Noble Marine RS800 National Championship at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Overall

Noble Marine RS800 National Championship - Day 4 © Paul Gibbins Photography

Day four of the Noble Marine RS800 Nationals brought lighter and more stable wind with a decent following sea sparkling under the sun of the English Riviera. It would be one final outing in summer suits and rash vests to determine the standings of the 2026 Championships. The plan for the day was three races to reach the ten scheduled, with a second discard coming on the completion of the ninth.

At the top of the fleet the calculations were relatively simple; one decent finish for Tom and Guy (1248) would secure the championship. Despite the following four boats all having a mathematical chance of the title, the more pragmatic focus was on the battle for the podium where Tim and Arthur (1203) were sat on 17, Louis and Lucy (1171) 18, the Tudors (1043) on 20 and Monique and Hugh (987) on 21.

After a short wait for the breeze to settle above 6 knots, the 800 fleet got off in marginal twin wiring conditions. Straight away things got interesting as Tim and Arthur's strong starting deserted them and they were forced out of a tight lane and into the mid pack. Who would capitalise in the race for the podium? Louis and Lucy initially looked strongest, but in fact it was Ralph Singleton and Oli Scrimshaw and Chris Doe and Nick Prince who took the fight to Tom and Guy. The downwind though provided a springboard for Mo and Hugh to gybe set and go from 5th through to a commanding lead, which they would protect well to the finish. Tom and Guy took second and the championship, followed by Bryan and Anna who were revelling in the lighter winds picking boats off on every leg.

As time marched on, the possibility of a 10th race before the 2pm cutoff diminished, but a 9th race and second discard would be sailed. With the trophy decided the focus now really was all on the battle for second and things had only got closer. Mo and Hugh's race win brought them to 22 points, dead level with Tim and Arthur and Louis and Lucy. Brett and Blake were on 27, still in touch considering they had a 7th as a next potential discard.

Noble Marine RS800 National Championship - Day 4 - photo © Paul Gibbins Photography

For the final start, the line was pushed hard as the leading boats fought for space near the committee boat and a path to the heavily favoured right-hand side of the course. Mo and Hugh were the first casualties, as they lost a tiller extension in the pre-start fracas, then rolled the dice on the left putting them in dead last up the first beat. Tom and Guy snuck through to the lead on a thin lay, but behind it was more new faces to front of the fleet as they were followed by James and Jamie in 1144, then Jessica and Eden in 1077... would any of the podium contenders be able to fight their way through to win the battle for second?

On the first downwind, Louis and Lucy answered the call, surfing the sizeable swell to glide by Jess and Eden. Behind, Tim and Arthur, Blake and Brett and Mo and Hugh were all sailing discards and the increasing amounts of risk taking was doing little to affect forward progress through the fleet. Fittingly though, it was our recently crowned European Champions Louis and Lucy who had the last say, passing by James and Jamie to take second on the water and secure second overall on their own terms, regardless of results behind. James and Jamie had their best finish of the regatta in third, which also secured them the silver fleet prize, beating out the Dyer brothers by three points.

Noble Marine RS800 National Championship - Day 4 - photo © Paul Gibbins Photography

The final step on the podium went to Tim and Arthur in what is the closest tiebreak this reporter can remember. Mo and Hugh shared 22 points, same numbers of 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, 4ths and 5ths. In fact, both boats had an identical seven counting scores, and third place went to Tim and Arthur for finishing ahead in the last race both boats counted (race 7).

Overall, it was a championship to savour. The fleet were tested in a full range of conditions whilst Royal Torbay Yacht Club put on an excellent event both on and off the water and the town catered excellently for the increasingly young (and young at heart) RS800 fleet. Thank you to our championship sponsor Noble Marine as well as the support of RS Sailing and Rooster.

Noble Marine RS800 National Championship - Prize Giving - photo © Bob Penfold

Prize Winners:

National Champions - Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore
2nd - Louis Johnson and Lucy Hewitson
3rd - Tim Gratton and Arthur Henderson
4th - Monique Vennis-Ozanne and High Stone
1st Silver - James Green and Jamie Trewick
1st Master helm - Chris Doe
1st Youth helm - Louis Johnson
1st Junior helm - Elsie Munro
1st Female helm - Monique Vennis-Ozanne
1st Master crew - Nick Prince
1st Youth crew - Lucy Hewitson
1st Female crew - Lucy Hewitson
Spinlock 1999 Award - Blake Tudor and Brett Tudor
1st weekend entry - Tracey Covell and Jez Williamson

Overall Results: