RS800 Nationals at the WPNSA - Runners and Riders

by Hugh Shone 5 Aug 2018 16:49 BST 16-19 August 2018

Historically, Portland has done a pretty good job at keeping invaders out. The harbour walls, mounted guns, castles and sheer miserable grey cliffs have done a fantastic job until now.

Yet the solitude of the isle is soon to be shattered by a horde of invading RSailors. Hundreds of them from all over the country and even some foreigners! Yes FOREIGNERS! Oh how times have changed. Assuming it is not some elaborate ploy to enslave unsuspecting workers for the quarries, we are only days away from the huge RS Games.

It will be the largest celebration of organised fun, inflatable games, epic partying and a sprinkling of sailing since...well ever really. The crown jewel of this sailing extravaganza is of course the RS800 Nationals... and so yes the time has come for the annual runners and riders piece in which we examine just who are the favourites to be running and riding their way onto the podium.

Luke and Emma McEwen
To be honest I could probably stop here and save myself a lot of time. Can anyone defeat these two who continue to improve year on year? Friendly, warm and open on land but just add water and these two turn into unrelenting winning machines. Consistent across most conditions and fast in all directions they will take some beating. Long story short but I recently made a clay bust of Lionel Ritchie's head with Emma (as one does - thank you Stokes Bay Sailing Club) and I can confirm that I have never seen such successful delegation from Emma of beard, moustache, hair, nose, ear and eye production with a band of drunkards in my life. With this championship winning level of composure in the front of the ship, how can these two not be firm favourites?

Phil "Portland Bill" Walker and John Mather
Phil and John probably have one of the lowest time-in-boat to time-standing-on-podium ratios in the fleet. These two generally swan in and do pretty well. They've even recently upgraded their swanning-in swan to Nationals winning 1207 which Chris Rashley launched to victory in 2017. Which from a numbers perspective all seems a little like fate. Who's sailing 1208 this year? Tangent. As I was saying, when not too busy being Phil and John, these guys are more than capable of putting a very decent set of results together, including a close 2nd at this year's Europeans. Normally to be found in the vicinity of a bar these two will be very pleased to have heard that Steel Strum are performing at the RS800 party this year.

Tom Morris and Guy Filmore
I think it's fair to say that these two are very much into making home videos together. There is the clean stuff in the 800 and then the dirty dirty stuff of Tom in an RS200. In their maiden year together in an 800 these guys have injected a real sense of pure and untamed keenness into the fleet - epitomised by the fact that they do 'Boat Work' and clearly, as posted all over the interweb of procrastination, they do 'training'. Long dead are the days of training being a stigmatised affliction in the 800 fleet. In the old days respect was garnered by seemingly winning with minimal effort and maximum hangover. Back then no one seemed to want to spend any quality time with their vessel. Even packing the boat up and putting it on the road base was streamlined down into a kind of mad race where the victor was rewarded with reaching the place of beer first. How times have changed and it is these two riding that wave of change highest and proudest. Will they take races off the McEwens? Probably. Will they take the Regatta? Maybe.

Tim Gratton and Amateur Sailor of the Year (Fiona Hampshire)
In an attempt to minimise disruption and potential confusion following the departure of the ever-hungover Tim Saxton, Fiona made damn sure that she went out and found another Tim. This Tim-centric strategy seems to be working wonders to be honest. They recently smashed the Southern Champs with a full round of 1sts (very impolite) and have been doing plenty of sailing this year in all sorts of boats. Fiona has been there and won the nationals with Tim Mk1 in 2015, can she repeat the feat with Tim Mk2 in 2018?

Ralph and Sophie Singleton
I presume that the Singletons' pre-event preparation involves a weeklong dance to the god of the doldrums. I imagine many goats are sacrificed and virgins thrown into the fire in an attempt to kill any prospect of a sea breeze filling in and why not when you are that good at sailing in the calmer stuff? Normally found doing a port flier and then disappearing into the horizon in anything below 10 knots these two will definitely be up there if we get a lighter one.

Andy & Alison Jeffries
Please read the above and replace the following:

1. "Doldrums" with "Big Breeze"
2. "Sea breeze filling in" with "patchy S***"
3. "Calmer stuff" with "Sweaty palm oh my god we are going to die wind"
4. "Below 10 knots" with "when the marquee takes off"
5. "A lighter one" with "some kind of hurricane come through"

Pete Barton and Chris Feibusch
As chief missionary of the RS Aero, Pete is the main culprit for their rapid infestation (205 entries at the Games!). The real question here though is that with all this Aero-ness flowing through his soul making him feel light and bubbly coupled with arms undoubtedly fatigued from non-stop RS Aero drum banging, will he be in fit shape to compete for the podium with Chris? They have probably not had as much time on the water as they would have liked and Beer last month was their first competitive outing of the year after coming 3rd at last year's Nationals. But, and it is a big but (perfect for the 9 rig), it won't take long for them to get back up to speed. Boat handling might take longer as I'm sure Chris has to wear ear plugs to keep himself safe from the sales pitch, but they will definitely be up there and competing for top spot!

P.S. Pete - can you do the same thing for 800s now?

Steve and Sarah Cockerill
Having kindly backed the Grand Prix series through Rooster sponsorship, I can only assume that there will be certain perks. Through generating all that positive goodwill from the class, I have every expectation that there will be a reserved front-row parking space for Steve and Sarah on the start line at the biased end. Should the goodwill plan fail, they'll just flip the switch and all those neck gaiters, cleverly deployed to prize winners throughout the season, will turn into some form of death trap. I guess more likely than both of those scenarios, Steve and Sarah will just be plain good. They will certainly bring a competitive edge and plenty of pedigree to the battle for the podium.

Gilles Peeters and Heloize Baize
These top Frenchies are taking advantage of the open invitation to conquer Portland to avenge their forbears' many defeats (er... apparently he's Belgian – Ed). Never mind, we like the Belgians too. Could be the first ever Belgian invasion. Gilles and Heloize were 2nd at the first Eurocup event of 2018, and rumour has it they have been putting in time on the water together. Either way their Gallic charm will surely stand them in good stead for the parties if efforts to beat les Rosbifs on the race course prove fruitless.

Jean Louis Treguier and Camille Donnat Bart
Another secret weapon from across the Channel, this couple define how sailors should look – tall, lean and tres tres sportif. Camille is also famed across Europe for her renditions of sea shanties on the bassoon, so watch out on Saturday night for a flashmob jamming session with Steel Strum.

Dan Goodman and Debbie Robertshaw
Stalwarts. Really nice stalwarts is how I'd describe this pairing. They have been putting the nautical miles in over the last few seasons and it shows. Should they maintain that steady rate of improvement, there is no reason why they shouldn't be up there and in the mix. Whether they get themselves on the podium or not, I'm guessing that they are prime candidates for winning the much coveted social crown. I just feel like the fancy dress will go well for these two.

Hugh Shone and Hannah Tattersall
After time away from the boat, our 2018 form can be described as a little bit "meh". It's probably something to do with the sequel effect. Case in points being Men In Black 2, Terminator Genisys and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. But at the same time this is home ground for me and Hannah and so who knows!

The Unknowns
There seem to be a lot this year. All sorts of wild rumours have been circulating - will some speedy Nacra squad sailors make it, does Stevie Wilson have a boat to use, Is Simon Hiscocks joining in (and will he punch me in the face for my Portland intro), How good are the international teams, Who are the new teams we know little about? The Nationals never fails to throw a few unexpected names and surprises into proceedings. Continuing the film analogy, the unknowns are a bit like any Quentin Tarrantino movie - you just don't know whether you'll get a Django Unchained or a Death Proof.