RS700 Rooster National Tour Event 3 at Dabchicks Sailing Club

RS700 Rooster National Tour Event 3 at Dabchicks © Lizzy Kingsford

In quite the contrast to last year, the RS700 fleet descended on Mersea Island with the promise of sunshine, big tides and a favourable wind forecast. Dabchicks Sailing Club is now home to the largest fleet of RS700s in the country, and they were joined by some enthusiastic visitors to create a highly competitive 14 boat fleet.

An army of volunteers ensured the fleet were well looked after with an open galley and clear instructions from the race and safety team. The sun was shining, the sea breeze was building, and the RS700s were released for what was to be an unforgettable day on the Blackwater.

RS700 Rooster National Tour Event 3 at Dabchicks - photo © Lizzy Kingsford

Race 1 started in a stable 12kt South Easterly with the bulk of the fleet heading up the Mersea Island shore to stay out of the final stages of the incoming tide. Jack Grogan led around the windward mark with Will Head and Pete Purkiss hot on his heels. Jack snuck off to record the win, meanwhile Will, Pete and fast chasing Tom Dutton secured the next places.

Race 2

With the sun out and the breeze slightly building but remaining from a consistent direction, the race team were able to turn around the races swiftly. With the tide turning, it had become favourable to now go right up the beat. Pete Purkiss got the windward mark first with Jack and Sam Caslin hot on his transom. Jack managed to get past Pete downwind and extended his lead from there. A tight battle ensued between the rest of the fleet, Caslin and Purkiss duelling on the shore side downwind towards the line meant a late charge from Oli Grogan would lead to an extremely tight finish. Oli squeezed past Purkiss on the line, but Caslin just did enough to hold on to Second.

Race 3

By now, we were very much into the Champagne conditions, 15kts of stable breeze, but with the tide now playing an even bigger part. Matt Conner led around the top mark. Sam and Pete managed to get right early with most of the fleet still favouring the shore side. An uncharacteristically tardy start from Jack meant he had a bit of work to do, but with boat speed in spades, he managed to work his way to the top mark in front of Purkiss and Caslin. Jack extended, as Matt dropped back, Caslin managed to sail over Purkiss on the first downwind, and a rampant Oli Gozzett tore through the fleet with blistering downwind pace to finish third.

Social

After a special day on the water, the fleet were in fine form back at the sailing club. Pasta was provided for carb replacement/stomach lining immediately off the water, and beers were flowing in the evening sunshine. After some takeaway fish and chips in the clubhouse, the fleet were recharged and the focus moved on to exploring numerous ways of interacting with the yacht club cannon and also the perfect ratio for Dark and Stormys (one bottle of mount gay in one pitcher was about right).

RS700 Rooster National Tour Event 3 at Dabchicks - photo © Lizzy Kingsford

Race 4

A dusty fleet reported for action on Sunday morning with a bit less energy and enthusiasm. However, the conditions again were perfect, and after a small wait, they were released back onto the Blackwater. The breeze had switched to a westerly direction now, with some strong gusts, and was swinging a fair bit, meaning Liz Kingsford and her race committee had a lot more work on.

The pin end was favoured, and the fleet headed up the Bradwell shore to make the most of the tide. Caslin went hardest left and was top at the windward mark, hotly followed by Jack and Tom Dutton. At the leeward mark, a gust caught both Grogan and Caslin off guard during the drops, resulting in swims for the pair of them. Dutton was happy to capitalise and extendzsaxoilk, his lead from there, taking out the win.

Race 5

Again, it was win the pin and head left. Tom, showing the fleet what to do. Jack put pressure on at the end, hoping for a swim, in the now chunky wind against tide chop, from Tom, but he held his nerve to record his second win. Talking of waves.. Oli managed such an aggressive pitch pole that it managed to fire his intermediate bar rack pins out. Showing that gravity had taken over 'the cardinals' boat.

Race 6

A late shift in the wind reshuffled the deck during the start of the fifth race. Jack had a main halyard fail and had to watch the entire race from the sidelines. A so-far dominant Tom Dutton also had a wobble and was capsized at the start gun. Will Head read the conditions better than most, got away on port early, and, with a clean nose, went around the windward mark first with Harry Gozzett and Pete Purkis hot on his heels. The duelling between Head and Gozzett was intense downwind. The breeze had increased to a point where swimming was an increasing risk, and Will Head was a victim, not making it through a gybe. Gozzett tried his best to hold off Pete Purkiss, who had great boat speed all weekend and just managed to take the win in the final knockings. Matt Conner had a solid race and finished in third. Unfortunately, local hotshot Mike Banks was hoping for a better day, but snapped his tiller extension mid-tack, so he went home for lunch.

RS700 Rooster National Tour Event 3 at Dabchicks - photo © Lizzy Kingsford

By now, the rigorous demands of the intense racing were showing in the fleet. Caslin won the pin end and got to the windward mark first, followed by Jack and Pete Purkiss, who had done well going right off the start. Picking out the gusts had become essential downwind, and places were swapping dramatically on these legs. The second beat had also become a game of snakes and ladders, with Grogan finding the fewest snakes to take out another win. Tom Dutton was hot on his heels after sailing a really solid race, and Harry Gozzett was showing fine form to finish in the top three again.

Congratulations to Jack Grogan for taking the overall win! Thank you to our tour sponsor, Rooster.

Those who travelled got treated to Mersea Island at its finest. A fantastic weekend of racing, enabled by an army of volunteers, ensured that a great time was had by all. What a time to be part of the RS700 fleet with affordable and attainable competitive high-performance racing readily available.

Next up is SnetFest 4 later this month (20/21 June, Snettisham Beach SC). Entry coming soon, but save the details here!

See you all there!

Overall Results: