RS200 SW Ugly Tour Finale at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club

The new Jessop Bowl for the RS200 SW Ugly Tour © Liz Teague

The new Jessop Bowl for the RS200 SW Ugly Tour © Liz Teague

Alistair Norris & Helen Summersgill are presented with the RS200 SW Ugly Tour trophy by Pete ‘Ugly' Vincent (centre) © Liz Teague

The grand finale of the 2018 RS200 SW Ugly tour sponsored by Westcountry Boat Repairs, took place at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club on the 27th October.

A rather chilly, wintry morning greeted the hardy fleet, arriving well wrapped up for what promised to be a full-on day's racing with a brisk wind. The tour up to this event, had been a tale of predominantly light wind, so the prospect of some exciting conditions encouraged the fleet through the rather cold rigging process.

The first start got away cleanly, with a fight for the pin end of the line, and by the first leeward mark it was a leading pack led by Alistair Norris/Helen Summersgill that had made the most of the gusty conditions. Hunting the gusts downwind in these conditions proved key, with the wind providing plenty of thrills and the odd spill keeping the fleet on their toes. Norris/Summersgill maintained their lead to the end, keeping the boats behind just at arms length, with John Teague/Anna Horackova taking second from Pete Vincent/Victoria Upton in third closely followed by Nick Bevins/Lilly Kohlsieper and Nick Smith/Max Ross in fourth and fifth.

Race two saw a battle at the front between Norris/Summersgill and Olly Turner/Meg Baker, with plenty of place changing between the chasing boats. A few boats hit the right side of the run chasing some juicy gusts rather too hard, with much centreboard/bottom of the lake interaction, providing additional entertainment adding to the mix. Norris/Summersgill held onto their lead to win from Turner/Baker hot on their heels. It was the turn of Fred Mainwairing/Liz Teague to take third place with another final run battle, from Teague/Horackova and Vincent/Upton in quick succession.

Onto the third race, with a swift turnaround by the race team which was much appreciated by the competitors, who by now were feeling the effects of the cold between races, hard to believe after the recent warm weather, winter has now arrived! Again the dominant force of Norris/Summersgill took charge, with Teague/Horackova close behind, however Norris/Summersgill were having none of this and pulled ahead into a comfortable lead to win an impressive third race on the trot, with Teague/Horackova taking second from Mainwairing/Teague with their second third place in a row. Fourth place was taken by local sailors Nick Martindale/Lydie James, from the sharpest looking boat in the fleet Turner/Baker in fifth.

The temperature was well and truly turned to sub zero whilst waiting for the fourth and final race, with a squall of bitterly cold rain battering the waiting fleet. This could dent the moral of the fleet, but the fleet knows that this means one thing, a good blast downwind! Turner/Baker and locals John Spelman/Phil Brook took the lead at the first windward mark, taking full advantage of the gusty conditions. The fleet headed downwind hunting the gusts, with the majority favouring the right hand side, spotting wind out to the left however, was Teague/Horackova to jump into the lead in a ball of spray. Fighting it out behind was the ever present and ever quick Norris/Summersgill and Turner/Baker. Teague/Horackova held a healthy lead to the finish, with Norris/Summersgill holding off the challenge of Turner/Baker for second and third. Vincent/Upton banked fourth place from another Chew local boat of David Sweet/Derian Scott in fifth place.

This wrapped up the day and the 2018 Ugly tour series, with Bristol Corinthian/Red Wharf Bay sailors Alistair Norris/Helen Summersgill winning the event with a race to spare, counting an impressive three bullets. Second place was taken by John Teague/Anna Horackova also from Bristol Corinthian, with third taken by Olly Turner/Meg Baker from Starcross YC. Fourth and fifth place were tied on points, with Fred Mainwairing/Liz Teague from Exe SC, beating Pete Vincent/Victoria Upton from Bristol Corinthian/Exe on countback with local boat James Williams/Tom Hill from Chew/Rutland in sixth. First Silver fleet boat went to another local boat of David Sweet/Derian Scott from Chew Valley, and first Bronze fleet was won by the far travelling boat of Amy Boyle/Ben Hook from St Mawes.

Overall Results:

Onto the final Ugly tour series, sponsored by Westcountry Boat Repairs, run by the tours namesake Pete 'Ugly' Vincent, who provided plenty of the much coveted 'Ugly Mugs' and a new addition of an 'Ugly Teapot' for the winners. The series was won in some style, by this seasons stand out and seemingly un-beatable team of Alistair Norris/Helen Summersgill from Bristol Corinthian YC, winning an impressive four out of five events that they sailed. They are also the first recipient of the new Jessop Bowl, kindly presented to the tour by fellow RS200 sailor David Jessop, in memory of his late father, who himself was a championship winning sailor based at South Cerney here in the SW. This is a great addition to the tour, and has been engraved with all the past winners since the tours inception in 2008 and will be much fought over in the coming years.

Taking second place this year was John Teague and Naomi Pound/Anna Horackova from Bristol Corinthian YC, with third place taken by Parkstone YC's finest and fastest, Edd Whitehead/Millie Alcock. Fourth place was won by the Exe duo of Fred Mainwairing/Liz Teague, with the sharpest looking boat on the water from Starcross YC, Olly Turner/Meg Baker in fifth and the tours sponsor and namesake, Pete 'Ugly' Vincent/Victoria Upton in sixth. The Silver fleet was won by Nick and Hannah Smith from Thornbury, with the Bronze fleet won by Kerry Pinker/Charles Richardson from Bristol Corinthian YC. Full series results will be available soon, thanks to all of the host clubs from this season, we look forwards to next years tour, dates will be published soon, don't miss it!