RS500 World Championship - Reports and results

by Golly Tucker on 20 Aug 2010 RS500 World Championship, Bruinisse Yacht Club, The Netherlands Sunday 15th to Friday 20th August

Day 4

The forecast was for 13kts gusting 15 and sunny spells. The sunny spells arrived early and the wind was pretty much on queue. Race 7 started bang on time in steady breeze with a fully square line and the fleet racked up along the length. 4 laps were called for to hit the 40 minute target and so it was. With a deficit of 2 points to make up Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin shot up the beat like a cork out of bottle. Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs were with them every yard of the way. It became a match/drag race and they were inseparable. Despite the close attention being paid to each other they still dropped the chasers by some distance. Then in lap 3 Tim and Heather managed to hook into a pressure band going downwind and gained the first proper separation of the race. This was decisive and they were able to stretch away. Barend Hilterman and Max Blom had a fight on their hands but managed the customary third place with Hugo Tucker and Tim Collino making Golly exeedingly nervous (first time she had been out to watch the racing!) in an amazing fourth place.

Race 8 went into sequence very quickly and everything was going swimmingly. A big dark cloud was sliding down the right hand side of the course. With a square line those who were meteorologically aware were closer to the committee end. The big righty hit with 15 seconds to go and the postponement went up instead of the slick start all were expecting. The wind then swung very sharply and madly (50 degree shifts every 90 seconds or so) for the next hour or so. The Committee boat had a swan around lookiing for a good place to park and still be able to cope no matter where the wind settled. Eventually the shifts became less and got bigger gaps in between so the course was relaid and they went into a new sequence to loud and enthusiastic applause!

The two slippery eeles duly slipped along and were soon out on their own. It was incredibly tight all down the rest of the fleet with densely packed groups. Sadly Richard and Sue Morley who retired from the first race with a damaged kicker got in a tangle with James Tanner / Lucinda Blain and Will Stephens/Justin Tse and got lobbed after a lengthy hearing. That was a bad day at the office. The wind was slightly lighter for the start of the race and Tim and Heather established a little gap from early on enabling them to slap a slightly looser cover on Alex and Bryan. The race for third was hot and despite Barend and Max slipping in yet another third it wasn't an easy one. Michiel Geerling (your Honour to the rest of us now) and Hilde (the heroine - for sailing on despite the most massive bruise ever seen on a human calf muscle) van Susante pushed them hard. A big righty (not quite big enough to make it a one tack beat but not far off) caused the race to be shortened after 3 laps. Poor old James and Lucinda got on the wrong side of the shift which also had pressure attached to it and had to watch 4 boats sail past them. The righty made it possibly to hold the kite from the last mark to the finish in front of the committee boat but only if you weren't caught by another gust. Whilst Barend and Max held the kite to the line Michiel (your Honour) and Hilde went for an unauthorised swim 30 yards from the line. Hugo and Tim tried to hold their kite and if the little lul that followed Michiels (your Honour) dunking had lasted 15 seconds more the boys might have had big present. As it was another gust hit and Hugo and Tim had to bear away and drop so allowing the remarkably quick recovery to be affected. So fourth for Michiel (you Honour)/Hilde and fifth for Hugo/Tim.

Perfect conditions for Hong Kongers Will Stephens and Justin Tse allowed them to hit straps and they had a great sixth. I'm not sure that I've seen a more gleeful look or a better high five all week! Whilst they have struggled with the really big breezes earlier this week it represents something of a coming of age and hopefully promises much for the future of dinghy sailing in their part of SE Asia.

So entering into the final day what doess all that preceded mean? For the big one it is simple. It doesn't matter where they finish, whoever finishes in front tomorrow gets to feel very elated and smug. The other gets to feel that they contributed mightily to the closest possible contest imaginable. The Youth Trophy will almost certainly go the way of Hansebas Meijer and Fedor Couvert given their 22 point lead over Hugo and Tim. For the ladies trophy Annika Ellerbrock and Anne Werner from Germany have the upper hand against Stephanie & Chantalle Grootscholten from Holland but it isn't over - 11 points in it!

Tonight is yet more socialising - Mussel dinner! Lets hope the Championship isn't decided on a mothful of mussel! I can alread see some close covering coming into play here - we'll eat a mussel if they do - etc...

Rock on the morning!

Day 3
The day saw two fast and furious races in a 13-15kt range. Enough to see fully powered up spray drenched lunatics shoot around a lake - well more of an inland sea, in Holland. Racing got underway some 5 mins late as the pin mark layer went missing with the pin after getting a fowled prop. Sadly for the lightest boat in the fleet they had to complete the two races without kite after the parting of ways with the pole outhaul. Still.

The first race saw the Dutch Magic Marine boys Berend Hilterman and Max Bloom establish an early lead. Behind them Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs looked to be getting their sights focussed but Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin were doing likewise in third! As they both ruthlessly hunted the Dutch boat ndown the gap between them got progressively less as well. This became a 12kt+ match race with Taylor/Mobbs slapping as close a cover as possible on Wilkins/Martin. Down the final run the gap got shorter and shorter on each gybe as Wilkins/Martin cut every corner. Finally it came down to the final gybe to the last mark before the short reach to the finish. It was like watching a leopard pounce. As good a race as I have seen. In fourth were Lennart vd Dool and Frank Leeuwen in their best race yet. Franks other hobby seems to be diving in the harbour to retrieve handheld VHF's.

In the next race The two leaders reversed their positions and so ended the day all square with each other. Berend and Max popped in another third whilst James Tanner/ Lucinda Blain also found their stride coming home a very solid fourth. Johan Rook and Malin Broberg misplaced their tomtom to get on the wrong side of the only major shift of the morning to ping in two sixth places.

Overall then the two leaders remain seperated by a mere 2 points whilst the Dutch and Swedes have fairly comfortable grips at present on their slots. 5 to 7 though are only seperated by 3 points with James and Lucinda leading Hansebas Meijer and Fedor Couvert from Holland and Tobias Gustafsson and Max Freiman from Sweden.

A pretty international top 10 then with 4 Brits, 4 Dutch and 2 Swedes. The others not yet mentioned in the top 10 are Michiel Geerling (Lord High Master of the International 500 Class Association since his election as chairman this evening) and Hilde van Susante (Queen of bruises since her little incident this afternoon whilst Michiel was trying to master twin wiring! - even if there is lots of competition for that particular title!) and in 10th by a tiebreak - Hamish Stewart and Stephen Hackett from Richard and Sue Morley.

Part 2 of the day was the non-standard non championship race. The Swedes and Michiel demonstrated their twin wiring prowess! The event was a windward/leeward with a gate in the middle and the fleet set off with 1 minute gap between each group of 3 or so based on last nights positions in reverse order - with the twin wires thus starting 8 minutes after the first lot! Dutch sisters Stephanie and Chantalle Grootsholten were Queens after one lap. Sadly there were 2 laps. Showing absolute mastery of their vessel were Berend and Max who worked exceedingly hard to overcome their start time. They even extended by a little on the even harder working (for by now the wind was a steady 20 with gusts of 24 and serious waves) Tim & Heather. The Swedes were lighteningly quick but their recovery situation was affected by a couple of capsizes each! Top racing though. Some boat repairs later and a leadership team in place consisting of Michiel Geerling and Frank v Leeuwen the snooze button needing hitting... More tomorrow and the latest forecast has it being hot - Yipee!, and 13 odd kts - Belter!

Day 2
Great sailing on the way out - 17-18kts. Perfect - everyone enjoying speed without major issues. 5 minute sequence commenced bang on time. 45 secs later wham, what a difference a miserable little 6kts makes! No worries - it's only under this black cloud. Start. Off like rats up drainpipes. Absoutley smoking off the start line. Whoops - two horns and two boats OCS - three return, three out of the four leaders come back and all is clear.

Why isn't the wind dropping? Who knows but it isn't. Coming down the run it becomes clear to the medically trained that the EEADV's are buckling under the pressure (Emergency Excess Adrenaline Drain Valves). Not a good situation medically but given that sailors are on the whole operating beyond the boundaries of medical science that isn't too much of a real time issue.

Hansebas Meijer and Fedor Couvert had taken the OCS opportunity in both hands to bagsie the lead in muscular style. You have to know Fedor to fully appreciate that bit! Whilst the OCS'ers whipped through the rest of the fleet many were takeing the opportunity for some late breaststroke practice.

During lap 3 of 4 good old Aeoleus raised the bar further and 26 odd kts became the norm. Everyone, but Everyone went for a swim at some point. As this was causing rescue to be fully employed the race was shortened to give them a bit of breathing space. What this did prove though was that Hansebas & Fedor needed a visit to specsavers as they rounded the leeward mark and shot of upwind. One of the sights of the day (there were a great many!) was the gleeful and unabashed delight on the faces of Alex Taylor and Bryan Mobbs as they shot across the finish line at speeds that would have had Mr Sulu purring on the SS Enterprise!

In the meantime our Dutch legends realised their mistake and in their haste joined the impromptu gathering of bathers just passed the leeward mark. Sadly for their recovery efforts the centreboard acknowledged it's inferiority to Fedors prowess and it became 2 boards of unuseable size. They showed great presence of mind though to angle their inverted vessel to the direction of the incoming waves to make headway towards the line. Sadly 5 more got there before them but seventh without a centreboard in 24 kts isn't too shabby in any event!

Others couldn't contain their enthusiasm though. Hong Kong duo Will Stephens and Justin Tse were so into it that they didn't worry about finishing until they had completed a whole lap more than the others! Hugo Tucker and Tim Collino were the last of the finishers but showed the same grit and determination of all those who gracefully acknowledged Neptunes mastery.

All sailed ashore after Race 1 and that was it for the day. Still on schedule mind and tomorrows schedule ahs been changed to have 2 copun ting races followed by a special but non championship non standard race. That will be 'pursuit style' based on todays overall results. Each start will be 1 minute apart and boats are boats are grouped in small numbers in reverse order. The Swedes will be last off as they are determined to showcase twin wiring! Good day coming!

Day 1
Conclusions after Day 1 are that Alex Taylor/Bryan mobbs are hot to trot but have a slight vulnerability in the lighter stuff. Tim Wilkins/Heather Martin shifting at speed especially when it gets lighter. Johan Rook/Malin Broberg are showing impressive linear improvement in results. Berend Hilterman/Max Bloom are serious contenders when it blows but need to avoid the odd jumpstart. Hugo Tucker/Tim Collino show the strategic importance of being able to continue to flat wire when the going gets light.

RS Worlds day 4 results

Overall

Rank	Class	SailNo	Club	HelmName	CrewName	Rating	Nat	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Total	Nett
1st	RS500	625	Hickling Broad SC	Tim Wilkins	Heather Martin			(2.0)	(2.0)	1.0	2.0	1.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	12.0	8.0
2nd	RS500	799	Budworth SC	Alex Taylor	Bryan Mobbs			1.0	1.0	(2.0)	1.0	(2.0)	1.0	2.0	2.0	12.0	8.0
3rd	Rs500	890		Berend Hilterman	Max Bloom			(23.0 OCS)	3.0	(4.0)	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	45.0	18.0
4th	RS500	112	GKSS	Johan Rook	Malin Broberg			6.0	4.0	3.0	4.0	6.0	6.0	(10.0)	(8.0)	47.0	29.0
5th	RS500	525	Burghfield SC	James Tanner	Lucinda Blain			3.0	6.0	(14.0)	(13.0)	5.0	4.0	8.0	10.0	63.0	36.0
6th	RS500	837	wv braassemermeer	Michiel Geerling	Hilde van Susante			4.0	(14.0)	11.0	6.0	(12.0)	7.0	5.0	4.0	63.0	37.0
7th	RS500	89	OBK	Tobias Gustafsson	Max Freiman			5.0	(13.0)	6.0	5.0	10.0	8.0	6.0	(11.0)	64.0	40.0
8th	RS500	891		Hansebas Meijer	Fedor Couvert			7.0	5.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	(11.0)	(11.0)	7.0	62.0	40.0
9th	RS500	654		Lennart van der Dool	Frank van Leeuwen			9.0	10.0	(16.0)	10.0	4.0	5.0	(23.0 DNF)	12.0	89.0	50.0
10th	RS500	550	Datchet SC	Hamish Stewart	Stephen Hacket			(23.0 DNF)	7.0	10.0	9.0	9.0	9.0	7.0	(23.0 OCS)	97.0	51.0
11th	RS500	517	Burghfield SC	Richard Morley	Sue Morley			8.0	8.0	8.0	12.0	8.0	12.0	(23.0 DNF)	(23.0 DSQ)	102.0	56.0
12th	RS500	884	Emsworth SC	Hugo Tucker	Tim Collino			(16.0)	16.0	5.0	16.0	16.0	(17.0)	4.0	5.0	95.0	62.0
13th	RS500	519	Whitefayers SC	Simon Payne	Hope Halstead			11.0	11.0	12.0	8.0	(14.0)	(19.0)	12.0	13.0	100.0	67.0
14th	RS500	633	Hastings SC	Will Bovington	Tom Richardson			10.0	9.0	9.0	(23.0 DNF)	(20.0)	16.0	9.0	15.0	111.0	68.0
15th	RS500	516		Will Stephens	Justin Tse			12.0	12.0	(13.0)	(14.0)	13.0	13.0	13.0	6.0	96.0	69.0
16th	RS500	885	wv aquadelta	Richard Rot	Marieka Gijzel			(23.0 DNF)	15.0	(17.0)	11.0	11.0	10.0	15.0	17.0	119.0	79.0
17th	RS500	851		Annika Ellerbrock	Anne Werner			14.0	18.0	15.0	(23.0 DNF)	17.0	(21.0)	14.0	9.0	131.0	87.0
18th	RS500	879		Thijs Janssen	Joris Jessen			15.0	(23.0 DNF)	(19.0)	15.0	18.0	14.0	17.0	16.0	137.0	95.0
19th	RS500	737	wv Braasemermeer	Stephanie Grootscholten	Chantalle Grootscholten			13.0	17.0	(18.0)	(23.0 DNF)	15.0	18.0	16.0	18.0	138.0	97.0
20th	RS500	636	Abingdon School SC	Will Summers	Jonty Cook			(23.0 DNF)	19.0	(23.0 DNF)	23.0 DNF	19.0	15.0	18.0	14.0	154.0	108.0
21st	RS500	733		Rogier Grobbee	Sjon Grobbee			(23.0 DNF)	(23.0 DNF)	20.0	23.0 DNF	21.0	20.0	19.0	19.0	168.0	122.0
22nd	RS500	570		Joris Van der Ven	Jeroen Honig			(23.0 DNF)	(23.0 DNF)	23.0 DNF	23.0 DNF	23.0 DNC	23.0 DNC	23.0 DNF	23.0 DNF	184.0	138.0

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