Rope4Boats RS400 Southern Tour Finale at Island Barn Reservoir Sailing Club
by Michelle Ryder 24 Oct 2023 12:50 BST
21 October 2023
Rope4Boats RS400 Southern Tour Finale at Island Barn © Peter Halliday
A mixture of varied conditions greeted those sailing at Island Barn on Saturday, there was sun and rain, zephyr sailing, light breezes and even a little bit of hiking. The fleet mix encompassed 20 somethings to Octogenarians, Olympic Medallists and beginners to performance dinghy racing. Breakfast, lunch and Island Barns' famous cream tea were welcomed.
Sailors were eager to get racing and a general recall was called and as billed the I flag was flown for all subsequent races. Top spots were taken by Fairbrother, Halhead and Pickering.
For race 2, the wind became zephyr on the final run, where skill, nerve and a modicum of luck were required. The Whitmore's had a good race with Fairbrother, Whitmore and Pickering taking top spots
After race two there was a civilised break ashore for lunch.
Race 3 was defined by a significant shift early on, that turned beats into fetches and runs into reaches, this left some smelling of roses and others not having their usual race positions. However the top spots played out as you might expect with Halhead, Fairbrother and Pickering in 1, 2, 3.
In the 4th and final race, top spots were Walker, Halhead and Ryder. The local boat had a good one here, I can attest it was somewhat stressful on board on the last lap, with the crew being asked many more complex questions than usual.
Thank you to Rope for Boats for sponsoring the 2023 Southern Tour. Plans are already afoot for next year's Southern Tour. Overall results for this season's tour and plans for next year to follow very shortly!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1481 | Howard Fairbrother | Louise Hosken | Lymington Town SC | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑7 | 4 |
| 2nd | 1535 | Tom Halhead | Paul Hilliar | Llandegfedd | 2 | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 3rd | 1235 | Sam Pickering | Emily Heath | Ichenor / Chase SC | 3 | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 9 |
| 4th | 1312 | Ian Walker | Anna Warren | Warsash Sailing Club | ‑6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 5th | 1548 | Mick Whitmore | Sarah Whitmore | Eastbourne Sovereign SC | 4 | 2 | ‑6 | 5 | 11 |
| 6th | 1447 | Dave Ryder | Michelle Ryder | Island Barn | 5 | ‑6 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| 7th | 1435 | Matthew Sheahan | Ellie Sheahan | Warsash | ‑7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| 8th | 675 | Mike Jones | Mike Barrett | Island Barn | 8 | 8 | ‑10 | 10 | 26 |
| 9th | 1470 | Ian Peace | Uta Grisenbach | Island Barn | (DSQ) | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 |
| 10th | 1324 | Richard Watney | Grant Shoebridge | Hayling Island | (DSQ) | 10 | 9 | 8 | 27 |
| 11th | 1521 | Mike Curtis | Fiona McFadden | Island Barn | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| 11th | 954 | Katy Hanton | tba | Emsworth Slipper | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |
| 11th | 964 | Kasra Daneshkhah | Charisios Giraleas | Island Barn | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 42 |