Bumper turnout of 41 Boats at RS400 Summer Championships
by Mark Oakey on 21 Jun 2017
RS400 Summer Championships Sportography.tv
Having grown up 10 miles from HISC and been to more Fed weeks thank I can remember, in my head an event at Hayling is always hot and sunny with light to moderate winds. This was certainly the case for the RS summer champs, where over 200 boats competed across eight classes.
The 400 was the place to be for this weekend. Enough power to get going in the light breeze while much more comfortable than the fast planning trapeze boats in the lighter stuff. The perfect balance. This was represented with the smashing entry of 41 boats and travellers having come from Scotland in the North and Rock in the West.
We shared a course with the 200’s, 700’s and 800’s with the expert race team getting away three races a day for each fleet without a single general recall. Impressive work there! Especially considering that the fleets rarely clashed on the race track.
Although, I will note that 800’s have a huge wind shadow (as expected) and running 200’s seem to have a huge wind shadow while appearing stationary (half expected). With entries now streaming in for the National champs many teams were using this event as a serious warmup and the results were a good indicator of general form and expected performance – despite several encounters with the U flag more later.
Saturday’s racing took place in 8-10 knots, with the occasional 12 knot gust to get everyone excited that the sea breeze might really kick in. Racing was tight throughout the fleet with three different race winners by the end of day one.
A few of the front runners were caught out by the U flag and had a nasty surprise when they came ashore to find their scores erased. The free beer that was handed to you as you tallied off certainly helped to soften the blow; having been one of the transgressors.
After the first day’s racing it was fleet newcomers Francisco and Teresa Lobato from Queen Mary who sat atop the leader board with what looked like the only consistent set of results in the fleet. They were even top of the table despite a tally penalty for failing to collect their free beer - widely viewed as their biggest mistake of the weekend!
Competing strongly for the Duckhams nominations were Mike Sims / Keith Bedborough who moored up on the Windward in race one, and class Supremo Sir Maximus Tosetti who became so distracted by the (admittedly very impressive) low-level Spitfire flypast that he started reaching up the beat and lost five places.
The fleets spent a lovely evening basking in the mid-summer sun, drinking beer and eating curry on the fantastic sailing club balconies - with the added bonus of the Americas cup live on the big screen (depending whether or not you supported Oracle Team USA!). A mass RS event must be the only way to meet such a vast variety and volume of dinghy sailors in the world. It turns out that the people who sail either the slow or the uncomfortable boats are also great to share a beer with.
Sunday dawned without a breath of wind, but the sun was out so I couldn’t find anyone who seemed to care. There did seem to be a couple of sore heads around and it was great to see that the fleet are working hard in the bar to maintain the sail hard, party hard reputation (mentioning no names ,ahem, Chipperfield, Vincent…). An hours wait was called to allow the gentle (very gentle) sea breeze to build before the fleet were sent out to the bay.
Another three races were sailed in wind right on the bottom end of the wind range. Great work by the race team to get these in with such challenging conditions. Again there were three different race winners showing just how tight the racing was . Again consistency was hard to come by. And again Francisco and Teresa were never far from the front. They took the honours by a handful of points from a congested pack just behind them. Impressive work for these newcomers to the circuit, with national champions and Olympians occupying the places close behind them.
A cold drink in the sun concluded a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, with competitive racing, fantastic weather, great race organisation and great mates.
| Rank |
Sail Num |
Helm |
Crew |
Club |
R1
17 Jun |
R2
17 Jun |
R3
17 Jun |
R4
18 Jun |
R5
18 Jun |
R6
18 Jun |
Total |
Nett |
| 1st |
1215 |
Francisco Lobato |
Teresa Lobato |
QMSC |
2.0 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
1.0 |
(13.0) |
6.0 |
31.0 |
18.0 |
| 2nd |
1441 |
Paul Oakey |
Mark Oakey |
Portchester SC |
(42.0 UFD) |
5.0 |
1.0 |
9.0 |
1.0 |
4.0 |
62.0 |
20.0 |
| 3rd |
1189 |
Steve Restall |
Chris Stubbs |
Downs SC |
1.0 |
(8.0) |
5.0 |
8.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
28.0 |
20.0 |
| 4th |
4 |
Mike Sims |
Keith Bedborough |
Dalgety Bay SC |
12.0 |
1.0 |
6.0 |
2.0 |
(42.0 UFD) |
2.0 |
65.0 |
23.0 |
| 5th |
1418 |
Howard Farbrother |
Louise Hosken |
QMSC |
9.0 |
4.0 |
(12.0) |
3.0 |
2.0 |
5.0 |
35.0 |
23.0 |
| 6th |
1309 |
Russell Clark |
Penny Clark |
RNSA/Stokes Bay SC |
5.0 |
(9.0) |
9.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
1.0 |
34.0 |
25.0 |
| 7th |
1454 |
Jonathan Heissig |
Nicky Griffin |
Llangorse SC |
3.0 |
6.0 |
3.0 |
(18.0) |
7.0 |
7.0 |
44.0 |
26.0 |
| 8th |
1017 |
Sean Cleary |
Annalise Nixon |
Oxford SC |
7.0 |
3.0 |
10.0 |
12.0 |
4.0 |
(13.0) |
49.0 |
36.0 |
| 9th |
1202 |
Sam Knight |
Sam Pickering |
Bartley SC |
13.0 |
(15.0) |
7.0 |
6.0 |
8.0 |
8.0 |
57.0 |
42.0 |
| 10th |
1429 |
Neil Bevington |
Alan Skeens |
Lee-on-Solent SC |
6.0 |
7.0 |
14.0 |
(17.0) |
10.0 |
14.0 |
68.0 |
51.0 |
| 11th |
1414 |
Caroline Whitehouse |
Jason McDonnell |
Bartley SC |
(20.0) |
12.0 |
20.0 |
10.0 |
9.0 |
10.0 |
81.0 |
61.0 |
| 12th |
1469 |
Jon Gorringe |
Ben George |
Parkstone YC |
(42.0 UFD) |
42.0 UFD |
2.0 |
7.0 |
5.0 |
9.0 |
107.0 |
65.0 |
| 13th |
437 |
David Thomas |
Tim Norris |
Warsash SC |
8.0 |
11.0 |
(19.0) |
16.0 |
15.0 |
16.0 |
85.0 |
66.0 |
| 14th |
1439 |
Pete Vincent |
Heather Chipperfield |
Lymington Town SC |
4.0 |
14.0 |
17.0 |
19.0 |
14.0 |
(20.0) |
88.0 |
68.0 |
| 15th |
1181 |
Bruce Mills |
Andrea Jarman |
Warsash SC |
(42.0 UFD) |
13.0 |
15.0 |
13.0 |
18.0 |
11.0 |
112.0 |
70.0 |
| 16th |
836 |
Adam Humphrey |
Jo Humphrey |
Thorne Island SC |
15.0 |
19.0 |
18.0 |
11.0 |
11.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
116.0 |
74.0 |
| 17th |
1105 |
Clive Everest |
Helen Everest |
HISC |
10.0 |
16.0 |
16.0 |
15.0 |
27.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
126.0 |
84.0 |
| 18th |
1210 |
Mike Partridge |
Claire Davis |
HISC |
19.0 |
(42.0 UFD) |
21.0 |
30.0 |
12.0 |
12.0 |
136.0 |
94.0 |
| 19th |
1393 |
Oli George-Taylor |
Nick Zammit |
RNSA |
24.0 |
18.0 |
13.0 |
26.0 |
17.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
140.0 |
98.0 |
| 20th |
934 |
David Swift |
Rob Burgess |
Warsash SC |
21.0 |
17.0 |
24.0 |
(27.0) |
24.0 |
15.0 |
128.0 |
101.0 |
| 21st |
684 |
Matt Fowler |
Greg Shipley |
Pevensay Bay SC |
16.0 |
26.0 |
25.0 |
(28.0) |
19.0 |
19.0 |
133.0 |
105.0 |
| 22nd |
854 |
Chris Brown |
Amber-Maria Brown |
Weston / RORC |
23.0 |
25.0 |
(26.0) |
21.0 |
20.0 |
18.0 |
133.0 |
107.0 |
| 23rd |
1007 |
Nick Daniels |
Mark Aitken |
Warsash SC |
27.0 |
20.0 |
22.0 |
20.0 |
(29.0) |
21.0 |
139.0 |
110.0 |
| 24th |
963 |
Adam Whitehouse |
Chris Bownes |
Wilsonian SC |
14.0 |
(42.0 UFD) |
11.0 |
5.0 |
42.0 UFD |
42.0 DNC |
156.0 |
114.0 |
| 25th |
421 |
Adrian Neal |
Tracy Neal |
Castle Cove SC |
29.0 |
24.0 |
(30.0) |
23.0 |
22.0 |
17.0 |
145.0 |
115.0 |
| 26th |
1212 |
Richard Ashwell |
Tony Cliff |
Bartley SC |
28.0 |
23.0 |
(35.0) |
22.0 |
21.0 |
23.0 |
152.0 |
117.0 |
| 27th |
1447 |
Mike Tustin |
Emily Watson |
Bowmoor SC |
17.0 |
22.0 |
28.0 |
29.0 |
23.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
161.0 |
119.0 |
| 28th |
1400 |
Steve Middleton |
Chris Rowland |
Burghfield SC |
18.0 |
10.0 |
8.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
42.0 DNC |
42.0 DNC |
162.0 |
120.0 |
| 29th |
1228 |
Andrew Johnson |
Paul Blackburn |
Grafham Water SC |
(30.0) |
29.0 |
29.0 |
25.0 |
16.0 |
26.0 |
155.0 |
125.0 |
| 30th |
1101 |
Simon Baker |
Chris Hopkins |
QMSC |
25.0 |
(27.0) |
27.0 |
24.0 |
25.0 |
25.0 |
153.0 |
126.0 |
| 31st |
1357 |
Simon Coleridge |
Tim Collins |
Rock SC |
11.0 |
(42.0 UFD) |
23.0 |
14.0 |
42.0 DNC |
42.0 DNC |
174.0 |
132.0 |
| 32nd |
1342 |
Max Tosetti |
Anna Wallin |
QMSC |
22.0 |
21.0 |
32.0 |
36.0 |
32.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
185.0 |
143.0 |
| 33rd |
1022 |
Andy Clark |
Lukasz Sieniawski |
Lancing SC |
32.0 |
33.0 |
(38.0) |
34.0 |
26.0 |
22.0 |
185.0 |
147.0 |
| 34th |
1060 |
Pete Pickford |
Ben |
Thorne Island SC |
(37.0) |
32.0 |
36.0 |
31.0 |
28.0 |
24.0 |
188.0 |
151.0 |
| 35th |
527 |
Andy Powell |
Ian Verso |
Warsash SC |
(33.0) |
30.0 |
33.0 |
32.0 |
31.0 |
27.0 |
186.0 |
153.0 |
| 36th |
759 |
Peter King |
Rob Corfield |
Dell Quay SC |
31.0 |
31.0 |
34.0 |
33.0 |
30.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
201.0 |
159.0 |
| 37th |
1241 |
Joe Henry |
Roly Wilson |
RNSA |
26.0 |
28.0 |
31.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
42.0 DNC |
42.0 DNC |
211.0 |
169.0 |
| 38th |
915 |
Sean Curtis |
Simon Goldfarb |
Emsworth Slipper SC |
35.0 |
34.0 |
37.0 |
38.0 |
34.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
220.0 |
178.0 |
| 39th |
1333 |
Rob Corfield |
Chris Campbell |
Dell Quay SC |
(42.0 DNC) |
42.0 DNC |
42.0 DNC |
37.0 |
33.0 |
28.0 |
224.0 |
182.0 |
| 40th |
579 |
Tim Shuttleworth |
James Shuttleworth |
Burghfield SC |
34.0 |
35.0 |
40.0 |
35.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
42.0 DNC |
228.0 |
186.0 |
| 41st |
975 |
Simon McGee |
Jamie Macknight |
RNSA |
36.0 |
36.0 |
39.0 |
(42.0 DNC) |
42.0 DNC |
42.0 DNC |
237.0 |
195.0 |
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