RS200 Open Meeting and SEAS Series Finale at Island Barn Reservoir SC

by Jim Champ 24 Oct 2016 17:08 BST 22 October 2016

A good day on the water is a good day on the water. Nancy Scott and Megan Rowe from the home club during the RS200 SEAS Series Finale at Island Barn © Jim Champ

Much fun on the last leg to the finish during the RS200 SEAS Series Finale at Island Barn © Jim Champ

The day started with no wind, mist, and a chill that spoke of winter imminent. There seemed to be just about enough wind to be worth launching, but it never settled. The only entertainment was a club safety boat towing a derelict boat across the lake which was half submerged with only the bow pointing upwards at 45 degrees. After about an hour of the mooching around the only sensible thing to do seemed to be a postponement until after an early lunch, at which point enough wind filled in to at least get people back quickly for much needed hot drinks.

After lunch the sun had arrived, and it felt more like a warm autumn day. More to the point the wind had built a little, and maybe even steadied a very little. One competitor, in a very good position to know, commented later to the effect that that it was almost as shifty as the inshore courses at Rio...

Courses were windward/leeward with spreader at the top and gate at the bottom, with a little reach to the finish line. At least it was a reach when the wind didn't have other ideas. The highlight of the first race was a spectacular three way gybing duel down to the finish where overlaps, places and almost everything else except insults were being exchanged... Tim Ellis and Abbie Hewitt from Hayling Island got the best of this fight, followed by Ben Palmer and Amy Seabright, also from HISC, and then Mark Heather (HISC) and Nicola Groves, the local hero(ine).

Race 2 finished with David Jessop and Rheanna Pavey from Grafham Water leading the fleet home, Ben and Amy were second, Tim and Abbie 3rd and Mark & Nicola 4th.

Mark and Nicola took race 3, making 3 different winners in 3 races, followed by David and Rheanna and Ben and Amy. With only time left for one more race David and Rheanna were leading the series scoring 3 points, and Ben and Amy, Mark and Nicola and Tim and Abbie all tied on 4 points. Close or what?

Unfortunately, perhaps, race 4 ended in something of an anti-climax when the wind dropped almost completely on the last lap. Best negotiator of a course that was suddenly all snakes and no ladders were Ben Palmer and Amy Seabright, which made them the 4th race winner of the day and the winners of the event. Second was QMRSCs James George, with forward hand 8 year old Harry George, and Sam Littlejohn and Becky Lloyd from RTYC were 3rd. David and Rheanna were 4th, which was enough to give them second overall and also win the SEAS RS200 travellers series.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	1628	Ben Palmer	Amy Seabright	HISC	2	2	‑3	1	5
2	1347	David Jessop	Rheanna Pavey	Grafham Water SC	‑8	1	2	4	7
3	1488	Mark Heather	Nicola Groves	HISC/IBRSC	3	4	1	‑5	8
4	1495	Tim Ellis	Abbie Hewitt	HISC	1	3	‑6	6	10
5	994	James George	Harry George	QMRSC	6	‑9	4	2	12
6	1402	Sam Littlejohn	Becky Lloyd	RTYC	‑7	7	7	3	17
7	1613	Stefan Bennett	Nicki Yelland	Frensham Pond	4	5	‑15	9	18
8	1265	Julie Harrison	Tim Chandler	QMRSC/Island Barn Reservoir SC	11	6	9	(DNF)	26
9	237	Harry Phelps	Lucy Ridler	Island Barn Reservoir SC	9	8	10	‑17	27
10	1018	Simon Cory	Denise Judd	Downs	5	‑17	12	12	29
11	1178	Julian Bradley	Helen Cafferata	Wembley	12	13	5	(DNC)	30
12	1238	Fiona Fardon	Jo Lloyd	Island Barn Reservoir SC	14	‑15	8	8	30
13	419	James Bayliss	Lucinda Bayliss	Queen Mary	10	11	‑14	13	34
14	1311	Nancy Scott	Megan Rowe	Island Barn Reservoir SC	‑18	16	13	7	36
15	950	Daniel Goodman/Debbie Robertshaw	Debbie Robertshaw/Daniel Goodman	Littleton SC	15	10	11	(DNC)	36
16	1241	CJ Cavallari	Uta Griesenbach	Island Barn Reservoir SC	13	14	16	(DNC)	43
17	1409	Tom Williamson/Maisie Bristow	Clare Archer	Island Barn Reservoir SC	17	12	‑20	15	44
18	345	Martin Lown	Colin Lown	RYA	‑21	18	17	10	45
19	651	Andy Groves	Tessa Groves	Island Barn Reservoir SC	19	‑20	18	11	48
20	1236	Ching Wong	Elinor O'Leary	Island Barn Reservoir SC	16	‑19	19	16	51
21	407	Lily Barrett	Ollie Williamson	Island Barn Reservoir SC	20	‑22	22	14	56
22	818	Nick Marley	Brendan O'Leary	Island Barn Reservoir SC	22	‑23	21	18	61
23	836	James Tate	Michael Hellbronn?	Island Barn Reservoir SC	24	21	(DNF)	DNC	70
24	1259	Colin Hammond	Mary Booth	Island Barn Reservoir SC	23	(DNF)	DNC	DNC	73