Noble Marine Allen RS600 Nationals at the WPNSA Overall - part of RS Games

The final day dawned with a far lighter breeze than the previous day, as forecasted, giving those who had indulged in the party the night before some time to clear their heads.

The fleet wasn't held ashore long though - once all 180 RS Fevas had been ushered onto the water, we were released into the harbour. The fleet gathered expectantly as the wind continued to swing around towards its forecasted direction, unexpectedly building to a trapezable 8-10 knots before the first start.

Jamie Mawson was chomping at the bit and won the start, sailing a very clean and tidy race to take a well-deserved race win. Mike Izsatt, making a last-minute dash for the newly-donated Grand Master trophy showed his light wind pace to take 2nd, just ahead of Ian Montague in 3rd. George Smith recovered from a slow start to cross the line in 4th and secured the overall championship for a second year in a row. Matt Potter sailed his best race of the championship, holding off the chasing pack behind him.

George Smith wins the Noble Marine RS600 National Championships 2022 - photo © Digital Sailing

The final race was sailed in a similar breeze. The start this time favoured the committee boat end, which wasn't lost on the fleet. Best of the boat end was George Smith who, along with the majority of the fleet, took the long starboard tack to the left-hand side. David Nunn found himself rounding the windward mark in 2nd and asked for advice on retaining his position on the run! Alex Piggott stormed down the left-hand side of the first run to secure 2nd place, which he held onto all the way to the finish. The final races of the series really showed the depth in the fleet with close battles for every place. Race Officer Paul Kimmens and his great WPNSA race team looked after us really well providing smashing racing across a whole range of conditions.

Back ashore, the prize-giving was a glamorous affair with a formula one style podium complete with RS-branded prosecco, which was more worn than drunk. Thank you to our generous sponsors for the event Noble Marine, Allen, RS Sailing, Rooster and Fernhurst Books and congratulations to all our winners.

The overwhelming feedback from the fleet was that this was a great event! Not just the superb efforts of RS Sailing and Rooster in the sailors' hub, getting boats back afloat and keeping us entertained off the water, but the whole festival atmosphere that surrounded the event. There was a real buzz as we packed up for journeys home, with everyone looking forward to the next event and further ahead to next year's nationals.

The fleet is in a healthy place, with new faces joining the seasoned 600ers. The boat park was alive with chat about boat set-up and sailing tips. Rig settings were shared and everyone left going faster than they arrived!

As a class, we will look to harness all of the enthusiasm from the nationals and the event as a whole, and focus on continuing to boost numbers as we grow by adding new faces to the fleet. We will also look to encourage local fleets to develop 'buddy systems' to get new sailors up to speed as well as creating up to date set-up/rigging guides.

Noble Marine RS600 National Championships 2022 - photo © Digital Sailing

Next up is the RS600 fleet's return to Stone 1-2 Oct, which is also our 2023 nationals venue. There is a good core of local boats there, and we expect this to be a fantastic preview for the next year (please see the poster for details). We finish off the year's RS600 Rooster National Tour at the RS End of Seasons Regatta at Rutland SC 5-6 Nov.

Overall Results:

Next up for the RS600s - photo © Stone SC