RS400 Harken RS End of Seasons Regatta at Rutland Sailing Club
by Jon Heissig 9 Nov 2021 20:11 GMT
6-7 November 2021
The weather forecast did not discourage those who entered, but standing on the balcony and looking at the white caps highlighted in the black streaks that covered the water there was much trepidation.
Day one had a run to the start in a strong South Westerly which gave the opportunity to practice strong wind gybes and, for a few unfortunates, capsize drill. A closely packed start set the tone for the first beat, and downwind being in the right place for the monster "ladder" gusts coming down the water could take you up several places as long as you could get through the gybe.
The wind increased further for the second start now at the strength where occasional dumps of the jib were required to stay upright going upwind. This didn't stop the racing being very close, and included some fantastic downwind blasts.
Mike Sims sailing with Jack Holden topped the leaderboard after the first day with two firsts, Steve and Sarah Cockerill next with two seconds. Perhaps the performance of the day was from the Pink Panther (Andy Powell and Geoff Camm), slinking about at the front end of the fleet in the second race obviously enjoying the conditions. No-one was heard complaining about the excellent Race officer signalling the end of racing for the day.
Day two had a change of location into the Southern leg of the lake due to the wind swinging more to the West, but the gusts were still very much in evidence. The wind at one point increased to more than the leeward gate mark could handle; fortunately the fleet was well versed in what to do in this situation after the Nationals. Racing for the top three positions was still exceptionally close: the final beat of the second race saw second closely covering third, and in turn being covered by first. The Cockerills spotted their chance near the windward mark and managed to sail out from under Simms and Holden into a lead to the finish, setting up a tie for the final race.
Conditions went a bit strange for the finale, with the wind backing and dropping. The Cockerills got to the windward mark first, and after swigging some "Felix Felicis" (liquid luck), caught a Harry Potter gust which carried them off into the distance.
Despite the conditions the RS400s were noticeably sustaining the largest amount of finishers, so congratulations to all and hope recovery is quick!
The Cockerills won the event by a point, impressively being the only team (I think) to stay upright. Mike and Jack were comfortably second, then it was Jon Heissig and Nicky Griffin in third just staying ahead of Chris Eames and Rachel Tilley and Teams Warsash (Matt and Ellie Sheahan, then Andy Powell and Geoff Camm). Tim and James Le Coulliard won the tie-break for the Endeavour Prize despite a final race charge. Thank you to our event sponsor Harken. First to third places were lucky enough to win Harken vouchers in addition to their prize glasses.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1515 | Stephen Cockerill | Sarah Cockerill | Stokes Bay SC | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | 1505 | Michael Sims | Jack Holden | Arun YC | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 3rd | 1502 | Jon Heissig | Nicky Griffin | Llangorse SC | 3 | ‑4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 4th | 1292 | Christopher Eames | Rachel Tilley | QMSC | 4 | 3 | 5 | (DNC) | 3 | 15 |
| 5th | 1435 | Matt Sheahan | Ellie Sheahan | Warsash SC | ‑9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
| 6th | 1520 | Andy Powell | Geoff Camm | Warsash SC | ‑12 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 25 |
| 7th | 1280 | Stewart Brown | Joe Hartigan | Chew Valley SC | 10 | (DNC) | 8 | 4 | 6 | 28 |
| 8th | 880 | Tim Le Couilliard | James Le Couilliard | King George SC | (DNF) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 28 |
| 9th | 1340 | Stuart Harris | Julian Lloyd | Banbury SC | 6 | 6 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | 37 |
| 10th | 971 | Simon Kitchen | Abbi Hooper | Grafham Water SC | 5 | 8 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 45 |
| 11th | 1263 | Dave Stockton | Sophie Stockton | Wimbleball SC | 7 | 10 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 49 |
| 12th | 1516 | John Hobson | Matt Reynolds | Notts County SC | 8 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 56 |
| 13th | 854 | Chris Brown | Steve Carver | RORC/RHYC | 11 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 59 |
| 14th | 1408 | Nick Charles | Simon Charles | RYA | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 64 |
| 14th | 465 | Piers Shoesmith | Niall Schiess | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | (DNC) | OCS | DNC | DNC | DNC | 64 |
It was then the prize-giving for the RS400 Rooster National Tour. Six events were raced with three to count. The top five sailors won vouchers generously donated by Rooster. Congratulations to our 2021 RS400 Rooster National Tour winners Mike Sims and Mark Lunn/Jack Holden!
RS400 Rooster National Tour:
1st Mike Sims and Mark Lunn/Jack Holden
2nd Ollie Groves and Sam Waller
3rd Chris Pickles and Matt Sharman
4th Wayne Fletcher and Mike Saul/Martin Cooper
5th Peter Snowdon and Louise Carr
Many thanks to the Rutland race team and safety boats. We look forward to returning to battle it out again at the 2022 RS400 End of Seasons Regatta 5-6 Nov 2022.