Magic Marine RS500 Worlds at Bruinisse, Holland

RS500 worlds at Grevelingen Meer © Golly Tucker

RS500 worlds at Grevelingen Meer © Golly Tucker

Just the most fantastic week's sailing in a venue that couldn’t do enough for you, winds to die for and a social scene that whirled. The week started with a practice race that was designed for the bravest of the brave. Less than half the fleet started and only one finished earning the weeks first choccies for Swedish pairing Tobias Gustafsson & Max Freiman.

The wind was probably at its strongest during the earlier part of the week and whilst for some it was survival practice for others it was just a dangerously large adrenaline boost. The pattern of the week for the front runners was quickly established. The leading 4 boats were just that bit faster than everyone else and simply scorched around the track. Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs were in their element and just dominated although an OCS for the Dutch Magic Marine team of Barend Hilternman & Max Blom certainly helped. That OCS let Tim Wilkins & Heather Martin into 2nd as well. Johan Rook & Malin Broberg from Sweden were the 4th musketeers although they did have a midweek blip before hitting form again at the end.

The trend was thus set. Taylor/Mobbs and Wilkins/Martin traded 1st and 2nd places all week although it wasn’t as easy as it sounds for the other 2 musketeers kept on getting in the prize zone but couldn’t sustain it those positions. The Dutch Hilterman/Blom duo set an extreme example of consistency by racking up all 3rd places whilst the flattest boat on the course, Swedes Rook/Malin, got mostly 4ths outside of the blip.

The battle for 5th was an epic. Brits James Tanner & Lucinda Blain were head to head with new class chairman Michiel Geerling and gorgeous girlfriend Dr Hilde van Susante! In the end it went to tiebreak and James/Lucinda got the nod on the basis of their 3rd when the leading Dutch boat was OCS in race 1!

For the title it was a last race shootout! Exactly the same scoreline meant that whoever was ahead of the other (no matter where) at the line would be crowned. Four laps to decide it. Up the first beat Taylor/Mobbs and Wilkins/Martin were as tied by an umbilical cord and rounded in that order. But the Swedes Rook/Broberg first to mark 2 having had a blinding downwind. Upwind on lap 2 there was still barely any separation but Dutch Hilterman/Blom were now into their stride as the Swedes started to wilt just a little. Lap 3 is where it was won barring any last minute breakages. Wilkins/Martin found a gust they could hold onto downwind whilst Taylor/Mobbs in seeking the separation required to be able to cut the covering umbilical cord sailed out of the pressure. Worse still, it let the Dutch boat back in ahead of them as well. Whilst Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin extended a little to take the title in joyous celebration Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs showed that they are true champions in the wider sense of the word by fighting back past the Dutch to take the second step on the podium.

Youth World Champions are Hansebas Meijer and Fedor Couvert of the Netherlands in 8th place. They were also one of the leading party boats together with a posse of a further 2 Dutch boats, a British youth boat and the inimitable lads from Hong Kong Will Stephens & Justin Tse.

Ladies World Champions are Annika Ellerbrock & Anne Werner from Rostock in Germany by a mere 3 points from the host nations Stephanie & Chantalle Grootscholten.

Next episode of this event is the Worlds in Weymouth 3rd week in August next year. In the meantime Many thanks to Aquavitesse for the most amazing event and Magic Marine who enabled us to have 2 midweek spot prizegivings (to general hilarity!) as well as the main one!

Overall Results: