RS400 Sprint Championship at Rutland Sailing Club

RS400 class prize winners; Dave Exley (1st) and Mark Lunn (2nd) in the RS Sprint Championship at Rutland © Max Tosetti

A record thirty RS400s arrived at Rutland Sailing Club for the ever increasingly popular Sprint Championships. As ever the fleet had a very competitive look about it with the current and previous National Champions present.

As the briefing took place at 1200hrs on the Saturday, the lake had a glassy look to it, but the fleet confidently set off to the starting area for the round robin qualifying series, which would ultimately decide the flights for Sunday's racing. The wind rotated a full 360 degrees, not to mention vanishing completely as the crews waited for the wind. (What can two people in a boat talk about for 2 hours waiting for the wind arrive?).

The wind did arrive, and in far greater strength than anyone dared hoped for to create some great racing. The round robin format meant that after three races, everyone had raced everyone else in the fleet. Ideally 6 races would have been sailed, but the long postponement meant there was only time for three. The crash and burn nature of the event meant consistency was important, a little error cost you dearly. With the fleet returning to the shore there was uncertainty amongst crews as to whether they had done enough to reach their hoped-for flight. With great efficiency, the results were soon posted with some surprise names missing the cut for the Gold Fleet.

Sunday dawned with a better breeze than greeted the competitors on Saturday, but on the way to the start line it was clear it was by no means constant. It was going to be one of those days!

As the day progressed there were times when both crews were hiking hard, reaching for the kicker, before the crew was packed up into a box and tucked up under the foredeck with the spinnaker and chocolate bars (OK some athletes may have packed something resembling bird seed cast in epoxy).

Remember no discards – even more stress!

The OOD promptly got the fleets away and soon it was evident that shuffles in the pack could come at any time.

In the Bronze fleet consistency was the name of the game, with Chris and Claire Bownes from Bartley SC finishing consistently in the top five, including three first places, to win the six-race series. However, only five points separated the top three boats with Mark Dingsdale and Vanessa Evans from Leigh and Lowton SC taking 2nd place and Mike Tustin and Emily Watson from Bowmoor SC third.

RS400s during the RS Sprint Championship at Rutland - photo © Peter Fothergill

On another day, the many of the names in the Silver Fleet would comfortably have been in the Gold Fleet. Richard Catchpole and Gary Coop from Leigh and Lowton SC strung together 6 excellent scores all in the top 4 to take the series. Howard Fairbrother and Lou Hosken from Queen Mary SC, were under pressure after an 8th in the first race, but kept cool to recover well, including three firsts to take second place, whilst Caroline Whitehouse and Jason McDonnell from Bartley SC won the scrap for third place.

In the Gold Fleet, with the rest of the fleet bouncing up and down the results, Dave Exley and Mark Lunn from Leigh and Lowton SC were imperious finishing all three races in the top three to win overall. Every other boat in the fleet included a 7th or worse! Mark and Paul Oakey from Portchester SC, except for the obligatory 7th, were equally consistent with 2nds, one 3rd and 4ths. They took second place from Hamish Gledhill and Simon Dowse from West Riding SC, who managed two firsts in the last two races to pull ahead from others, with only 6 points separating the next 4 boats.

At the prize-giving Dave Exley thanked the club, and in particular the OOD and race team, for running such a super event. Thanks to Magic Marine our National Tour sponsors.

What a great event - if you've not done it you must try next year. If you have I'm sure you'll be there next year 21-22 April 2018!

Overall Results: