2015 RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix at Beer SC overall

by Hugh Shone, James Green and Jamie Trewick on 13 Jul 2015 2015 RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix – The forecast for the weekend looked excellent and the 13 teams that made the trip to sunny Beer were not left disappointed. We were served up an epic weekend of wind, waves, sunshine and some very reasonably priced bar refreshments! The icing on the cake was the team of amazing volunteers - helping at every turn to make sure people had a fantastic time.

Race one started in around 10 knots. Immediately Hugh Shone/Hannah Tattersall broke free on the right to lead around the top mark with the Andy and Allyson Jeffries in pursuit. It stayed like this for a couple of laps until a jellyfish caused some rudder issues on the leading boat allowing the Jeffries to take the honours closely followed by Shone/Tattersall in second and Tim Saxton/Fiona Hampshire in third. It certainly seemed as though the jellyfish in Devon are built of sterner stuff than their wobbly Dorset counterparts!

Race two and the breeze were beginning to freshen. With the wind came a building sea which brought errors. It was a close affair between the Jeffries, Jimmy Green Marine Boys (James Green and Jamie Trewick), Shone/Tattersall and the Luke and Emma McEwen. By the finish Shone/Tattersall managed to keep their mast in the sky and took the bullet followed by Jimmy Green Marine and then the Jeffries.

Race three and with the right side of the beat looking better and better, team Saxton/Hampshire executed a very impressive port flyer to lead the fleet around the top mark with a very healthy lead. With an ever increasing breeze there was a fair bit of carnage as boats did their best not to stick their noses in downhill. Other obstacles involved the very solid jellyfish. Steven Greaves/Caroline Edwards in particular came a cropper on one such creature, snapping their rudder line at full chat downwind! Saxton/Hampshire sailed off to the horizon, meanwhile Shone/Tattersall battled their way to second after the Jenkins managed to capsize metres from the line whilst in the second. This handed third to the McEwens.

The evening was spent admiring the beautiful view from the Beer Sailing Club balcony. Food was plentiful and company excellent as people discussed accommodation plans for the upcoming nationals. No one got too 'jolly' after looking at the forecast which suggested that Sunday was going to be BIG. And so it turned out to be....

Sunday morning dawned with light drizzle and a subdued South Westerly. With the fresh forecast clearly subdued by the overhead conditions, the fleet headed out into the bay. Once past the main headland, the fleet found a steady 12 knots and a large swell, exaggerated by the current pushing against it.

The first race got away cleanly. The right hand side paid heavily up the first beat and this was to become a theme of the day’s racing. Leading at the first mark was Team Jimmy Green, closely followed by the Jeffries, Team Saxton/Hampshire and the McEwens. With the right clearly favoured, chances for passing boats mainly came from the ability to nail a lay-line as many teams ‘rang the bell’. With the tide pushing up the course, every team had their ‘surely they won’t make it from there… ‘Chat. Team Jimmy Green held off a determined offensive effort from the Jeffries to take line honours followed by Saxton/Hampshire.

The breeze freshened a little for the second race as the waves continued to build. The occasional set now presented a considerable obstacle upwind and a serious hazard downwind. Several teams lined up on port for the start of the second as we got away cleanly yet again. Team Saxton/Hampshire showed a fine turn of pace to lead at the first mark from the Jeffries, McEwens and Team Shone/Tattersall. The chasing teams gybed off early as Saxton/Hampshire headed off to the right corner with Team Jimmy Green chasing hard. Unfortunately, the ocean parted for team Saxton/Hampshire as they exited their gybe, this resulted in a perfect pitch-pole. Team Jimmy Green nailed the lay-line to sneak into the lead at the bottom only to relinquish the lead in similar fashion to Team Saxton/Hampshire on the next round. Team Jeffries took full advantage only to break a trap line up the final beat to complete the ‘leaders curse’ for each lap.

Line honours were eventually taken by Team Shone/Tattersall from the McEwens and Team Jimmy Green. Team John Warburton/James Clapham were not far behind as they pipped Greaves/Edwards, both teams revelling in the conditions.

The final race was postponed a little as news was received that team Jeffries had been ashore and were going to be able to make the final race. The breeze was now up to a decent 18kts with massive breaking waves. Again the start was away cleanly with everyone now heading to the right. Team Saxton/Hampshire lead at the windward mark from Team Jimmy Green and the McEwens. Yet again Saxton/Hampshire were singled out for the special ‘Beer Mine’ treatment as the tide and waves combined to swallow them at pace to allow Team Jimmy Green through. With many teams now backing off downwind in the deteriorating conditions, Team Jimmy Green cut loose to extend away and take line honours from the Jeffries and the McEwens. Team Shone/Tattersall came in fourth followed by Paul and Peter Jenkins who showed great resilience to come back strongly in the final race after a tough start to the day. Fourth was enough for Team Shone/Tattersall to secure the top spot overall from the Jeffries in a fitting finale to an exhilarating day.

Big thanks go to Beer Sailing Club for putting on a fantastic event, the conditions really delivered, and the sailors were left battered, some bruised (hope you’re ok Mr Gibbs!!) but very happy on their journeys home. We now look forward to the Volvo Noble Marine Nationals at Castle Cove 20-23 Aug where the racing is guaranteed to be close throughout the fleet! All the event information is at website.

Full results

Place	Sail No	Fleet	Helm	Crew	Club	Points	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6
1	1189	RS800	Hugh Shone	Hannah Tattersal	Castle Cove	10	2	1	2	7	1	4
2	1212	RS800	Andy Jefferies	Allyson Jefferies	Eastbourne Sovereign	12	1	3	4	2	DNF14	2
3	1163	RS800	James Green	Jamie Trewick	Beer	13	6	2	6	1	3	1
4	1129	RS800	Luke McEwen	Emma McEwen	Royal Lymington	16	5	4	3	4	2	3
5	1203	RS800	Tim Saxton	Fiona Hampshire	Royal Torbay	19	3	5	1	3	7	DNF14
6	1148	RS800	Steven Greaves	Caroline Edwards	Rickmansworth	31	4	10	DNF14	5	5	7
7	1010	RS800	John Warburton	James Clapham	Royal Torbay/Chew	33	10	7	DNS14	6	4	6
8	1195	RS800	Paul Jenkins	Peter Jenkins	Eastbourne Sovereign	40	8	8	5	DNF14	DNC14	5
9	1196	RS800	Andrew Smith	Scott Jenkins	Stokes Bay	47	12	12	8	9	6	DNF14
10	983	RS800	Chris Cowan	Stu Moore	Weston	47	7	9	7	10	DNF14	DNC14
11	953	RS800	Andy Pickrell	Grahame Dobson	Wilsonian	54	13	11	DNF14	8	DNF14	8
12	1164	RS800	R Gibbs	Jamie Dawson	Starcross	57	9	6	DNF14	DNF14	DNC14	DNC14
13	1202	RS800	Andrew Blundell	Maddie Fenner	Warsash	67	11	DNF14	DNF14	DNC14	DNC14	DNC14