Allen Sailing RS600 Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club

Allen Sailing RS600 Inlands prize winners (l-r) Matthew Butler, Ian Marshall, Jamie Mawson, Dave Goudie © Wendy Marshall

For the third year in a row a very healthy fleet of 23 RS600s joined the strong home fleet at Grafham Water for the 2018 Allen Inland Championship and, just like the previous 2 years, the forecast was split with a light wind Saturday and a 'windier' Sunday.

Leading up to the event the 600 Facebook group was buzzing with interest and the successful dinghy show in March had coaxed a few more pilots into action. In the months and weeks preceding, videos and pictures were flying round social media, with training (clearly cheating) at Notts County Sailing Club and desperate calls for spares (also from Notts County Sailing Club).

Saturday's briefing talked hopefully of breeze enough for the planned three races for the day and the decision was made to drift out to the starting area.

An hour and a half of floating and chatting later, when the wind finally settled to a measurable direction, the RO set the eager pilots off in 5 (ish) knots of breeze.

The first beat was all about getting right for the lift of the century. Mr Goudie put local knowledge and his wide racks to good use, sailing clear around the fleet, to round in first which is where he stayed till the end. Will Coles, on returning to the circuit after a few years absent, showed great light wind pace to take second, with Matthew Butler fast and shoeless in 3rd.

Race 2 and Ian Marshall sailed well to take the win from, new to the fleet, Matt Potter, clearly benefitting from the Notts County practice sessions. Will Coles was consistent to chalk up a 3rd.

Race 3 was potentially the trickiest of the day with the wind all but shutting down at points and heading right all the time. Serious 'snakes and ladders' ensued with wide wings and light weights outstripping the rest. Ian Marshall took the win and overnight leader board top spot from Dave Goudie, 2nd in race 3 and 2nd overall. Everyone left the water physically and mentally drained after a challenging day so the dinner laid on by the sailing club was very welcome. Most retired to the local pub swapping war stories of past exploits and top tips and some earned a sore head for the next morning.

Sunday dawned to the reassuring sound of halyards slapping against masts, bacon frying and stiff bodies straightening out of tents and cars and campervans.

Jamie Mawson found his natural form and dominated proceedings with a bullet in race 4. Uncharacteristically Dave had a race to forget, struggling to get away cleanly form the line and posting a very discardable result to make things interesting for the 5th and 6th.

Ian Marshall kept the pressure on by notching up a 2nd place and George Smith finally managed to stretch his legs to take 3rd. Notable mention goes to Alex Piggot, in 4th, who stepped up his game from last year.

Race 5 was the windiest of the day with everyone fully stretched on the wire. Lots of action at the pin saw the majority heading left. Jamie was again fast, stretching out into a relatively comfortable lead. Places changed aplenty as finding the pressure was key to success. Dave Goudie chased down hard but was held to 3rd on the final reach. Class Chairman Ian Montague relished the extra bit of breeze to chalk up a 4th but was made to work for it by the chasing pack. Crossing the finishing line proved tricky for Dan and Chris who decided to test the committee boats mooring and providing the race officer with a bit of entertainment.

Those with a chance of being in the chocolates could be seen counting fingers and toes leading up to race 6 knowing that it was close at the top. Again, Jamie got away cleanly at the start with Mr Goudie hot on his heels and Ian Montague in pursuit. Jamie showed the way to take an impressive 3rd bullet giving him 2nd overall but Dave's 2nd was just enough to clinch the weekend.

Overnight leader Ian Marshall couldn't do quite enough finishing 3rd on equal points overall with Jamie.

Dan Hollands and Cliff Haslam both showed serious progress to post their best races of the weekend, leaving the water with smiles on faces.

A big thank you goes to Allen for their continued support of the class in its rejuvenation and supporting this event with very generous prizes.

Equally, thanks goes to Grafham Water for their great race management and for having us back for another year!

Next up is Parkstone YC for the on the 23rd/24th of June, don't miss out on the 180 boat limit!