Photos © Paul Wyeth / www.pwpictures.com

Round one of the 2006 Fat Face RS200 Eurocup saw a record number of boats heading for Italy and the idyllic town of Riva at the Northern end of Lake Garda. With fifty-five boats the RS200 fleet was joint largest of 184 boats in total across 6 RS classes. Both the weather and the host club, Fraglia Vela Riva, delivered a fantastic week of racing – hot, hot, hot and wind, wind, wind … plus plenty of Cubra Libra at the Oca Bar! Temperatures approaching 40 degrees had some detrimental effect on Riva’s “engine” – the thermal afternoon northerly “Ora” wind – with the cliffs paying less than usual.

Sunday’s practice race was blown off as a storm caused very strong westerly squalls across the race area. However, normal service was resumed on Monday with a steady Ora arriving soon after midday. David Giles/Fiona Clark and Geoff Carveth/Pippa Williams won a race each to set the scene for a week of close racing, with Ian Pickard/Loopie Lucy Matthews tagging along with a 3-2. Giles/Clark and Carveth/Williams shared 1-2 results on Tuesday, with Keith Escritt/Anne Saul the most consistent of the other competitors with a 4-3, pursued by Christian Humphrey/Rebecca Smith on 3-8.

More stormy weather headed up from the Med on Wednesday afternoon. Giles/Clark won race 5 from Carveth/Williams, giving them a small lead in the series. The bronze fleet team of Wayne and Deb Fletcher sailed a great race to come fifth. “Why was a ‘Carabinieri’ police launch alongside the committee boat as we finished?” wondered the fleet. Was someone to be arrested for poor leeward mark rules observance? Maybe it was a new alternative to a black flag at the start! No, they were “suggesting” the race committee get everyone ashore as a large thunder storm was making its way up the lake – race 6 was a casualty of the weather. 184 RS boats heading for home chased by squally thunder and lightening made an amazing sight and the ensuing weather confirmed the race committee had made a prudent decision!

Carveth/Williams’ series score depended on their Thursday results as Cowes Week commitments meant Geoff couldn’t sail on Friday. Pickard/Matthews and Mark Littlejohn/Emma Clarke both scored 1-2 on Thursday, with Giles/Clark taking two thirds. A 7-4 score line for Carveth/Williams meant that Giles/Clark had won the event with a day to spare. The Ora was late arriving on Friday and, with the SIs calling for a 1600hrs latest start, the pressure was on to get two races sailed.

Andy/Jill Peters sailed a faultless race to win by a significant margin from Escritt/Saul. Sarah Allen/Elaine Turner put in by far their best performance of the week in third. Following some general recalls for other fleets during the first race, time was very tight to get all fleets away in time for the final race. The RS800s got away in good breeze but this was gradually dying as the other fleets started. The RS200 start was last in the sequence bang on 1600hrs but the wind disappeared completely just after the start. The race committee was left with no option but to abandon the race for all fleets so we all set off on a slow sail back to Riva in a light and fickle breeze.

The overall results were a clear win for Giles/Clark from Carveth/Williams, with Pickard/Matthews holding third. Humphreys/Smith won the silver fleet in 9th overall, with Graham and Heather Williams second silver fleet boat. The bronze fleet was won by Richard Neall/Sara Terry in an impressive 10th overall, with Wayne and Deb Fletcher second in the bronze fleet. It was another classic RS Garda thanks to many involved both in the UK and Italy, not least beachmaster Natalie Rodgers and her team for getting nearly 200 boats launched and recovered from one slipway each day … and of course the bar staff in the Oca Bar! The 2006 RS200 Eurocup concludes at Skerries in Ireland in October, but the next stop for the fleet is Exmouth for the Nationals on 20th August with another record breaking entry including two from Japan.

Overall Results: