Crabbers Nip Series for RS Elites at Hayling Island Sailing Club
by Alasdair McLeod 10 Jan 20:14 GMT
Ossie Stewart emerged victorious in the Hayling Island Sailing Club's open Crabbers Nip autumn/winter series for RS Elites. This was a very fitting result since the Crabbers Nip trophy was originally presented by Ossie and is named after the Stewart residence on Hayling Island.
Eleven RS Elites competed in the series which was tensely fought in challenging weather conditions. However only one race was cancelled due to strong winds. The level of competition was such that, going into the final race, the four leading boats were within two points of one another, although only Stewart's More T Vicar and Colin Smith's Shaken Not Stirred were in a position to take first place.
In the event, after the final race out of six sailed the overall result placed More T Vicar first with seven points, Mike McIntyre's Foudafafa second with eight points, Shaken Not stirred third with nine points and Paul Fisk's Legs Eleven fourth with ten points.
In true RS Elite style, the competitors and gests enjoyed a magnificent prizegiving lunch after the final race, maintaining the class's reputation for combining competitive racing with serious socializing.
This well-supported series was dogged by strong winds throughout, posing challenges for the competitors and the race management team. The overall success of the event illustrates the level of commitment of the RS Elite sailors.
The conditions also posed a challenge for Hayling Island Sailing Club's new dry sailing scheme for RS Elites, however the Club's marine staff rose magnificently to the occasion and were able to exploit some tight weather windows to launch the boats safely and recover them after racing. The scheme's contribution to the overall success of the event promises well for the future of RS Elite sailing at Hayling Island.