Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester Sailing Club

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester © Ross Underwood

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester © Ross Underwood

As a special treat we have two reports for this fabulous event and also photos by Ross Underwood.

Report 1 from Rob Jones, 1109

Portchester SC was the venue for the second event of the Rooster RS400 Southern Tour. We arrived to a friendly welcome. After the obligatory cup of tea, the boats were rigged and thoughts turned to the sailing.

A number of competitors admitted to living close to Portchester sailing club, but never having sailed there. Well it turns out that we've been missing something!

The sailing area is in the north part of Portsmouth Harbour by Portchester castle. Plenty of space for some blasting about, which it turns out, is a good thing.

The wind for the day started at just under 20kts and built to around 25kts by the end of the day. Add in bright sunshine all day and the recipe for fun is just about there. 30 crews seemed to think so anyway.

Now this is where the information dries up a little. I'll admit to not really paying a huge amount of attention to what the other competitors were doing most of the time. Had I known that we would finish in the designated report writers position, I may have taken more notice!

With the wind and tide conditions as they were, a decent chop was making concentration on your own boat more important than in more benign conditions.

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester - photo © Ross Underwood

None of this seemed to bother Russ and Penny Clarke, who disappeared around the course with a pace that nobody else could match. They won the first two races and with the wind increasing, they along with some others in the fleet decided that discretion was the better part of valour and headed back to the welcoming arms of the Portchester shore crew.

With a discard coming into play upon the commencement of race 3 there was an opportunity for those who had been involved in various 'moments' in the previous two races to recover a result, or frankly just to enjoy full bore downwind blasting. The boats in 2-7th were all pretty close on the race course all day, so this one could make all the difference.

After a close race, Rob Jones and Amelia Camm took the race from Sean Cleary and Annalise Nixon by a matter of inches on the line. When the results came out at the end of the day it proved how close a number of boats had been and how one mistake or good tactical call could make all the difference.

Russ and Penny ran out deserved winners with a display of controlled speed that was head and shoulders above everybody else on the day.

There was a single point between places 2-6. Making up the podium places, 2nd place went to Francisco and Teresa Lobato. 3rd place went to Steve Restall and Chris Stubbs.

Finally, a big thank you to Portchester Sailing Club. The race management and the shore side volunteers were a credit to what must be one of the most friendly clubs that we have visited.

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester - photo © Ross Underwood

Report 2 from Andy Powell, 527

Sunday morning dawned and there was a real sense of excitement as we arrived at Portchester SC. Upon arrival we were greeted with a smile and made to feel genuinely welcome. The weather was outstanding and apart from warm sunshine there was a substantial SSW breeze for once pretty much as predicted by Wind GURU!

Registration was an efficient relaxing affair with bacon rolls and coffee with friends on the veranda, but all the while it felt a little like the calm before the storm ahead...

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester - photo © Ross Underwood

With rigged boats and having been briefed in full about the racing and the numerous underwater hazards awaiting us below the surface, we all took to the water and headed to the race area. We were greeted by wonderful sailing conditions, 20 ish Kts and a choppy sea state.

Race one got underway cleanly partly I am sure thanks to a very generous start line, from here on in the rest of the days racing gets a bit hazy for me, as Jon & I dealt with our own numerous dramas so for full details you will need to refer to the official results to fill in the gaps.

Subsequent races got underway like clockwork. The safety crews had a pretty busy day and were ever present to ensure the safety of all who had mishaps, including the odd Helm who managed to miss their toe straps (sorry Jon!).

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester - photo © Ross Underwood

There was some great close racing right through the fleet and as the wind built so did the speeds and excitement levels with speeds recorded in excess of 17 kts.

It appeared that the day took its toll on a great many of the fleet with just 16 boats lining up for the final race of the regatta due to a combination of broken boats and I believe the odd damaged sailor. The conditions made it a real challenge for the very best sailors so congratulations to all those that took to the water and in particular the last 16!

Eventually after 3 challenging races the fleet returned ashore and enjoyed some more wonderful Portchester hospitality, afternoon tea and the opportunity to re-hydrate with something from behind the bar.

In all it was a tremendous success. 32 boats in very challenging conditions could only have been managed by a well organised race team. Our thanks to the RO and the whole waterside team.

Finally congratulations to our winners Penny & Russ Clark and to all the other prize winners. Also thanks again to Portchester Sailing Club for the wonderful Welcome, great organisation and first class hospitality. I for one cannot wait till next year.

Overall Results:

Rooster RS400 Southern Tour at Portchester - photo © Ross Underwood