Noble Marine RS700 National Championship 2024 at Hayling Island Sailing Club - Day 2
by James Clark 13 Sep 2024 23:22 BST
12-15 September 2024
Following on from Robbie's smashing report of yesterday racing we all arrived for another day in a questionable forecast.
After a few extra coffees during an hour's postponement we were surprisingly released. This was a sound call from the RO and team because when we arrived on the course we had a great 8-10 knots and a relatively steady breeze.
Race one got off promptly with most of the fleet pushing the line and a clear start with the fleet splitting from the start. Matt Carter took an early lead with Ian Swann rounding the top mark second. Ian decided to treat the fleet to some breakdancing and went for a cool down. Close racing throughout the fleet saw positions constantly changing.
Matt Carter held on to his lead with a recovering Rob Higgins pulling through to second. Our current champion John Booth showed his downwind speed taking a few places on the last run to take third.
The fleet was quick to finish and the second race of the day followed promptly, starting in a slightly less breeze. Again it was a clean start and we had a real split in the fleet with both sides paying a little more than we had seen before.
The wind was a little shiftier over the race course and Rob took the lead at the top mark followed by James Clark, Matt Carter and Jack Grogan. Once again the fleet saw some really close racing. By the bottom mark the race team had moved the windward mark left a little and the leaders were split at the bottom mark heading to opposite corners of the track. James and Jack took advantage of the shifts on the right and gained on the leaders.
Lots of changes were made across the fleet with positions gained seeing James Clark take a close win from Rob and Jack taking third. Matt took fourth with Tom, John and James Bayliss finishing closely. It was great to see the whole fleet pushing each other and good results across the board.
The RO made a great call and sent all in to the bar for stories of a sunny day and hope that the wind continues into the weekend. It's all play for and a long way to go.
Now back for the beers.
Results so far