2ndhanddinghies RS200 SW Ugly Tour at Starcross Yacht Club

2ndhanddinghies RS200 SW Ugly Tour at Starcross © Grant Boorer

2ndhanddinghies RS200 SW Ugly Tour at Starcross © Grant Boorer

2ndhanddinghies RS200 SW Ugly Tour at Starcross © Grant Boorer

A beautiful sunny morning greeted the fleet at Starcross YC on July 25th for the third round of the RS200 SW Ugly Tour sponsored by 2ndhanddinghies.com.

The conditions couldn't have been better; this was one day where it really was champagne conditions. 10-15kts were blowing down the estuary providing the RS200 fleet, along with the RS100 and 400 fleets, with some great racing. The race crew set a course up the centre of the estuary and had a tough job to keep the fleet in deep water!

Race one kicked off with planing conditions downwind, providing exciting racing. John Teague/Naomi Pound took the lead, the fleet were hot on their heels. There was a three way tousle for 2nd place, with Liz Teague/Darren McNamara taking it from Kirsten/Duncan Glen and Andrew Brierly/Larissa Connabeer.

Onto the second race, and with a rapidly dropping tide, there was another dimension in place. The favourable port lay line into the windward mark was getting ever shallower as the race went on for those who braved it! Once again Teague/Pound took the lead, with Glen/Glen winning the fight for second place from Teague/McNamara and Pete/Flea Haddrell finishing in 4th.

So this set up the final race nicely, with the race team doing a sterling job to shift the course to stay in deep water! The final race saw a head to head fight for 2nd place as Teague/McNamara and Glen/Glen both were on 5 points and the fight for 4th equally as tight with several boats in contention. Teague/Pound again took the lead from the start, Teague/McNamara controlled 2nd place from Glen/Glen and the fast finishing William Rhodes/Charles Richardson finishing the day with their best result.

The final results saw John Teague/Naomi Pound from Bristol Corinthian YC take the win with three bullets, with second place and first Silver fleet Liz Teague/Darren McNamara from Exe SC/Bristol Corinthian YC finishing a point ahead of third placed and first Junior Kirsten Glen/Duncan Glen from Parkstone YC. Will Rhodes/Charles Richardson from Bristol Corinthian YC took first Bronze fleet prize in fourth place overall.

Thanks must go to Starcross YC for being exceptionally friendly hosts and providing some excellent racing on such a champagne day! The next SW Ugly Tour event sees us travelling to Parkstone YC on August 15th. Parkstone boast probably the biggest club fleet of 200s in the country, this is one event not to miss! Racing will be in the beautiful Poole harbour - see you there.

Overall Results: