Magic Marine RS500 Winter Championship overall

by Peter Curtis on 17 Mar 2015 Magic Marine RS500 Winter Championship - Hibernation seems to last longer for RS500s than some of the other RS fleets, and so it was that only Peter Curtis, with new crew Fiona Fardon, emerged blinking into the bright, chilly dawn of 2015. The wind (mostly) beat the forecast by a few knots, but the temperature didn’t. Although it was mid-March, this was a proper Winter Championships - brrr. The RS500s started with the RS600s, so at least there was a yardstick to compare against during our extended training session.

Race one saw us giving the 600s a headstart as Fiona’s trapeze harness unstitched a strap about 10 seconds into the race. Temporary lash-ups were made, but in the lightest wind of the weekend there was a constant search for wind on the run, much soaking off, and the realisation that 600s are much faster in those conditions. Race two turned round in next to no time with the 600s again able to point higher and go faster up the beats. However, as the wind picked up a few knots we started to be able to hold them on the run.

Race three was the strongest of the day, and while only 15ish knots, we were suddenly pointing as high (or low) as the 600s and able to heat up on the run. We surprised ourselves by just piping the lead 600 at the finish.

Day two was no warmer, and the sun decided not to make an appearance, but the wind was a more constant 15-18knots. Another 20 degrees of temperature (air and water) and it would have been champagne sailing all the way! The extra breeze allowed the 500 to properly show its pace off the wind, and we finished ahead of the 600s in all three races, increasing the margin in each race. Overall a very well run event with excellent race officering. Thanks to Clare from the Association and Grafham Water SC for doing such a good job.