RS800 Inland Championship at Grafham Water Sailing Club

RS800 Inlands at Grafham Water © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

A rainy, cold and windy start to the weekend was not enough to deter the fourteen RS800s that arrived at Grafham for the 2018 Inland Championship.

Looking out into an onshore breeze gusting well into the twenties, there was an air of excitement mixed with apprehension among the sailors. Just under two months after their Nationals showdown, Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore were quickly into the lead off the first start with Luke and Emma McEwen hot on their heels. They kept it that way for the rest of the race, leaving the rest of the fleet in their wake.

Race two saw Morris and Fillmore head to shore to fix a breakage against the clock, while the McEwens took the gun. Frances Peters & Tom Partington and Hugh Shone & Hannah Tattersall nursed themselves around the track to take 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Race 3 saw the breeze notch up slightly – some epic runs and a couple of capsizes, but still fantastically tight racing throughout the fleet! Morris and Fillmore returned to the race course and made it look easy to take their 2nd bullet of the day, while the McEwens took 2nd to sit themselves at the top of the leaderboard overnight.

RS800 Inlands at Grafham Water - photo © Tim Olin / www.olinphoto.co.uk

It was certainly an event of two halves. The fleet headed out on Sunday in sunshine and a dying, light and shifty breeze, and it was nip and tuck racing from the outset. Dan Goodman and Debbie Clark led to the first mark, having sniggled up the left hand side of the course. It didn't take long for the McEwens to find their way into the lead, sailing a seemingly faultless race to take the win. Behind them, Ralph and Sophie Singleton sailed a storming final run in the final zephyrs of breeze to pip Peters & Partington and Goodman & Clark to 2nd place in a photo finish.

As the lake went calm, the remaining races were canned, which meant the McEwens took the overall win, with National Champions Morris and Fillmore having to settle for 2nd overall. Peters & Partington and Shone & Tattersall took 3rd and 4th respectively.

More Tim Olin photos can be found here.

Overall Results: