RS400s at the Harken RS Sprints, Rutland Sailing Club

by Paul Hilliar 1 May 2023 05:54 BST 22-23 April 2023

The Harken RS Sprints came to Rutland over the weekend April 22-23 April 2023 and the RS400s brought 18 boats to the party. With it being a multi-class RS event, there was plenty of boat yard banter and old friends to catch up with. The RS sailing family really is special in that regard.

The first day was all about qualifying for the Sunday Gold/Silver fleet racing and the fleet was split into four groups (red/blue/green/yellow) for six races - each group racing each other twice with races lasting about 25 minutes.

With 8-20 knots of wind, some giant wind shifts and no discards, the racing was super tight but you just couldn't keep the best sailors from rising to the top and at the end of day one it was Mike Simms and Jack Holden just leading from Ollie Groves and Esther Parkhurst. Those two boats were well clear, with third through to seventh separated by only three points.

Positions at the end of day one were then converted into points for day two.

Sunday arrived with wind outperforming the forecast and being mercifully stable (for most of the day at least). The fleet was now split into Gold/Silver with nine boats in each fleet and the standard of racing was outstanding.

In 6-12 knots Groves and Parkhurst were clearly the fastest boat early doors, winning the first three races and looking dominant with Simms and Holden fast but not close enough. But then the wind shifted right and the course was reset after an abandoned race. With the windward mark set closer into the bay, the final three races saw three different winners and it all went down to the final mark of the final race - Groves and Parkhurst doing just enough to win by a single point.

The top two of Groves and Parkhurst, and Simms and Holden were the class acts of the fleet and were well clear. Third through sixth were separated by only four points! It's worth reflecting on just how competitive the gold fleet racing was - the top three from the national championships finished 8th, 5th and 4th.

In the silver fleet Steve Restall and Chris Stubbs dominated the early races and did just enough to hold off the consistent Jamie Morgan and Anna-Louise Glendenning on a tie break.

It's hard to describe just how hectic and close the racing was but also how it was a load of fun. Special mention for the race management from Rutland SC, which was absolutely outstanding. They kept seven fleets rolling around a well-set course without too much inter-fleet interference. Bravo. Thank you to event sponsor Harken and to RS400 national tour sponsor Rooster.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	Round Robin	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Pts
Gold Fleet
1st	1362	Ollie Groves	Esther Parkhurst	Beaver SC	2	1	1	1	2	3	6	16
2nd	1505	Mike Sims	Jack Holden	Chichester yacht club	1	7	2	2	1	2	2	17
3rd	1535	Tom Halhead	Paul Hilliar	Llandegfedd SC	6	2	4	4	8	4	5	33
4th	1449	Jamie Calder	Keith Bedborough	Dalgety Bay Sailing Club	4	6	8	3	3	6	3	33
5th	1528	Christopher Eames	Rachel Tilley	Queen Mary SC	5	3	5	7	4	8	4	36
6th	1511	Hamish Gledhill	Ross Southwell	West Riding Sailing Club	3	4	9	6	9	5	1	37
7th	1235	Sam Pickering	Emily Heath	Chichester Yacht Club	8	5	6	8	5	1	9	42
8th	1376	Sam Knight	Chris Bownes	Bartley SC	7	8	3	5	6	7	7	43
9th	854	Sam Watson	Geoff Edwards	Nantwhich & Borders SC	9	9	7	9	7	9	8	58
Silver Fleet
1st	1189	Steve Restall	Chris Stubbs	Rutland SC	4	1	1	4	2	1	1	14
2nd	1537	Jamie Morgan	Anna‑Louise Glendenning	Rutland SC	1	3	3	2	1	2	2	14
3rd	1192	Jack Munnelly	Liam Vass	Chichester Yacht Club	2	2	2	1	3	5	4	19
4th	1363	Ross Ryan	Oliver Ryan‑Moore	Notts County sailing Club	3	4	5	OCS	4	4	5	35
5th	1513	Neil Parkhurst	Ian Parkhurst	Beaver Sailing Club	5	7	4	5	5	6	3	35
6th	1450	Nick Eaves	Greg Pace	Bartley SC	6	6	6	3	7	DNC	DNC	48
7th	1435	Matthew Sheahan	Ellie Sheahan	Warsash	7	8	8	OCS	8	3	6	50
8th	1547	John Hobson	Rebecca Ogden	Notts County	9	5	7	6	6	DNC	DNC	53
9th	1355	Paul Reynolds	Matthew Reynolds	Notts County Sailing Club	8	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	68