West Country Boat Repairs RS200 Cornish Championships at Restronguet Sailing Club
by Henry Hallam 11 Jul 10:02 BST
West Country Boat Repairs RS200 Cornish Championships at Restronguet © RSC
'Twas a murky morning on the Restronguet shoreline, but thankfully that didn't deter the fleet. The commencement of the West Country Boat Repairs RS200 Cornish National Championships was nigh: this meant a big day lay ahead.
With sails shaking and bows twitching, the fifteen eager pairs released their boats from trolleys and wrestled them steady in the water. Helms cursed their crews for 'dallying', before shooting off, away from the moorings and into the open waters of the Carrick Roads.
Race 1 got away punctually with RO Chris White setting a brilliant beat of 1.5km, in a breeze of about 15 knots. Punchy gusts shot down the course, and large 30 degree shifts camouflaged themselves across the race course, leading sailors to the windward mark, whose wind was sheltered and served wholly by sporadic and unpredictable gusts blowing down and spreading out from the creek estuary.
Hot out the blocks were Hallam and Hallam, Curtis and Gracie, and Stephens and Stephens. Up the first beat, Hallam and Hallam held the lead, however, upon reaching the top mark, Curtis and Gracie closed the gap as the pair waited nervously to be served - just in the nick of time - the next puff of breeze from the creek mouth to windward. Downwind jostling ensued, with pairs hotting it up on the plane.
But nobody was hotter than Sweet and Scott who shot down the left side of the run, fuelled by and almighty gust and shift combination carrying them into the lead. On the upwind, the shifts continued to roll on, and Hallam and Hallam leveraged the middle ground to eventually get the better of Sweet and Scott who deployed a risky strategy sampling wind on the far right side. Hallam and Hallam took the race win, with Curtis and Gracie and Stephens and Stephens following in second and third.
Race 2 started in a slightly increased breeze, with both corners of the run promising blistering pace and exciting gybes. Teague and Mainwaring found their form and surged up the beat, rounding second place, close behind Hodgson and Spain who really showed the fleet some superior upwind pace and good utilisation of the left shift at the far left corner. As promised, three boats came in toward the leeward gate neck and neck, with the lead only decided by the smoothest gybe.
Hallam and Hallam took the win, with Teague and Mainwaring, followed by Curtis and Gracie (showing strong downwind form) close behind.
The third race was windier still, with large bands of pressure sending crews hurtling downwind. A strong start from Williams and Dormenval saw them strong contenders. But Stephens and Stephens showed good form, spotting an early right shift and demonstrating excellent downwind depth, leading to tight battles with Teague and Mainwaring for second and third place.
The fourth race got away as the mizzle began to clear. The breeze had lightened and with tell-tales firmly plastered to the jib, helms were sailing 'blind' in the challenging conditions. A short and sweet one lap race put extra pressure on the start. Coming in four abreast to the top mark, the race was very much anyone's for the taking. There were now two options. In a very light breeze surrounding the mark, crews could either take the left side, promising less wind, but a stronger (more favourable) tide, or the right (with more wind, less tide).
Calvert and Harris knew the answer. With decisive action sending them soaking down the right side, with Brown and Strugnell in hot pursuit, they got the better of Knight and Reeves, who led the charge out to the left side, leading them on to a convincing victory.
Exhausted, the sailors arrived back at the club. And as all athletes well know, recovery ahead of Sunday's racing started with a proper Cornish superfood - a cream tea (jam first).
Sunday dawned, and having finally separated the cream/jam related fights between the Devon and Cornish boats, sailors turned their attentions to the days racing. Lulled into a false sense of security by the serene outlook from the club, everyone donned their damp kit and set out. But no sooner had the boats left the moorings, the Cornish mist lifted, and the wind switched on. Well, it didn't just switch on, it turbo charged!
With two races scheduled, it was apparent this was going to be as much about survival as it was racing. Another storming start by Williams and Dormenval put them into an early lead, however Knight and Reeves showed strong upwind form, taking the lead for the next half of the upwind. But again, Hodgson and Spain had the legs to sail a blisteringly fast upwind, arriving at the top mark with considerable lead.
Teague and Mainwaring popped the kite hot on the hot heels, screaming past on their outsides with a spinnaker sheet jammed into the 'firmly oversheeted' position. Hallam and Hallam spotted pressure to the left and whizzed down onto their insides to take the lead by the leeward gate.
Soon afterwards, like a ballistic, Singleton and Beverly-Jones came howling past from the far right corner. Sticking a pretty hairy gybe, and showing the fleet what 13-year old arms are capable of - very commendable effort!
The race concluded with Hallam and Hallam taking the win, followed by Teague and Mainwaring, then Hodgson and Spain.
The final race got away cleanly. Thankfully, the wind moderated by a few knots, leading to a slightly easier first beat. A last minute right shift favoured Hallam and Hallam and Stephens and Stephens who both opted for the early tack out. Wind over tide conditions led to a sharp chop in the channel, so the following downwind was all about finding flat water.
Brown and Butler showed the fleet how it was done, finding an almighty gust and screaming down on the flat water, past Brown and Strugnell (mum and dad) to sneak in ahead at the finish.
The race was won by Hallam and Hallam, followed by Hodgson and Spain, who overtook a tired pairing of Teague and Mainwaring on the final run.
Hallam and Hallam were crowned RS200 Cornish National Champions (winning five of the six races), with Teague and Mainwaring in second (showing what is possible on baby-inflicted minimal hours of sleep) and Curtis and Gracie rounding up in third. Brown and Butler won the youth prize, showing the fleet what lightweights who hike hard can achieve!
Many thanks to the race and safety team at Restronguet for a great event and lovely hospitality, and to the event sponsors West Country Boat Repairs. We look forward to next time!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1609 | Henry Hallam | Rose Hallam | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 1365 | John Teague | Liz Mainwaring | ‑4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| 3 | 1617 | Alex Curtis | Raffi Gracie | 2 | 3 | 7 | ‑11 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
| 4 | 846 | Jeremy Stephens | Becca Stephens | 3 | 7 | 3 | 9 | (RET) | 4 | 26 |
| 5 | 1235 | Mike Calvert | Sophie Harris | ‑10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 27 |
| 6 | 1452 | Alistair Hodgson | Ella Spain | 11 | 5 | ‑13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| 7 | 594 | Kyle Brown | Madeline Strugnell | 5 | 9 | ‑11 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 29 |
| 8 | 1466 | David Sweet | Derian Scott | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | ‑9 | 9 | 34 |
| 9 | 1019 | James Williams | Christophe Dormenval | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 8 | ‑11 | 40 |
| 10 | 322 | Freya Brown | Lily Butler | 8 | 11 | 6 | ‑12 | 6 | 10 | 41 |
| 11 | 735 | Peter Knight | Jane Reeves | 12 | (OCS) | 12 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 42 |
| 12 | 317 | Ralph Singleton | Huw Beverley‑Jone | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | (DNC) | 46 |
| 13 | 1551 | Izzy cramp | Stuart jones | 13 | 12 | 9 | 13 | (RET) | DNC | 63 |
| 14 | 1347 | Pete Alvey | Mark Eyles | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | (RET) | DNC | 71 |
| 15 | 539 | Tristan Sellwood | George Simpson | 15 | (RET) | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 79 |