RC1000 Regatta number 2 of 2023 at Royal Western Yacht Club
by Peter Wanstall & Jon Harris 21 May 2023 19:33 BST
13-14 May 2023
RC1000 Regatta number 2 of 2023 in Plymouth © Paul Gibbins Photography
The second RC1000 event in Plymouth (of 2023) saw 8 boats racing between 13th/14th May with more wind than forecasted on Saturday giving a constant breeze from the south west. Sunday's conditions started light from the NW backing and filling to10 kts plus from the south west. Both days blessed with bright sunshine.
The fleet welcomed back visitor Paddy Royal and his crew with his X362s Xenia visiting from Falmouth. Paddy said, "it was well worth the effort in making the 45 mile trip to experience such fantastic competitive racing."
On Saturday two windward/leeward races were sailed first and in race 1 Sunfire (3200R2) beat Jump & Shout (A35) by 11 seconds. In race 2 Ju Kyu (J109) beat Jump & Shout by 12 seconds with I Say Ding Dong just a further 8 seconds back. Race 3, a longer distance coastal race, Jump & Shout (A35) finished 1st ahead of Ju Kyu (J109) and Men Behaving Badly (A35) in 3rd.
On Sunday again 2 windward/leeward courses were set with a final longer coastal race finishing on the RWYC club line. Race 4 Jump & Shout (A35) 1st, Ju Kyu (J109) 2nd and Men Behaving Badly (A35) 3rd. Race 5 saw Jump & Shout (A35) 1st, Men Behaving Badly (A35) 2nd and just 1 second back in 3rd place Ju Kyu (J109).
The final longer coastal race 6 was won by Ju Kyu (J109) in 1st place, 2nd place Sunfire (3200R2) and 3rd place Jump & Shout (A35) beating Men Behaving Badly (A35) by just 1 second.
After extremely close competitive racing the winners of Event 2 were Jump & Shout (A35) 1st, Ju Kyu (J109) 2nd and Men Behaving Badly (A35) in 3rd.
Jon Harris, Skipper of Jump' n Shout, said, "Exceptionally close racing was enjoyed both days with only a few seconds separating the top boats in most races and three boats sharing the 6 race."
Event 1 was held on Saturday 8th April as a one day training event due to the exceptionally early date in the season with a number of boats and crew not ready. Gear breakages on a couple of boats curtailed their performances leaving in Event 1 Musk Ox (X362s) as the clear winner second place Blackjack (First 35) followed by Men Behaving Badly (A35), Jump & Shout (A35) and I say Ding Dong (Ben 34.7).
For the 9 races sailed so far in the overall season's series, the points separating the boats are very close with all to play for in the remaining 4 events.
Our next event (3) is 10/11 June, followed by the inaugural open RC1000 National Championships, (Event 4), 22/23 July supported by Allspars and our class sponsor, Salcombe Gin Distilling Company. If any visiting yachts would like to join in for some close competitive racing, put the date in your diary and get in touch.
The RC1000 class is run within a tight rating band, 0.980 to1.015 with upper and lower small tolerances, for similar types of yachts to competitively race together.
Thanks go out to race officer Jerry Lock and his team at the RWYC for organising the great racing, enjoyed by everyone. The RC1000 Class is extremely grateful for the sponsorship of Salcombe Gin and the continued support of local South West business: Freshwave IT & Web, AllSpars, Ullman Sails, PR Systems Marine Electronics, The Chandlery Plymouth, Stoneways Insurance, the Royal Western YC and Paul Gibbins Photography. With an established committee, a class constitution and funding, the RC1000 continues to develop solid foundations to grow and create close competitive yacht racing in the South West.
Class website: rc1000.org