2000 fleet at the Rooster RS Summer Championship at Parkstone Yacht Club
by Chris Brown 26 Jun 2018 05:54 BST
23-24 June 2018
2000 fleet at the Rooster RS Summer Championship © David Harding /
www.sailingscenes.com
119 RS craft of various forms descended on the magnificent new age Parkstone YC temple of sailing for the 2018 Rooster RS Summer Championships last weekend.
An inaugural blending of the 2000 class with their new step-siblings, the chemistry seemed excellent and future event collaboration is hopefully assured. The 2000 fleet was relatively diminutive and was assigned course sharing with the mighty RS200 fleet out in ppen waters south of Bournemouth pier. Luckily here the shoreside ice creams and fish and chips were out of view.
Donning sunhats and factors 20 – 60 suncream, the fleet departed into 24 degrees C and 10-14knots SW on Saturday, with 4 races held in tan topping conditions, before a race back to PSC for the delightful evening buffet and well-chosen musical accompaniment. The Green Thai curry must not pass without favourable mention.
But back to the sailing, Race one started in a surprisingly lumpy left over sea, with all boats hunting for power. Casino (21102) tried a new starting method, with a late-timed run from the launching slip, arriving at the Committee boat one second before the start gun. I thoroughly recommend this approach - it certainly encourages crew concentration. The fleet spread into two groups, with places changed in each group and the Jordanmeister taking a narrow win (Chris and Gill Jordan). Conditions were very similar for race two, with negligible tidal effects and minimal RS200 traffic. Results were largely unchanged although the fleet was more compressed, handing another win to the Jordans.
Sandwich time (very brief due to highly efficient race control) and race three was upon us, conditions a touch windier now. The fleet was sailing faster now and beginning to eat into the slower RS200s by the end of the second beat. This time your Millenium Mutterings Editorial Team of the Yardleys (Ian and Editor Sarah) and the Jordans (Chris and Editor Sarah) came to the fore, with a similar order in the fleet. Casino gambled on a further clocking of the wind but received no benefit and finished a closer 4th. At this point (as scribe), mention must be made of the gallant novice Casino crew, who in only her second 2000 outing and first ever Open Meeting was losing fingernails at a rate only equalled by the proliferation of bruises. "Are we nearly there yet?" arose, reminiscent of all those years coaching kids, several years ago. The experience was however enjoyed and we urge all 2000 owners to hitch you boats up and travel to these wonderful memorable events.
Ah yes, race four. Lighter winds and the right shift continued. As did the result order, with only minor place changes and another Yardley victory. It must be mentioned that somehow the 2000 fleet excelled on the return journey to PSC, with several podium places in the evening buffet queue.
Sunday morning saw flat water with tropical temperatures and mysteriously the sea breeze did not establish in time to send out the ships for a 1500hrs latest start. Racing in the bay was rejected for depth reasons, leading to 3 guns at 130hrs. Several boats ventured out to cruise the surrounding waters with Casino attempting a trip upriver to Wareham (resulting in a very muddy boat).
See you in Lee on Solent.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2204 | Iain Yardley | Sarah Yardley | SWSC | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2nd | 22607 | Chris Jordan | Gillian Jordan | Burghfield/Brightlingsea SC | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 2 | 4 |
| 3rd | 22564 | Helen Phillips | Andrew Phillips | Cardiff Bay YC | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 4th | 21102 | Chris Brown | Karen Manners | RORC | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 5th | 2587 | Guy Boswell | Julie Boswell | Llandegfedd SC | ‑6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| 6th | 22255 | Irene Hincks | Donna Bold | Lilliput SC | 5 | 5 | ‑6 | 6 | 16 |
| 7th | 22321 | Rachel Sheridan | Geoff Lambert | Wilsonian SC | ‑8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 8th | 22281 | Martin Barker | Joanne Kiby | Lilliput SC | 7 | 7 | ‑8 | 8 | 22 |