Please select your home edition
Edition

Harken RS800 End of Seasons Regatta at Rutland Sailing Club

by Jack Elsby-Hartman 15 Nov 2022 14:20 GMT 5-6 November 2022
Harken RS800 End of Seasons Regatta at Rutland © Clare Sargent

Last weekend saw the Harken RS End of Seasons Regatta held out of Rutland Sailing Club. Twelve RS800s rigged up with a slightly grey backdrop over the lake, treated to a few showers of rain. The forecast for the weekend looked promising and as the boats made their way to the start the breeze was gently building.

The first race started with some patchy pressure. The majority of the fleet took the middle left up the first beat with the pressure lifting port tack on the way up the track.

Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore rounded in first which was the start of their trend for the weekend. Jack Elsby-Hartman and Ben McMeekin rounded in second closely followed by Fiona Hampshire and Hugh Shone, who snuck down the inside on the bear away, taking an early gybe out left. Some tight racing to kick off the weekend.

Race one concluded with Tom and Guy taking the first win of three for the weekend, with Fiona and Hugh taking the first of their three seconds.

Race two saw some similar action with the breeze starting to build, the downwinds got faster and more exciting, gybing into pressure and avoiding the RS400s and RS500s coming upwind.

The breeze pumped up to 16-22 knots for the final race of the day, with a few mistakes being slightly more costly for some boats. Tom and Guy once again put on a consistent performance to pick up the final first of the day.

Day one ended with another Race Clinic from Tom looking at starting technique. Using onboard footage from the day, it was helpful to understand how different teams approached their starts. The session snowballed into a broader set of questions as participants tried to get to the bottom of Tom and Guy's insane height and speed upwind.

Following this grilling, things took a tropical turn for a Hawaiian themed dinner at the club. There were some particularly fruity shirts on display as the fleet saw out the 2022 Rooster National Tour in a blitz of garlands and rum punch. It was a great evening!

Sunday morning was another grey start. Racing was postponed ashore due to light winds and a heavy fog. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball and the Race Committee signalled AP over A just before 1200hrs. Even cut short the weekend was heaps of fun and not short of some great racing.

Thank you to Harken for sponsoring the event and to Rooster for sponsoring our National Tour.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3Pts
1st1144Tom MorrisGuy FilmoreHISC1113
2nd1231Fiona HampshireHugh ShoneSwanage SC2226
3rd1179Jack Elsby‑HartmanBen McMeekinRestronguet SC34613
4th1245James PentyEddie GraysonBeaver SC43714
5th1225Elizabeth WattonChristopher WilliamsLeigh & Lowton SC65415
6th1224Fred LordLouise GaleCarsington SC58316
7th820Bryan OrmondAnna PrescottQMSC86519
8th1122Blake TudorBrett TudorBrightlingsea SC77923
9th1099Alistair HodgsonElla SpainDraycote Water SC109827
10th1188Nick IrelandDaniel GoodmanStokes Bay SC910DNC32
11th846Josh PoatRobbie CherryHISC11111032
12th1176Louis JohnsonEden ReynellHISCDNCDNCDNC39

Related Articles

RS800 Rooster National Tour summary
Congratulations to Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore From the steely grey waters of Rutland in early March to the sumptuous sea-swell of Hayling Bay; from the Olympic ordained Portland Harbour to the war of attrition witnessed at Lymington, the RS800 fleet has been spoiled by seven fantastic venues. Posted on 29 Nov
RS Class Association announce new round of grants
Funding for coaching has been released - clubs welcome to apply Following the completion of another successful racing season, a new round of coaching grant funding has been released. Posted on 15 Nov
RS800 End of Seasons Regatta at Rutland
A trio of refreshing if unwelcome baptisms for one team It's always sad when a good season comes to an end, but this weekend was a great way to round off the RS800 2023 Rooster Tour. We were also very happy to see lots of 800 sailors from further north, as far away as Glasgow. Posted on 7 Nov
RS800 Rope4Boats Inlands at Grafham
Reminiscent of a perfect mid-Summer sail On a beautiful Saturday morning, reminiscent of a perfect mid-Summer sail, a gentle breeze and sunshine, we all headed towards the starting area in displacement mode. Posted on 5 Oct
Noble Marine RS800 Nationals Overall
The RS800s first Essex Nationals was an unforgettable experience The RS800 class is enjoying a renaissance, with half the teams new since the 2022 Nationals, but still it was a very high pedigree fleet including top international moth, 29er and 49er sailors looking for good skiff fleet racing. Posted on 14 Sep
Noble Marine RS800 Nationals at Brighlingsea Day 3
What a scorcher.. Day three, what a scorcher. Some said it was Hawaii conditions for Hawaii night. We had to wait a little for the breeze to fill in, however we were all entertained by a yacht running aground outside the club house. Posted on 10 Sep
Noble Marine RS800 Nationals at Brighlingsea Day 2
Tents morph into saunas for the second morning in a row Day two of the RS800 nationals dawned with blue skies and a warm sun, much to the chagrin of the camping sailors whose tents morphed into saunas for the second morning in a row. Posted on 9 Sep
Noble Marine RS800 Nationals at Brighlingsea Day 1
Three races sailed in a variety of conditions Twenty boats set sail from Brightlingsea Creek towards new racing waters for most of the fleet. Some were sceptical of the forecast, but the first day of the championships ended with three races sailed in a variety of conditions. Posted on 8 Sep
Noble Marine RS800 Nationals Runners & Riders
The fleet is ready for the impending royal rumble on the East Coast As we hurtle towards the end of Summer (yes that's right, Summer happened apparently) and the impending royal rumble on the East Coast, it is time to take a look at those who will be doing battle. Posted on 27 Aug
Great North Asymmetric Challenge preview
Enter now for this ever-growing September event Bassenthwaite Sailing Club's Great North Asymmetric Challenge (known as the GNAC) will be held on the 16th and 17th September. For those who like a gybe this is a firm favourite in the northern sailing calendar. This years event is sponsored by Trident. Posted on 19 Aug