RS300 Winter Championships at Sheffield Viking Sailing Club

RS300 Winter Championships at Sheffield Viking © Katie Pepper

RS300 Winter Championships at Sheffield Viking © Katie Pepper

Following a highly successful Dinghy Show which saw over 20 RS300 sailors converge to man the "Boatyard at Beer" stand adjoining the main RS display, and much interest from non-300 devotees to join this cult class, the 2014 season immediately kicked into gear with the Winter Championships held at picturesque Sheffield Viking SC, affectionately known as the 'Garda of the North'. Whilst the mountainous scenery and high temperatures gave a very Italian feel to proceedings, the Ora was not playing ball on this occasion. A fantastic turnout of 13 boats travelling from as far as the Isle of Wight, however were given a warm welcome making it a truly memorable weekend.

Saturday offered up a challenging gusty southerly breeze that looked quite manageable from the shore. This was a long way from the truth with most capsizing several times, none more spectacularly than Cowlishaw, who somehow managed to pitch pole in flat water getting catapulted unceremoniously out of the boat. Visitors were totally mystified by the erratic breeze and massive wind shifts keeping you on your toes and constantly changing gear. At times it was unclear which were going to be the upwind legs - the canny PRO and locals knew that all legs would be upwind at any one time and in fact could be both upwind and downwind at the same time. Look at the link for a Sheffield dip:

Race 1 was exhausting, with most shattered after half an hour. McKay made a bright start leading for the 1st lap before being overhauled by Jenkins and Keen. Keen lulled Jenkins into a false sense of security by letting him lead up the last few yards to the finish before dashing him with a tactical masterstroke. Pepper recovered well to finish 3rd.

A better behaved wind allowed the sausage casserole to digest during races 2&3. The obvious home advantage continued however with Jenkins and Keen dominating, finishing in that order. Pepper clocked up another 3rd before having to call it day half way through race 3 when he was consumed by cramp. Cowlishaw had found top gear by this stage putting his acrobatics behind him to complete the podium in his first 300 open.

The conditions were getting the better of some, Duncan Jenkins having to miss race 3 due to a broken tiller (more boat prep time required there Dunc) and Grand-daddy of the fleet, Bazza bailing out after 2 races muttering that he was going to take up bowls!!

After an eventful days racing and copious go-pro footage of the variable conditions, with Matt Jenkins taking an early overall lead from Tim Keen (both SVSC it should be noted), the majority of the fleet congregated at the Plough Inn for yet more great VFM ale & tucker. The conditions were best summed up by Rich "returning from knee surgery" Le Mare as "Shiftier then Del-Boy buying diamonds off Marlene to pay for a new Roller from Arthur Daly" - are you sure that op was on your knee Rich?

The fleet awoke to a summer's day on Sunday with a much more promising westerly 2-3. This held for the 4th race providing some good tactical racing. Keen pushed the line too hard however and played catch up from the back of the fleet. Jenkins lead for most of the race after a more conservative start with Ellis managing to stay in the boat to lead the Aldenham pose charge into 2nd.

The wind dropped throughout the day with race 5 a more gentle affair. Newton and Treloar got off to flyers, however Keen showed some light wind finesse to get the bullet from Jenkins with consistent Cowlishaw notching up yet another 3rd. The fleet then voted with their feet, opting for home cooked lasagne (continuing the Italian theme) and cake over drifting with the ducks.

Whilst it may not have been champagne conditions, a truly enjoyable time was had by all with Viking's legendary hospitality overcompensating nicely. Viking boats filled the podium with Jenkins just beating Keen by a point and Cowlishaw just sneaking ahead of Pepper on count back.

The open season continues at the increasingly popular Rutland RS Sprints event on 12/13 April, a little earlier than usual, but great opportunity to top the 300 record entry of 18 back in 2011 and maybe even get 3 fleets racing.

Overall Results: