RS200 SEAS Open at Queen Mary Sailing Club

Prize winners in the RS200 SEAS Open at Queen Mary © Claudia Wilson

With a rather bleak forecast, thirteen RS200s descended on Queen Mary SC for the rescheduled SEAS Open Meeting. The first challenge of the day was to navigate their security system which not only do you have to be allowed in... you also have to be allowed out!

Once there, boats were slowly rigged in the rain for some, whilst others left it late and could be seen dashing about the dinghy park. Interestingly, at the briefing we were told to look out for invasive species, although we all assumed that they in fact meant Julian who was donning a rather spectacular captain's hat for the day.

The fleet launched in intermittent sunshine and showers with a nice 10-12 knots of breeze (at least it was at one point...) and the race officer promptly got the first race away! For most this was a clean, easy start but not for David Jessop/Andy Peters who got themselves pinned out and subsequently on top of the pin. A lesson to be learned, sometimes staying away from those antics pays off!

Race 1 turned out to be more of a drift than anything else, a funeral procession of 200's drifted for two laps, looking for the slightest hint of pressure - there were points where just two sails were the fast call downwind. Adam Wickendon/Beatrice Slipper won the drift off, closely followed by Andrew & Jill Peters and then Kevin Druce/Claudia Wilson.

Between Race 1 and 2 we saw the glassy reservoir be occupied by white horses something nobody had anticipated! Another clear start for most resulted in crews hiking hard, looking for the best bits of pressure. There were a few swims in this race, but the most spectacular swim goes to Andrew & Jill Peters who were leading the race until the last mark where they spectacularly wiped out in a gybe. With David/Sophie and Kevin/Claudia hot on their tails it was a battle against time for them to get their boat up right. Ultimately David/Sophie got the win with Kevin/Claudia taking 2nd place by 6ft. It goes without saying, Andy has had happier moments...

Race 3 & 4 were less spectacular, crews were still hiking hard and helms were watching out for the rogue bands of pressure that came bounding across the reservoir. David/Sophie gave the fleet a spectacular lesson on 200 sailing to win both races - but not without some hot competition! By 3pm the fleet were on their way in with 4 races under their belts, the race officer was not given the easiest of conditions but, he gave the fleet four seasons in four good races whilst also leaving everyone time to spend the evening in the sun. A special mention goes to the QM Instructors who were there to help the sailors pull their boats up the notoriously steep banks a much needed helping hand at the end of harder than anticipated day!

Ultimately David Jessop & Sophie Mear took the win and if their form is anything to go by, they are going to be hot contenders at the Eurocup in Ireland in a few weeks. They were followed by Andrew & Jill Peters with Kevin Druce & Claudia Wilson coming in third. We look forward to going to Warsash SC for the next SEAS event next weekend (18/19th May) as the season is well and truly in swing.

Overall Results: