RS800 Spring Championship at Rutland Sailing Club

Misty start - RS800 Spring Championship Tim Olin

Four by shore - RS800 Spring Championship © Tim Olin

The race officer was obsessed with having the longest beat possible which meant we started beside the half sunken church and went all the way to the corner of the dam leaving the Musto Skiffs room for an outer loop to the left of our course. Would the steadier wind in the middle or the tactical shifts by the shore pay? Turns out it was a bit of both so lots of people had moments of brilliance – often followed up with moments of mediocrity. But that’s inland sailing for you.

Three kites - RS800 Spring Championship © Tim Olin

Luke and Emma promptly showed the rest of us how it was done – winning every race by some distance. The rest of us could only keep up for the first lap and then fight it out for second place – which was shared around by four different boats. But we had lots of really good close racing and lots of fast fun and that’s what counts. At least that’s what we tell ourselves while wondering what it takes to keep up…

Close up wind bunch - RS800 Spring Championship © Tim Olin

Andy and Allyson realised that the new boat wasn’t quite ready for top competition and after an eventful journey just getting to the event (direct from Hong Kong!) and one issue too many, headed for an afternoon of boat bimbling to allow normal service to resume on Sunday. A few others had issues of their own but normally only resulting in a swim or sudden course change to avoid one of the other classes we shared the water with. No major incidents to report and good clean racing.

Black Kite - RS800 Spring Championship © Tim Olin

In the evening it was off to the recently re-opened pub in the village, which coped admirably with being descended upon by hordes of hungry and thirsty sailors.

Sunday was almost Groundhog Day but with perhaps five knots less and bigger shifts. Eyes out of the boat were the order of the day. The race officer thought we wanted more so put an extra lap in for the last two races. Still not convinced we did four laps on race five but everyone got a finish. More close racing with plenty of place changes kept everyone on their toes. Thanks to Rutland SC for a great racing weekend.

Winners Luke and Emma McEwen with Rutland SC Commodore John Forthergill - RS800 Spring Championship © Tim Olin

The results don’t reflect how fast some people were sailing and there is plenty of potential for others to shine in the rest of the season. Those who didn’t travel missed out on a great weekend – see everyone in two weeks at Stokes Bay SC 8-9 April. Find all the event information about your RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix Event Number Two here.