West Country Boat Repairs SW Ugly Tour 'Cornish Nationals' at Restronguet Sailing Club
by Henry Hallam 3 Jul 2023 23:20 AEST
24-25 June 2023
West Country Boat Repairs SW Ugly Tour ‘Cornish Nationals' at Restronguet © Clare Hallam
With warm water lapping against the sheltered shores of the launching area, visiting 200s were unsure if they'd arrived in Cornwall or the Caribbean.
After a 200 standard greeting of bacon baps whilst setting up boats, the fleet gathered for a friendly brief from the race officer, John Calvert, eager to get boats racing in the champagne conditions. The Carrick Roads were a spectacle to behold, with a constant 8-10 knots across the course and some sharper gusts leading to marginal planing on the downwind.
As befitted National Armed Services Day, the racing started with military precision on timing, with Hallam / Hill leading the charge to the windward mark sneaking in front of other local pair Brown / Strugnell just before rounding, and using their local's knowledge of the tide to hold the lead to the finish.
With an increasing wind and a surprising left shift at go, Singleton / Lennox were quick out of the blocks and led the drag race to the first mark of R2. Swift action by the race team saw the course realigned for the next lap, which, after a lot of jostling in the pack with some boats choosing to plane and others choosing to soak, led to a mighty tacking battle on the now periodically shifting wind up the beat. Hallam / Hill had taken the lead by now, however, Teague / Mainwaring were hot on their heels, waiting to pounce at any second! Not taking their eyes off the ball, Teague / Mainwaring spied a huge gust forming to windward, and Teague pushed the stick hard. Now up and planing, they sped past to take the lead into the finish.
Again, the third start began with a sharp left shift, giving advantage to all those boats who'd positioned themselves with the ability to tack out early. New to the boat, Spiezia / Spiezia were quick to lead at the windward mark, closely followed by Hallam / Hollingsworth and Brown / Sheperd hot on their heels. As tensions built on the downwind with boats neck and neck, the skies were split apart with the roar of jet engines as the Red Arrows flew over head, turning on their red, white and blue streamers. Now, unsure where to look, helms ensured their crew's gaze was fixed firmly on the spinnaker, and then, unbeknownst to their crews, settled down onto the bench to enjoy the display!
Restronguet SC had certainly blown the budget for this event. Once the Red Arrows decided enough was enough, other air displays began: helicopter acrobatics, parachutists and other Eurofighter stunts. With upwind tactics now decided by which tack would give the best view of the show, Teague / Mainwaring and Milliner / Milliner made their moves, clawing their way to 1st and 2nd place. On the following run, Hallam / Hill snuck through to 2nd place, following Teague / Mainwaring to the finish.
The final race saw a dropping wind with holes beginning to form over the course. Jostling ensued, no place was secure for long with sailors awaiting the God's next decision regarding where to throw out the next gust. From deep within the pack, we saw an almighty comeback from Hallam / Hollingsworth storming through the fleet to finish in 4th place.
After a hot day's racing, the fleet returned to shore to be greeted by cream teas (jam first, of course), with extra helpings of clotted cream (with thanks to Rodda's, one of the event sponsors).
Sunday delivered more wind. Again, the first race started punctually, with the fleet pressing on upwind through leg-aching squalls. Several boats took the opportunity to test the water temperature, but, deciding it was still too cold to stop for a swim, continued racing swiftly. Initially, the racecourse was booby-trapped with numerous large holes. Local pairing Tregaskes / Banks used their light weight to their advantage and selected a high mode to pick a storming path through holes on the downwinds. New to the 200, Spiezia / Spiezia had found their angles by now, and enjoyed a baptism by fire into windy 200 racing. Sweet / Mason were on fire, never missing a shift and making life difficult for all sailors in the front pack!
The day's racing culminated in an epic downwind battle between Hallam / Hill and Teague / Mainwaring in which Teague / Mainwaring used a passing ferry as leverage to get out to the windy side of the course. A nail-biting drag race ensued in which Teague / Mainwaring got the better of Hallam / Hill to take the final race win. But perhaps even more impressive was the race for 4th and 5th places. Like a ballistic, Milliner / Milliner caught a huge gust, with barely any hull in the water, and the look of sheer terror on their faces a vapor trail could be seen as they screamed down the starboard side of the course. And from the port side came Sweet / Mason with smoke coming off their 200 as it 'burned up' on approach to the gate. Milliner / Milliner slammed the boat into a gybe just inches off the bow of Sweet Mason in an incredibly high-pressure maneuver. But pressure was no match for Milliner and Miller as they raced through the line just ahead of Mason / Sweet.
The winners of the event (and RS200 Cornish National Champions) were John Teague and Liz Mainwaring, with Henry Hallam and Ashley Hill taking 2nd place, Cliff and Beck Milliner taking 3rd. First under 18s were Milly Tregaskes and Taryn Banks and special mention was made to Max Phypers and Emma Sellwood, who showed promise in their first 200 event.
The next installment of the tour will be in Exe in September and all is still to play for with three events still to come. We look forward to seeing you there.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1365 | John Teague | Liz Mainwaring | Bristol Corinthian YC/Exe SC | ‑2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 1621 | Henry Hallam | Ashley Hill | Restronguet SC | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑3 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | 1289 | Cliff Milliner | Bec Milliner | Cotswold SC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ‑4 | 13 |
| 4 | 1466 | David Sweet | Anna Mason | Chew Valley Lake SC | 5 | 4 | 4 | ‑11 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| 5 | 594 | Kyle Brown | Madeline Strugnell | Restronguet SC | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ‑9 | 29 |
| 6 | 1561 | Bryony Spiezia | Francesco Spiezia | Restronguet SC | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | ‑11 | 32 |
| 7 | 317 | Ralph Singleton | Hannah Lennox | Restronguet SC | 6 | ‑12 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 33 |
| 8 | 541 | Milly Tregaskes | Taryn Banks | Restronguet SC | ‑11 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 33 |
| 9 | 1080 | Rose Hallam | Sam Hollingsworth | Restronguet SC | 10 | 7 | ‑11 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 38 |
| 10 | 322 | Freya Brown | Scarlett Shepherd | Restronguet SC | 7 | ‑10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 44 |
| 11 | 1551 | Izzy Cramp | Stuart Jones | Hooe Point SC | ‑12 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 47 |
| 12 | 539 | Max Phypers | Emma Sellwood | Restronguet SC | 9 | 11 | ‑12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 54 |
| 13 | 1516 | Martyn Stubbs | Yvonne Smith | Chew Valley Lake SC | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | (DNF) | DNC | 66 |