RS300 Northern Double Header – Day two at Glossop SC

by James Ruddiman on 21 Jul 2016 Day two of RS300 Northern Double Header dawned breezy and a little grey at Glossop SC but as promised by 1030hrs the sun was shining and seven RS300s, along with 18 Supernovas, were lining up for the start in a steady force three. The race officer had used the entire length of the lake meaning a 1.25 mile beat.

The fleet got away cleanly and some close fighting all the way up the beat meant Alistair McLaughlin rounded first, Tim Keen second and Jimmy Ruddiman third, with the fleet chasing hard. Battles were happening all the way down the broad reach and run with places changing all the time. Positions changed throughout with Jimmy capsizing to windward on the last run. Alistair took the victory followed by Tim then Steve Sallis.

After a superb lunch race two got underway in fresher conditions and a slightly shorter and tighter course with a couple more gybes. Tim led with Jimmy in second and Steve chasing hard in third. Alan Bennet, RS300 new comer (though old hands may remember him from before), was having a good fight with Steve nearly having a coming together at the windward mark.

Close racing meant Jimmy was under pressure and on the fourth gybe mark hit his tiller extension on the mark ripping it from his hand and nearly capsizing. Alistair had a similar issue as he rounded and buried his bow under Jimmy’s transom. Everyone slipped past and left them chasing hard. Alistair clawed his way back to third, Steve in second and Tim taking the win. Close battles were going on at the back of the race too with the fleet staying very close together.

The third race started straight away, Jimmy left on shore checking the gouges in his hull, with the breeze starting to ease and the temperature rising. Steve followed by Tim then Alistair rounding clear ahead and fighting all the way down wind. Unfortunately Tim's UJ snapped and that was the end of Tim's race.

Steve and Alistair continued to fight hard with Steve leading for most of the race but Alistair slipped through and took the gun. Ian Hopkins and Mark Taylor at the back were having a close battle too, even match racing each other in the final lap.

A great time was had by all in superb conditions. Steve finished third, Tim second and Alistair taking the win overall. Alistair thanked the race team, galley and as a final parting shot suggested to the Supernova fleet that if they practiced hard they could aspire to a RS300.

RS300 Magic Marine Northern Double Header - Glossop SC Results

Rank	SailNo	Club	HelmName	R1	R2	R3	Total	Nett
1st	490	Prestwick	Alistair Mclaughlin	1.0	(3.0)	1.0	5.0	2.0
2nd	328	Sheffield	Tim Keen	2.0	1.0	(8.0 DNF)	11.0	3.0
3rd	476	Hykeham	Steve Sallis	(3.0)	2.0	2.0	7.0	4.0
4th	386	Glossop	Alan Bennet	4.0	(7.0)	3.0	14.0	7.0
5th	336	Prestwick	Mark Taylor	(6.0)	4.0	4.0	14.0	8.0
6th	342	Southport	Ian Hopkins	(7.0)	5.0	5.0	17.0	10.0
7th	426	Draycote	James Ruddiman	5.0	6.0	(8.0 DNS)	19.0	11.0

RS300 Northern Double Header Overall Weekend Results

Pos	Sail No	Club	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Pts
1	328	Sheffield Viking SC	Tim Keen	2	1	2	2	1	DNF	6
2	490	Prestwick SC	Alistair McLaughlin	3	3	3	1	3	1	8
3	476	Hykham SC	Steve Sallis	1	4	4	3	2	2	9
4	336	Prestwick SC	Mark Taylor	6	6	7	6	4	4	20
5	426	Glossop SC	James Ruddiman	7	5	6	5	6	DNF	22
6	342	Southport	Ian Hopkins	8	8	8	7	5	5	26
			Alan Bennet				4	7	3
		Sheffield Viking SC	Matt Jenkins	5	2	1
		Sheffield Viking SC	James Cowlishaw	4	7	5