RS400 Northern Tour at Royal Windermere Yacht Club

Royal Windermere Yacht Club played fantastic hosts to the final round of the inaugural RS400 Northern Tour. Mild temperatures and shifty breeze greeted 27 entries.

The event began with a heavily port biased start line which favoured the brave! Alex Flemming and Joe Hartigan made the best start heading out left with the Paul & Mike Allen just behind. The Allen’s rounded first followed by Dave Exley and Nigel Hall. The Allen’s eventually won with Dave Ex a few seconds behind. Chris Gowers and June Riley recovered from a poor start to take fourth place behind Caroline Exley and Jude Pryde in third

The breeze switched off for race two. Gowers banged left on the first beat with John Richardson and Alice Fisher in close pursuit. Richardson passed Gowers briefly but couldn’t hold the lead. Gowers crossed the line first. Mike Heart and Sally Kirkpatrick finished third.

The breeze shifted back to the south for race three. Again Gowers won, after a race long battle with Dave Ex. The Allen’s pulled through to third, finishing several minutes behind the leading two.

After a small postponement Sundays first race began in a perfect force 3 set in the stunning backdrop of the north end of the lake. Mike Heart & Sally Kirkpatrick rounded first. The Allen’s pulled through on the next beat to lead for the majority of the race, with Gowers in hot pursuit. Gowers got water on last leeward mark to claim his third race win, with the Allen’s second and Dave Ex third.

The breeze dropped for race two. Dave Ex lead for most of the race. However Mike Heart pulling through downwind to take the gun. The Allen’s finished third.

The final race began in sunshine and a steady force 2-3. Caroline Exley rounded first. Mike Heart pulled through to lead down to the leeward mark. The Allen’s got lucky on the right of the second beat catching more pressure and leading in to the windward mark. They held their lead to the finish, with a battle for second between Gowers, Heart and both Exley boats. The Allen’s crossed the line in silence. Their OCS gave Dave Ex the race, Mike Heart finished second followed by Gowers.

If the Allen’s had won the last race there would have been a three-way tie on 10 points with Gowers and Dave Ex. However their OCS put them down to third. Gowers won overall on count back from Dave Ex.

Overall a fantastic event. Chris Gowers thanked Royal Windermere for great hospitality, and the race officer for setting good courses in difficult conditions.

Overall Results: