Salcombe Gin RS200 Masters at Hayling Island Sailing Club

by Ian Pickard 29 Jun 2023 17:33 BST 23-25 June 2023

RS200 sailors "of a certain age" were treated to a fantastic weekend on and off the water at Hayling Island Sailing Club, for the inaugural Salcombe Gin RS200 Masters Championship.

"Champagne Sailing" can be a bit of a cliché but, as you can see from Digital Sailing's superb photos, it was Hayling Bay at its very best! The race team, led by Tim Hancock, very efficiently delivered seven great races in a range of conditions, three on Friday especially for the Masters, followed by two on Saturday and Sunday shared with the main RS200 Summer Regatta. The fleet's love of general recalls and black flags continues, eventually leading to the RS200s being an entire race behind the RS100s and RS500s on the shared course.

There was good close racing throughout the fleet, with Andy and Jill Peters vying with Lee and Anne Sydenham for the lead, followed by Ollie and Sarah Holden and Ian Pickard and Laurie Callaghan. Andy and Jill became the first winners of the RS200 Masters trophy, including bagging an impressive race win for the oldies in the main RS200 Summer Regatta. The Masters also put in a solid social performance on Friday and Saturday night - last out of the bar after Friday's curry. Saturday night saw multiple RS fleets come together for the 2023 RS Summer Ball, including a great band and fundraising for the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust.

Huge thanks to Hayling Island for laying on such a great event, both on and off the water, to Salcombe Gin for their generous sponsorship, with a special mention to Sally Campbell from the RS Class Association for all her efforts before and during the event. After such a successful inaugural event, the Masters will have their creaking knees and zimmer frames at the ready for the inevitable 2024 RS200 Masters Championship!

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Pts
1st	1708	Andrew Peters	Jill Peters	Castle Cove SC	2	1	1	1	1	1	‑3	7
2nd	1540	Lee Sydenham	Anne Sydenham	HISC	1	4	2	(BFD)	2	2	1	12
3rd	1670	Ollie Holden	Sarah Holden	HISC	5	3	3	2	3	3	‑9	19
4th	1301	Ian Pickard	Laurie Callaghan	Bowmoor SC	3	2	‑9	7	5	5	4	26
5th	1721	Mike Warwicker	Joe Warwicker	Bough Beech/Shoreham	‑9	7	7	3	6	6	2	31
6th	1635	Andrew Barnett	Lynne Radcliffe	Island Barn RSC	7	5	4	‑9	4	9	5	34
7th	997	Nev Watson	Claude Young / Clare Jones	HISC	‑11	8	6	4	8	8	6	40
8th	1562	Andy Le Grice	William Le Grice	Warsash SC	4	10	‑11	8	10	4	7	43
9th	888	Nick Sandison	Vicky Taylor	Netley SC	6	6	(UFD)	5	7	10	10	44
10th	1152	Emily Davis	Jo Tribe	Draycote Water SC	10	9	8	6	9	‑11	8	50
11th	1356	Andrew Chapman	Melissa Chapman	Netley SC	8	11	10	10	12	7	(BFD)	58
12th	88	Ian Jubb	Katherine Palmer Ward	HISC	12	12	5	11	11	12	(BFD)	63
13th	10?	James Nicholls	Antigone Bracken	Chelmarsh SC	13	(RET)	DNC	12	RET	DNC	DNC	81