Rooster RS600 Inland Championships at Grafham Water Sailing Club

by Sally Campbell 8 Sep 2020 13:07 BST 5 September 2020

Despite these difficult times the 2020 RS600 Rooster Inlands took place on Saturday 5th September at Grafham Water Sailing Club. It was decided to run the event as a single day and what a day it turned out to be. The RS600s enjoyed almost perfect sailing conditions, with a 10-15 knot westerly gracing all three races.

A healthy 24 boats entered this year and it was great to see several newcomers as well as old faces joining this fleet.

This was the first event since the introduction of the new square-top black mainsail. Around half the fleet have already made the switch so we had a good opportunity to see the old and the new sails against each other. The good news is that the difference was barely spoken about as there seemed to be no discernible advantage from either, which is exactly what the class wanted. Keeping the old sail competitive whilst enabling the boat to get an up to the minute modern look. The black sail really looks the business on the water.

Also at the event, was Ian Montague's brand new boat No 1000. The first one built since the early 2000's and now built by Boat Yard at Beer. The second boat has just been completed and there was lots of interest from others being shown so this is clearly an important part of the RS600s future.

So to the racing, with all three races to count it was vital to avoid any major catastrophe. George Smith sailed the first two races almost faultlessly, pulling off bullets in both. Close behind was Jamie Mawson with a second and third.

Going into Race 3 George had only to score a fourth or better if Jamie won. Jamie did go on to win the race and George for a while made life difficult for himself before picking the shifts and moving into second and so winning the 2020 Inlands by what was in the end a comfortable margin and a well deserved win.

Other notable performances came from Wayne Hancox, scoring a second in race 2, Olly Straker leading for much of that race before succumbing to a capsize. Newcomers to the fleet Ben Harden, Tim Cutsforth and Daniel Johnson also showed excellent early form in the class and will be the ones to watch in the future.

We should praise Grafham Water Sailing Club, who organised a faultless event. Great courses, quick race turn around from the Race Officer. Even a superb packed lunch supplied as part of the entry fee. Thank you to all concerned.

The RS600 Fleet is in a really good place, with an ultra modern new style sail, new boats being built and many new comers, both young and old(er) joining the fleet. Lets hope 2021 is a little more normal and we can meet up on the water to do this again soon!

Overall Results:

Pos	Helm	Sail No	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1st	George Smith	988	Bough Beech	1	1	2	4
2nd	Jamie Mawson	810	Notts County	2	3	1	6
3rd	Ian Montague	1000	Stone Sailing Club	4	4	5	13
4th	Michael Iszatt	951	King George SC	6	5	4	15
5th	Wayne Hancox	919	Grafham Water SC	5	2	10	17
6th	Ian Marshall	654	Bowmoor SC	3	7	9	19
7th	Ben Harden	842	Burnham Sailing Club	8	6	6	20
8th	Christopher Haslam	670	Hickling Broad Sailing Club	19	8	3	30
9th	Tim Cutsforth	800	Felpham Sailing Club	17	10	7	34
10th	Alistair Farman	648	Grafham Water SC	12	11	12	35
11th	Mark Healing	876	King George SC	9	13	15	37
12th	Jamie Watson	761	Thornbury SC	15	12	11	38
13th	Daniel Johnson	713	Weston sailing club	7	9	DNC	41
14th	Martyn Barrett	918	Rutland Sailing Club	13	15	13	41
15th	Olly Straker	944	Velociwrap Graphics	14	DNC	8	47
16th	Luke South	979	Emsworth	10	14	DNC	49
17th	Ben Latham	920	Errwood Sailing Club	11	DNC	14	50
18th	Cliff Haslam	933	Hickling Broad Sailing Club	16	16	18	50
19th	Graham Timms	710	Grafham Water SC	21	17	16	54
20th	Martin Hollinworth	837	SBSC	18	DNC	17	60
21st	Ed Bellamy	815	Grafham Water SC	20	DNC	DNC	70
22nd	Matthew Butler	719	Stewartby Sailing Club	DNC	DNC	DNC	75
22nd	Georgie Altham	702		DNC	DNC	DNC	75
22nd	Ryan Walford	895	Snowflakes SC	DNC	DNC	DNC	75