Gul RS500 Grand Prix at Arun Yacht CLub
by Alex Taylor 10 Jun 2010 09:44 BST
5-6 June 2010
The third leg of the RS 500 circuit saw the fleet move to the ever hospitable Arun Yacht Club. A full range of conditions was laid on for the sailors, ranging from 6 through to 26 knots. The consistent feature was the sunshine which graced the whole weekend making for champagne sailing conditions.
Three races were held on Saturday, each in marginal trapezing conditions. The racing was dominated by Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs from Budworth Sailing Club with three wins. Second, third and forth places were closely contested throughout the day with Richard and Sue Morley from Burghfield Sailing Club finishing the day in second with a 3,2,2 score line.
A creditable performance was seen from Chris Martin and Katherine Lovering, also from Burghfield, who joined the fleet in a boat provided by LDC for a taster weekend. Under the ‘Fancy a Five’ promotion LDC volunteered two boats for circuit events for the use of sailors in established fleets who are interested in sampling the performance of the RS500 and the fun racing the class has to offer. All this came with the added incentive that if they could finish in the top two places LDC would throw in a boat to use at the nationals with complimentary entry.
Given that they were sailing in a boat they collected on the morning and had never sailed before Chris and Katherine put in a very creditable performance, finishing the day in third place with a score line of 2,3,4. James Tanner and Lucinda Green finished the day in fourth, counting 4,4,3.
Sunday dawned with a forecast for a fresher breeze and the fleet was not disappointed. The wind increased throughout the day from 16 knots to a fruity 26 by the afternoon. Alex and Bryan demonstrated the form that won them the nationals at this very venue by charging away to 2 large wins. Further back in the fleet the exciting rides downwind were punctuated by the occasional swim. Richard and Sue put in a strong performance to seal 2nd overall. Chris and Katherine each helmed for one of the races and had a thoroughly good time, bagging 3rd overall in the process. When asked how she enjoyed the boat Katherine’s response (with a generous smile) was simply “awesome!”.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 799 | Alex Taylor | Brian Mobbs | Budworth SC | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2nd | 517 | Richard Morley | Sue Morley | Burghfield SC | -3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9.5 |
| 3rd | 578 | Katherine Lovering | Chris Martin | Burghfield SC | 2 | 3 | -4 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 4th | 525 | James Tanner | Lucinda Blain | Burghfield SC | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | -5 | 14.5 |
| 5th | 633 | William Bovington | Tom Richardson | Hasting SC | -5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 |