340	Sam Neal	Alistair James	Grafham Water Sailing Club	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	12	DSQ	11	113
27th	527	Andy Powell	Steve Broom	Warsash SC	27	26	27	24	19	(BFD)	123
28th	1092	Peter Cooke	Alan Cooke	Grafham Water Sailing Club	26	25	26	26	(DNC)	DNC	133
29th	1342	Max Tosetti	Jenny Douglas	QMSC	24	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	144