2000 National Championship at East Lothian Yacht Club - Day 4

2000 Nationals at East Lothian day 4 © Eric Robertson

2000 Nationals at East Lothian day 4 © Eric Robertson

Wednesday is a traditional lay day at the 2000 National Championships, and the wind that day was very similar to the day before - light and tricky. But Thursday, the fourth day of racing, produced yet another weather change. Still sunny, with a strong westerly wind of 18-25 knots, and with the wind against tide, there were some awkward waves and a big sea at East Lothian Yacht Club.

Simon Horsfield and Jess Hunter (Army Sailing Association) were in their element and revelling in the conditions. They turned the speed up to maximum downwind (after the race, their GPS showed a speed of 16.6 knots, in a 2000!), ending up over 400 yards ahead by the end of the race. Steve and Sarah Cockerill (Stokes Bay Sailing Club) took second, with Stuart Willims and Emily Towersey Veal (Army Sailing Association) also showing their fitness and speed in third.

The second race of the day saw much closer racing: upwind Steve and Sarah Cockerill turned on the power, while down wind Simon and Jess were the faster. The two leaders rounded the windward mark overlapped for the last two laps - but Simon and Jess's speed downwind allowed them to take the win. Matt and Johnny Sargent (Johnny's 10th birthday today!) were slowly pulling up through the fleet, by ensuring they were sailing flat despite their light weight, and finished third.

With the wind blowing 21-24 knots, it was a close call as to whether to hold a third race - but the sun was still shining and the fleet had to beat back a long way anyway. Steve and Sarah Cockerill had sorted out their downwind speed issues, and led all the way around.

Simon and Jess had to recover from a poorer start, but still pulled through to second. The next group of boats were having very close racing around the course, with lots of close calls at the marks as boats closed in at speed. Iain and Sarah Yardley (Silver Wing Sailing Club) managed to be in the right place at the right time, taking third place from Helen and Andrew Phillips (Cardiff Bay Yacht Club) by six inches at the finish.

With nine of the ten races completed, that might be it for the week, as the final day's forecast is for an extra 8 to 10 knots on top of todays wind.

More information on the East Lothian Yacht Club website here.

Results after day 4: