2026 Netley SC RS200 Club Championship
by Terry Hunt 14 Oct 17:22 BST
10 October 2026
Downwind blast during the 2026 Netley SC RS200 Club Championship © Terry Hunt
Saturday 10th October saw 10 RS200's come to the start line for the 2026 Netley SC RS200 Club Championship.
The forecast didn't disappoint and once the clouds went through, the wind stabilised(ish) in a NW direction, getting up into the low to mid 20kts.
Terry Hunt, race officer for the day, set up a windward/leeward course (with a spreader) and 4 races, each about 25mins with quick turnarounds to keep everyone on their toes.
For Race 1, wind decided to shift just after the start and go a little weird. Ian Gregory and crew, Howard, made the most of the 1st beat to lead through to the finish after 3 laps. 2nd on the water went to Andrew & Melissa Chapman, however they missed the upwind gate (start/finish line) and dropped a lap. 2nd place was inherited by Douglas Struth and Marion Heron, with Heather and Henry Ross 3rd.
Race 2 proved to be the closest of all the races and your RO can't remember what actually happened, apart from the top 5 all finished within 20 seconds of each other. First went to Douglas & Marion, 2nd to Andrew & Melissa and 3rd to Henry Ross and Mum, Heather.
By race 3 and with the wind above 20kts, the fleet was starting to diminish. Only 5 were on the start line with one team having a quick crew change. The lead changed a few times due to spinnaker issues and capsizes, with Henry Ross & Charlie Hunt giving up a commanding lead with a quick dip during a gybe on the last lap, although they recovered well to finish 2nd behind Nick & Tina Shuttleworth and 3rd, Andrew & Melissa Chapman.
For Race 4, we were down to 4! Ian and Howard powered away using their weight advantage over Henry and Charlie, however, the youngsters lighter weight meant they were flying downwind and by lap 2 had turned a 200m deficit into a lead by gybing early, hooking into a nice gust that took them straight down to the leeward mark. These two battled each other over the final lap, with the lightweights holding their own and again took the lead on the downwind leg to win race 4. 2nd was Ian & Howard and 3rd, Andrew & Melissa.
The overall win went to the two 15 year olds, Henry Ross and Charlie Hunt (and Heather Ross), with Douglas & Marion just 1 point behind and Ian & Howard taking 3rd on count back.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Crew | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Henry Ross | Charlie Hunt / Heather Ross | 1618 | ‑3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Douglas Struth | Marion Heron | 770 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ‑4 | 7 |
| 3 | Ian Gregory | Howard | 986 | 1 | ‑6 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | Andrew Chapman | Melissa Chapman | 1356 | ‑8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Nick Shuttleworth | Tina Shuttleworth | 1449 | 5 | 4 | 1 | ‑11 | 10 |
| 6 | Nils Jolliffe | Claire Jolliffe | 1175 | 4 | 5 | 11 | ‑11 | 20 |
| 7 | Samuel Cannell | Elinor Williams | 1310 | 6 | 8 | 11 | ‑11 | 25 |
| 8 | Edward Rogers | Ben Rogers | 957 | 11 | 7 | 11 | ‑11 | 29 |
| 9 | Michael Worthington | Lucas Worthington | 340 | 7 | 11 | 11 | ‑11 | 29 |
| 10 | Brian Denney | Hannah Le Prevost | ? | 11 | 11 | 11 | ‑11 | 33 |