RS200 Training and Open Meeting at Swanage Sailing Club
by Rob Henderson 25 Mar 09:56 GMT
15-16 March 2025
RS200 Training and Open Meeting at Swanage © Ben Whaley
"I reckon Swanage Sailing Club is my new favourite open meeting venue!" proclaimed Emma Clarke after a resounding victory with helm Ian Martin in Sunday's 5 race series.
Ben Whaley (Current National Champion helm, Event Organiser and Coach in Chief), Doug (PRO) and the wider mark laying, administrative and catering teams at Swanage SC put on a wonderful weekend, particularly as the visit of the RS200 fleet was the Club's season opener. It is easy to forget how much effort goes into de-winterising engines, renewing mooring gear, restocking fridges and general dusting goes into getting a Club back up and running, especially when an event is run as efficiently as this.
We were also lucky with the weather all weekend - pure sunshine coupled with hiking upwind/marginal planing in a fresh Northeasterly breeze created vintage RS200 sailing.
Upon arrival on Sunday morning, Lorna Glen (current National Champion crew, who I'd somehow convinced to sail with me) referred to the venue as "Swanbiza", and it was hard to argue (although I'm not sure I'd have been wearing a drysuit in the Med...)
Although I was not present for Saturday's coaching sessions, the changing room before racing on Sunday was alive with tales of great learnings and progress followed by Six Nations action and hearty food in the club afterwards.
"Learnings and progress", I gulped nervously as I squeezed into my once-not-so-snug kit, having not really sailed my boat much since the Championships last year. Ah well, at least my clothes were dry...
Onto the racing. PRO Doug and team laid a relatively short course in the stunning natural amphitheatre of Swanage Bay in order to squeeze in 5 good, fair races. Competitors were kept on their toes with swinging shifts and sharp pressure differences on each leg. The downwind legs were made particularly challenging thanks to a wonderful wave pattern for surfing if you stayed on starboard after rounding, while an early gybe often led to more wind and a favourable shift. Poor Lorna didn't get a chance to show her true skills much here, as I had greater concerns keeping the tiller extension out of the mainsheet - We shared a joke about how regularly sailing with folks accustomed to rear mainsheets, dead running etc (i.e. our respective fathers) on a regular basis helps to develop a crew's sixth sense for when something has gone wrong at the back of the boat, without even needing to turn around. Great.
Ian Martin and Emma Clarke showed the fleet a clean set of heels, with their perfect scoreline only interrupted in Race 3, when Will Taylor and Faye Caswell succumbed to crowd pressure and laced up their hiking boots. Oh, and then Ian and Emma bowed out for the last race in order not to miss the Sunday afternoon roast dinner option back in the clubhouse - I can only aspire to such levels of forethought (and plan execution).
Full results available here. The racing was incredibly tight right up to the last gybe!
After such a brilliant inaugural Coacing and Open Meeting Weekend, and having already had visitors from as far afield as Penzance and South Wales, the Swanbiza Weekender is already on the precipice of becoming one of the jewels of the RS200 circuit.
... Oh, by the way, a full roast lunch bundled into a baguette followed by Dorset Apple Cake washed down with a cup of tea, is the ultimate recovery meal after sailing...
... Oh! And a massive thank you to event sponsor Chococo. I'm quite sure the prizes have been devoured already - Daisy Duck was absolutely delicious. Check them out, either in store in Swanage and Winchester or online.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew | 31/12/1899 | 01/01/1900 | 02/01/1900 | 03/01/1900 | 04/01/1900 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | lan Martin (G) | Emma Hivey (G) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | (DNC) | 5 |
| 2 | Will Taylor (G) | Faye Caswell (G) | 2 | ‑4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Rob Henderson (G) | Lorna Glen (G) | ‑5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 4 | Isobel Stewart (G) | Ben Whaley | 3 | 7 | 6 | ‑9 | 1 | 17 |
| 5 | Merrick Stanley (G) | Victoria Upton (G) | 4 | ‑5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 6 | Mark Thomas (G) | Alex Ling (G) | ‑6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| 7 | Jer Stephens (G) | Becca Stephens (G) | ‑7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 22 |
| 8 | Helen Scott (G) | Nicola Solly (G) | 8 | ‑10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 33 |
| 9 | Mary Chapman (G) | Ed Clark (G) | ‑11 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 34 |
| 10 | James Hobson (G) | Lily Fox (G) | 9 | ‑11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 36 |
| 11 | Izzy Cramp (G) | Stuart Jones (G) | 10 | 9 | 9 | (DNC) | DNC | 41 |
| 12 | Rob Main (G) | Connor Main (G) | (DNF) | DNC | 12 | 11 | 10 | 46 |