RS600 Rooster National Tour event at Notts County Sailing Club

Race 1

Eight 600s turned up for the penultimate Rooster national Tour event of the year at Notts County Sailing Club. With one race scheduled in the morning and 2 back-to-back after lunch, we were in for a good day. With a forecast of 7 gusting 12 knots, it was going to be on the lighter end of the spectrum but still enough for some good racing.

Jumping into Race 1, the wind was still building with lots of holes making it anyone's race. Sadly, Jamie was unable to make the start due to some unexpected traffic on the way. Even though others had got his boat onto the shore, it didn't quite make it in time for the start. This left the rest of us to get our bearings. Ian led to the first mark and showed us his huge amount of experience by navigating the patchy breeze. However the top 5 sailed around in a big group with loads of place changes so it all came down to the final leg. Ian was able to hold out and secure the race win with Jake in 2nd and Matt in 3rd.

RS600 Rooster National Tour at Notts County - photo © David Eberlin

Race 2

After lunch, everyone launched for another 2 races, this time with Jamie all ready to go too. Jamie showed us his local knowledge and disappeared into the distance. This left the rest of us to fight it out for 2nd, with Will getting himself into 2nd early on and holding it for the majority of the race until he got some poor luck when we caught up to the back of the other fleets and struggled to tack out for some clear air, while Matt and Jake saw this opportunity and jumped on it. They managed to squeeze past Will by the windward mark and hold it to the finish. Jamie won with Jake in 2nd again and Matt in 3rd.

RS600 Rooster National Tour at Notts County - photo © David Eberlin

Race 3

The wind had definitely picked up by now, with people pulling more rig tension on. However the breeze was full of sharp and short gusts so required everyone to be nimble on their feet. It was all very tight between the top 4 for the first half of the race, but there were some big holes going to the second windward mark later on in the race, which split the fleet into 2. Jamie decided that going round marks was overrated and was caught "gently nudging" them when the wind got a bit shifty while he was rounding. The top 3 continued ahead fighting it out. Jamie secured another win, with Jake in 2nd and Will in 3rd.

RS600 Rooster National Tour at Notts County - photo © David Eberlin

Race 4

A cold and early start for Day 2 with a 9:30 start. However not everyone realised this, with local hero Jamie thinking it was a 10:30 start. He pulled into the car park while we were in sequence and quickly got his cover off and launched onto the water. Lucky for him, he'd left everything in his boat from Saturday so just had to hoist his sail. He managed to get himself onto the water before we had got to the first mark - that is some quick rigging! As the race went on, the breeze began to fill in some more. Jake had a comfortable lead with Ian close behind. Despite Jamie's delayed start, he managed to get himself into 3rd by the finish.

RS600 Rooster National Tour at Notts County - photo © David Eberlin

Race 5

The wind was starting to build which was looking good for the final race. Will was first to the windward mark by going hard left, but it was all very close with Jake and Jamie sailing around him on the next leg. For the rest of the race, Jake and Will spent most of the race fighting it out for 2nd while Jamie had a bit of a gap ahead in 1st. Towards the end, the committee boat had moved to finish everyone at the windward mark meaning there was opportunity to make some gains. Will managed to get past Jake on the last upwind by tacking off to avoid the other fleets and finding some better pressure. At the leeward mark, Jake was right on Will's transom. After deciding "you don't win a race by going the same way as the other guy", Jake decided to tack off but found himself in some very light pressure. Will decided to go left up the beat where it seemed like there was some pressure building, especially as it has been good the previous laps as well. While Jamie had a comfortable lead at this point, Jamie was so focused on Jake, as they were close on points overall, he hadn't realised that Will had tacked onto the lay line and was coming in hot. At the finish line, Will managed to just squeeze past Jamie coming in on starboard to take the race win and move himself into 3rd overall.

RS600 Rooster National Tour at Notts County - photo © David Eberlin

Thanks to Notts County for hosting us despite some tricky weather conditions and thanks to Rooster for sponsoring the National Tour. Next up is the RS End of Seasons at Rutland on the 2nd and 3rd of November. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

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