Noble Marine Allen RS300 National Championships at Brixham Yacht Club - Day 1

by Paul Watson 10 Sep 2021 10:30 BST 9-12 September 2021

When visiting the English Riviera there is a certain amount of expectation when it comes to weather. The fleet were greeted with almost perfect sailing conditions on day 1 - if you ignore the drizzle and 300m of visibility.

Fortunately, by the time we'd got down to the start area, Torquay had reappeared and with it a nice F3 for the first race. Martin Harrison and Dave Acres had a good first beat, despite Dave having to bail out at the pin on the start. Probably distracted by the pod of dolphins that joined us in the final minute of the sequence.

Martin and Dave held these positions until the finish, closely followed by Steve Bolland in third, and then the rest of the fleet all within a couple of minutes.

The wind increased a little for race 2 and went slightly further west. Dave put the after burners on again and was never really challenged to the finish. Steve second, Martin third. Honourable mention must go to fleet newbie Chris Brooks for an impressive first beat rounding in third. Once he has worked out the downwind part of 300 sailing, he will surely be one to watch.

A short break between races 2 and 3 gave a few boats an opportunity to wash off their sails. An idea started by the 600 fleet; if it works in their boat, it must be quick.

Final race of the day and the wind had built slightly again. Richard Le Mare went off from the pin end like a stabbed rat. Copying his low and fast technique, Paul Watson rolled a few boats and the two quickly had some clear water between themselves and the rest of the fleet.

By the top mark it was Paul first with Richard hot on his heels. Dave and Steve quickly joined the party and after three laps of close racing, Paul held on for the win followed by Steve and the ever-consistent Dave.

Back to the club for ice cream, beer and some fairly unwelcome stairs to climb. More of the same tomorrow, possibly with a little more breeze.

More photos: Gareth Fudge's website

Results after day 1:

Pos	Sail	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1st	544	David Acres	Emsworth/Thorney Bay SC	2	1	3	6
2nd	411	Steve Bolland	Bristol Corinthian YC	3	2	2	7
3rd	528	Paul Watson	Y Felinheli	5	5	1	11
4th	481	Martin Harrison	Royal Victoria YC	1	3	8	12
5th	556	Peter Mackin	Stokes Bay SC	4	7	4	15
6th	305	Richard Le Mare	tbc	8	4	5	17
7th	351	Rob Ford	Alton Water	12	8	6	26
8th	476	Steve Sallis	Hykeham SC	9	9	9	27
9th	523	Harry McVicar	Draycote Water SC	11	10	7	28
10th	395	Ben Heppenstall	Whitefriars SC	6	14	14	34
11th	457	Sam Davy	Hykeham SC	7	17	11	35
12th	354	Mark Newton	TISC	10	13	12	35
13th	503	Rich Packer	Bristol Corinthian YC	14	12	10	36
14th	321	Greg Bartlett	Starcross YC	13	6	RET	38
15th	537	Chris Brook	Leigh SC	17	11	13	41
16th	422	Alastair Wood	Colemere SC	15	15	DNC	49
17th	532	Cheryl Wood	Pennine SC	18	16	15	49
18th	519	Thomas Moore	Colemere SC	16	RET	DNC	54