Sailing Chandlery RS400 Southern Tour at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club
by Paul Smalley 31 Mar 17:35 BST
29 March 2025
Sailing Chandlery RS400 Southern Tour at Bristol Corinthian © Aaron Geis /
www.aarongeis.com
A small turnout of only four RS400s received a warm welcome for the Southern Tour Event at Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club on Saturday 29 March, possibly a result of one-day events not proving too popular with travellers.
Nevertheless, the top two places were hard fought in shifty F2-3 Summer time conditions. Class stalwarts John Gorringe and Toby Lewis narrowly missed out on victory to fellow long-time RS400 competitors Tom Halhead and Paul Hilliar. Each won two of the four races coming second in the other two. Tom and Paul emerged victorious based on winning the last race sailed.
Paul and Anna Smalley tried to mix it up in the third race with a huge lead at the windward mark but eventually succumbed on the final run. Richard Watney and Grant Shoebridge finished a close fourth.
The RS400s are already expecting much better turnouts at the upcoming RS Sprints at Rutland and then the highlight of the Southern Tour with a three-day 'special stage' at Salcombe for Early May Bank Holiday Weekend. Fortunate to be one of the few classes hosted by Salcombe Yacht Club every year, this event gives a great opportunity to occasionally upend the fleet amongst what motorcycle roar racers would call the 'furniture' encountered when racing in the most picturesque venue in the UK.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1535 | Tom Halhead | Paul Hilliar | Llanddegfedd | 1 | ‑2 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 1555 | Jon Gorringe | Toby Lewis | Parkstone | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 1557 | Paul Smalley | Anna Smalley | Chew Valley | 3 | 3 | 3 | (DNF) | 9 |
| 4 | 1324 | Richard Watney | Grant Shoebridge | HISC | ‑4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |