RS800 Inland Championships at Queen Mary Sailing Club

RS800 Inland Championships at Queen Mary © David Gates / www.fotoboat.com

RS800 Inland Championships at Queen Mary © David Gates / www.fotoboat.com

Reduced in quantity but heaped in talent and looks the 800 fleet began to appear up over the banks of Queen Mary Sailing club for a leisurely start on the outskirts of London. They were greeted by a building breeze and some fruity looking weather systems on the horizon, with an eager race officer.

Swiftly into the sequence the first race got away cleanly with the return of family man Rob Watson and John Clifton leading the charge followed in hot pursuit by many of the familiar faces. The race was sailed in the face of the pending storms circling the reservoir. It was not until mid way through lap 3 of the 4 lap race which Watson and Clifton looked to control in the pouring rain, that the race officer deemed it unsafe and the race was abandoned.

After some shuffling of the line and the weather mark the first race to count got underway. This time it was Ben McGrane and the lovely Roz Allen that got their bow in front, harassed by Ben Schooling and George Kingsworth, followed by the warmly welcomed, returning Ian Martin and Chris Catt. This battle continued through out the race until McGrane and Allen worked themselves a tidy lead by the finish.

Race three was sailed in similar conditions with James Date and the ever sprightly Toby Wincer reaching the top mark first only to be overhauled by McGrane and Allen now on rampage. The battle for second place was keenly contested throughout by Date and Wincer and Watson and Clifton but finely secured by the ever calmly consistent Tim Saxton and glamorous Nic Groves.

A somewhat brighter but fresher day greeted the fleet on the Sunday morning some of whom could not be described as bright or fresh. Despite this it was Laurie Fitzjohn-Sykes and Daniel Allin that shook off the shackles from their night in the nearby hot spots of Clapham and battled with McGrane and Allen for the lead. However, true to form Mcgrane and Allen went on to secure their third successive bullet followed in by Fitzjohn-Sykes and Allin with Martin and Catt taking third.

While McGrane and Allen went on to win the next race thus securing the 2010 Inland National Championships, places behind were still being hotly contested. It was the fuelled form of Fitzjohn-Sykes and Allen which made the best of the refreshing cold but light breeze to eventually take second place overall and the steady pairing of Martin and Catt returning to the fleet took a well earned Third place over all whilst also winning the final race.

We look forward to seeing as many faces old, new, young and fresh back in the 8’s for the final event of the season (Rutland – RS last chance saloon) that promises to be both spectacular on the water and thirst quenching off the water with all the RS fleets in attendance and even sailed together for those that brave the water for the Sunday pursuit race.

Overall Results: