RS300s at the Harken RS Sprints at Rutland Sailing Club
by Richard Hanby 2 May 14:37 BST
22-23 April 2023
RS300s Mix - RS300s Harken RS Sprints 2023 © Malcolm McGregor
The Harken RS Sprints at Rutland Sailing Club came with plenty of close racing and good wind, and a bit of sunshine. For me it was my first RS300 event, and my first event in a long time. I was greeted by the friendly fleet who welcomed me with open arms.
Day one the wind was strong so there was plenty of sitting out up the first beat. Race one Harry McVicar took an early lead with the rest of us following with the battle on for second place. There was lots of covering down the run with some of us experiencing the tippiness of the RS300. The beats were shifty, and places changed many times amongst the fleet.
In race two to my great surprise I was first round the windward mark closely followed by Harry. Unfortunately for me at the leeward mark Harry took advantage of my RS300 tippiness, so whilst my boat turned into a submarine, Harry managed to scrape past taking the lead whilst Peter Mackin closed in as we all rounded the mark together. The positions stayed and Harry took the win. In race three Harry took the lead followed closely by Peter and myself. There was plenty of duelling amongst the fleet but Harry got the win again. As we all settled in the racing got more competitive with Peter breaking the winning streak of Harry to take 1st in race four.
Race five: the start line started getting a little more intense and this allowed Steve Sallis to take his first win followed very closely by Sam Davy and then myself. I think from memory there was only a few cm in it with all three boats being pushed hard right to the end. Race six is a slight blur but Harry took another win.
Day two: the wind was lighter and very shifty. Lucky for me the conditions suited me better and I took three straight wins. There was lots of covering up the beats with boats split on all tacks, Peter in second and Harry in third splitting tacks just to make it difficult for me! Race ten: the wind had changed direction and what was once a beat was now almost a tight reach. My winning streak came to an end as the start line was filled at the starboard end with boats forcing people over the line which gave Harry another win followed closely by Will Powell and Dylan Collingbourne. Races eleven and twelve: Peter took a strong lead and won both races with the rest of us battling down the runs to make up some places.
Overall the weekend was full of very competitive sailing with not much distance between boats, with plenty of place movements. Thank you to Rutland Sailing Club's race committee for providing seamless racing. Thank you to Harken for sponsoring the event. Thank you to our RS300 National Tour sponsor Rooster.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 523 | Harry McVicar | Draycote Water SC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 27 |
| 2nd | 556 | Peter Mackin | Stokes Bay SC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| 3rd | 545 | Richard Hanby | Beaver SC | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| 4th | 476 | Steve Sallis | Hykeham SC | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 59 |
| 5th | 457 | Sam Davy | Hykeham SC | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 67 |
| 6th | 354 | Mark Newton | West Lancashire YC | 9 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 71 |
| 7th | 347 | Will Powell | Dabchicks SC / Stokes Bay SC | 7 | RET | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 73 |
| 8th | 537 | Dylan Collingbourne | Burnham SC | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 90 |
| 9th | 414 | Rob Kennaugh | Midland SC | 5 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 4 | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 94 |