RS800 contenders for the finale of the Rooster National Tour

RS800 Rooster National Tour © Paul Gibbins Photography

With the final event of the RS800 Rooster National Tour coming up this weekend, it's a good chance to recap the season and find out who is in the running for the podium!

The season began at Queen Mary for the Spring Champs in March, with light and shifty conditions on Saturday followed by a huge 30-knot day on Sunday. This reminded us how difficult the RS800 can be to sail in both top-end and light conditions, while whetting our appetite for the season ahead. This was followed up by Skiff open meetings at both Weymouth and Stokes Bay for some lovely South Coast sailing.

Lymington Dinghy Regatta followed on, provided perfect summer sailing with a great turnout and lots of position changes. While not on the Rooster National Tour, the Nationals at Torquay, a.k.a. the 'English Riviera,' ended the summer hiatus with glorious breeze and some hefty waves, proving a perfect location to set some speed records and crown our National Champions, Tom and Guy!

Finally, returning to the National Tour last weekend, Hayling Island SC hosted us for the much-loved Tide Ride, a unique event with downwind gates and a winner-takes-all final. This also allows for unpredictable results to shake up the National Tour rankings. Having said this, who has a chance of winning going into the Inland Championship at Grafham this weekend?

Scoring strong results at every event they have attended, Hugh and Monique lead the way without a single result outside the top 2. They are definitely the in-form boat, especially following Hugh's victory at the Tide Ride with Rob Gullan last weekend. They appear to have the title in their hands with an outstanding, consistent season, but can still improve their season points from 4 to 3 if they win the event.

Right behind them are the Ormonds of Brian and Anna. Another very consistent team with 3 podiums across the season; they are always a threat and a shoo-in to challenge for race wins. Can they put a whole weekend of slick manoeuvres and tight tactics together and win the final event of the season? If so, they will consolidate a 2nd place in the title race.

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

Tom and Guy are currently counting two 1st-place finishes at the two events they have competed in, but with 3 events counting towards the series, they currently sit in 6th place overall. A win at Grafham would guarantee them the title, but so far they've taken a quality-over-quantity approach, choosing their events exclusively. Will they come to Grafham and fight for the Title?

The last names to mention will be familiar to everyone: Louis and Lucy. The powerhouse couple always seem to perform when the pressure is on, with both their European success and national results coming from an excellent last day. They enter this event only 4 points behind Brian and Anna and will hope to channel their 'last-day-Louis-and-Lucy' form (not sure this nickname will catch on!) and put in a stellar last event to steal second place overall.

Thank you, everyone, for making 2026 such a great season, both on and off the water. Thanks you also to tour sponsors Rooster. I personally had a blast and look forward to seeing you in 2027! Hopefully we can continue to grow this amazing fleet and keep it as competitive as it has always been.

Series results so far: