Noble Marine RS700 National Championship at Castle Cove Sailing Club - Day 1
by Jack Napolitano 10 Sep 2021 06:05 BST
9-12 September 2021
Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 © Richard Bowers
The Noble Marine RS700 Nationals started with a fresh breeze with a gust of 25 knots and very low visibility, however the majority of the fleet proceeded to sail out to the start line to compete the first race.
Just before the first five minute warning signal Rob Higgins decided to tack and reverse into Richard Wadsworth. This caused a double capsize for them. The first race started but unluckily Richard was still capsized while Rob had managed to get away. Theo Galyer travelled upwind at a lightning pace and rounded the windward mark with Rob close behind. As the fleet headed downwind many sailors decided they fancied a swim. Jack Napolitano took advantage of this and moved into third. The second lap and race finished with Theo leading, Rob close behind and the rest of the fleet following shortly after.
The second race started swiftly after the finish thanks to the great race committee. The start line became very busy at the committee boat and a few boats found themselves in the wrong place and got pushed off the line. These boats included Jack who ended up crossing the start line at the very back. He managed to claw his way back to the front but Theo had already pulled away from the fleet. While sailing downwind Matt Conner was observed taking the safe option of dropping the kite and tacking rather than gybing in the breeze. The race continued to be really competitive with many position changes. Theo pulled out a considerable lead and finished the day with his second bullet.
I would just like to thank Castle Cove SC on behalf of the RS700 fleet for the great racing today and for the nice warm pasties when returning to the beach after a hard day of racing.
2021 is the 20th birthday of the RS700. Alex Newton-Southon (co-designer of the RS700 with Nick Peters) joined the fleet this for its AGM and birthday party. RS Sailing and Alex marked the boat's milestone by very generously presenting the fleet with a brand new main sail as a raffle prize. The lucky winner was RS700 Chair Theo Galyer. The fleet celebrated its 20th year with a smartly decorated birthday cake and a keg of local Cerne Abbas real ale. 20 years of speed!
Results after Day 1:
Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | Pts |
1 | 1063 | Theo Galyer | Hayling Island SC | 1 | 1 | 2 |
2 | 1029 | Rob Higgins | Chew Valley Lake SC | 2 | 2 | 4 |
3 | 1062 | Matt Carter | Lancing SC | 6 | 3 | 9 |
4 | 1042 | Pete Purkiss | Brightlingsea SC | 4 | 6 | 10 |
5 | 88 | Jack Napolitano | Snettisham Beach SC | 3 | 8 | 11 |
6 | 720 | Richard Wadsworth | RNSA/ Stokes Bay SC | 7 | 5 | 12 |
7 | 836 | Peter Highfield | Great Yarmouth and Gorleston SC | 5 | 9 | 14 |
8 | 1067 | Simon Hamilton | Queen Mary SC | 9 | 11 | 20 |
9 | 1060 | Matt Conner | Queen Mary SC | 17 | 4 | 21 |
10 | 1068 | Roland Smith | Hayling Island SC | 8 | 15 | 23 |
11 | 859 | Peter O'nions | Draycote Water SC | 18 | 7 | 25 |
12 | 926 | Simon Clark | Lyme Regis SC | 15 | 10 | 25 |
13 | 1061 | Andy Wright | Queen Mary SC | 14 | 13 | 27 |
14 | 931 | Malcolm Streeton | Hayling Island SC | 13 | 14 | 27 |
15 | 798 | Guy Boullenger | Chew Valley SC | 10 | 19 | 29 |
16 | 765 | James Clark | Chew Valley SC | 12 | 17 | 29 |
17 | 1022 | Ian Swann | Hayling Island SC | 20 | 12 | 32 |
18 | 961 | Stephen Keating | Datchet Water SC | 16 | 16 | 32 |
19 | 1020 | Stephen Hermanson | Queen Mary SC | 11 | DNC | 34 |
20 | 1035 | William Homewood | Lymington Town SC | 19 | 18 | 37 |
21 | 1041 | Simon Hawes | Queen Mary SC | 21 | DNC | 44 |
22 | 871 | Curtis Drew | Goulston SC | 22 | DNC | 45 |
23= | 710 | Nathan Steffenomi | Weston SC | DNC | DNC | 46 |
23= | 801 | Stephen Carr | Brightlingsea SC | DNC | DNC | 46 |
23= | 846 | Ashley Strong | Oxford SC | DNC | DNC | 46 |
23= | 851 | John Lawson | A.C. Treffort Voile | DNC | DNC | 46 |
23= | 882 | Peter Atkinson | Lee on Solent SC | DNC | DNC | 46 |
23= | 1039 | Charles Russell | Mounts Bay SC | DNC | DNC | 46 |
Full results