RS200 SEAS Open at Wembley Sailing Club
by Julian Bradley 19 May 2017 07:42 BST
7 May 2017
Sunday 7th May was the ever-popular Wembley RS200 open meeting; usually very well attended in part due to the always excellent hospitality, and also the strong local fleet, captained by our charmingly deviant SEAS representative Julian Bradley.
So, despite a less-than-promising northerly wind direction (described by Julian as being "as welcome as a bacon sandwich at a Bar Mitzvah" amongst other more colourful descriptions), 12 boats arrived to devour the very welcome bacon sandwiches and be entertained by some character-building wind shifts in glorious sunshine. At least, I think it was sunny – it could have just been the yellow glow from Roger Wilson's spray top.
In race 1, defending SEAS champions David Jessop and Sophie Mear led to the top mark, chased by Chris Catt and Roz McGrane, who sneaked past by choosing not to hoist on the first reach. David and Sophie retook the lead in a gybing battle down the first run, and then extended to win by over 3 minutes.
Race 2 seemed to be a repeat of the first, until the final lap which saw the two leaders swap positions multiple times, ending with Chris and Roz taking the bullet.
So - it was all on in the final race! Ian Gill and Sarah Tuppen led for the first lap, with both David and Chris tangled in the chasing pack, but by lap two David and Sophie were ahead, and although they were kept alert by some potent 90 degree shifts, almost capsizing on the final beat, they held on to win the race and the event.
The next SEAS event is at Itchenor on 8-9th July, an event that also forms part of the National circuit.