Noble Marine RS600 National Championship at Mount's Bay Sailing Club - Day 3

Noble Marine RS600 Nationals at Mount's Bay Day 3 © Paul Elliott / MBSC

Day 3 dawned with a mixture of trepidation, excitement and anxiety as Mount's Bay delivered what it is famous for, seriously big waves. The forecast had some on the shore worried and as it turned out with good reason. It proved to be an attritional and challenging day on the water. The waves at times were monstrous although fortunately the wind peaked at around 20kts.

The first start was tight at the boat end with George Smith leading across to the left hand side of the course. It was a race for minimising manoeuvres and the biggest gains were to be had getting the long lay line call right (if you could see the mark at all!). George led round the windward mark chased by Jamie Mawson and Matt Banbrook. The top reach was a mixture of playing it safe and keeping the boat fast enough to sail around the waves, and the run was about keeping the bow out of the water. With everyone playing it relatively safe there was little room for positions to change with George taking the win from Jamie and Matt in 3rd. Tim Cutsforth continued his good form to finish 4th with Richard Bone in 5th.

The next race felt even wavier than the first, if that's possible. Again, the boat end was busy at the start and the fleet made their way across to the port lay line to minimise manoeuvres. A few over stood the long port lay line, struggling to see the windward mark or indeed the motorboat hovering next to it. George rounded 1st and stretched out a lead onto the 1st run which was fortunate as he was caught out gybing and had a quick swim. The rest of the race followed a similar theme with lap two being a wavy trip up to the starboard lay line to minimise tacking. Unfortunately gear failure ended Jamie's day though fortunately he and the boat made it back to shore relatively undamaged. George took the win from Matt in second and Richard Bone posting another 3rd place to bolster his good results from yesterday's racing.

There were some tired and nervous sailors waiting after race 2 to find out if they would be in for a 3rd race. The question was answered with the raising of the orange flag. A fair few had decided they'd seen enough or succumbed to gear failure by this point. The final start of the day was again tight at the boat with George just squeaking past the transom of the committee boat. Matt Banbrook hit the line at full speed and lead out to the left. Matt and George converged at the top mark on opposite tacks with Matt choosing caution and deciding to duck behind. Caution proved to be a sensible mode for the reach and subsequent run. George death rolled, rather painfully, at the wing mark allowing the chasing pack through. Matt sailed a very controlled race to take his first nationals win from Tim in 2nd and Neil Cooney in 3rd. Notable mention to Casper Barton who finished every race of the day with his small rig posting a very respectable 7th in the final race.

The sailors were gratefully met back on the shore by a small army of helpers from the beach team and very welcome sugary treats at the tally board. Today will certainly go down as one of the more memorable nationals days and may just make it into 600 folk lore! Tomorrow looks like all change again with a light northerly breeze that is bound to be shifty.

Results after Day 3: