Volvo Noble Marine RS400 National Championships – Day 1

by Matt Sheahan on 21 Aug 2017 There are two ways of making the day feel breezier than it really is; the first is to add rain, the second is to throw in a big seaway and for the opening day of the RS400 Nationals in Mounts Bay we had both.

The forecast suggested high teens to low twenty knots from the South with rain throughout the day. The rain bit was spot on while the breeze only nudged 20 at its peak. But it was the waves that really spiced things up.

With 74 boats entered the first gate start was an interesting affair. There was plenty of space for all to start yet the best laid plans of many in finding a spot along the line and then hanging onto it until the pathfinder crossed went out of the window when the fleet discovered how hard it was to manage boat speed in the big waves that were sweeping across the course.

When the fleet did get underway, all eyes were then focussed on remembering how to sail in big waves and how to stay in the boat through the tacks.

Unfortunately, for those that had been here at the last Nationals three years ago, the scars of ‘Big Wednesday’, when huge seas and a steady breeze well into the high twenties caused carnage came back to haunt.

Yet even though no such conditions were in store this time, it was difficult not to worry about what might happen next.

For those that could blot 2014 out of their minds the racing was exciting and full on, especially downwind where kite trim played second fiddle to surfing.

The usual suspects were among those surging to the front of the fleet with Keith Bedborough and Mike Simms taking the first win of the day.

Behind them Josh Metcalf and Jack Holden took second, while Francisco and Teresa Lobato took third. But race one had taken a heavy toll and a number of boats retired with broken gear.

The second race promised more of the same and according to the forecast, possibly more wind - in fact, the opposite happened. The breeze dropped as it swung right and the rain stopped, momentarily.

When racing did get under way the breeze was only in the low teens yet the sea state was still there. And with the big right hand shift the upwind legs became asymmetric. Starboard tack provided a head banging punch upwind into the steep waves, while port tack delivered a cruise across the waves – it was hard to figure out which way was best. But when it came to the downwind slide it was surf city once again.

In this race it was Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells that took the win with Francisco and Teresa Lobato taking second.

Given Francisco’s former success in the Mini Transat, culminating in an overall win in 2009, perhaps it was no surprise that a man used to pushing tiny overpowered boats downwind in big waves had the biggest smile in the fleet and a scoreline to match.

After two races the leader board has three teams on equal points, Gorring/Wells, Simms/Bedborough and the Lobato duo, a perfect start to what promises to be a hotly contested Nationals.

The forecast for day two suggests a big change with light winds, but still with that lumpy sea state.

Rank	Fleet	SailNo	HelmName	CrewName	Club	R1	R2	Total	Nett
1st	Gold	1469	Jon Gorringe	Oli Wells	Parkstone YC	4	1	5	5
2nd	Gold	1432	Mike Simms	Keith Bedborough	Dalgety Bay SC	1	4	5	5
3rd	Gold	1215	Francisco Lobato	Teresa Lobato	QMSC	3	2	5	5
4th	Gold	1309	Russell Clark	Emma Clark	RNSA/ASA/SBSC	6	3	9	9
5th	Gold	1441	Paul Oakey	Mark Oakey	Portchester SC	8	5	13	13
6th	Gold	1438	Paul Hillier	Matt Bailey	RYA	7	6	13	13
7th	Gold	1262	Josh Metcalfe	Jack Holden	Arun YC/Y Felinheli	2	12	14	14
8th	Gold	1463	Stewart Robertson	Sarah Robertson	Royal Forth YC	5	11	16	16
9th	Gold	1144	Alex Barry	Richard Leonard	MBSC/RCYC	10	7	17	17
10th	Gold	1460	Dave Exley	Mark Lunn	Leigh & Lowton SC	9	10	19	19
11th	Gold	1319	Ben Robertson	Jenny Douglas	Dalgety Bay SC	12	9	21	21
12th	Gold	1407	Hamish Gledhill	Jack Hopkins	West Riding SC	22	8	30	30
13th	Gold	1454	Jon Heissig	Nicky Griffin	Llangorse SC	11	22	33	33
14th	Gold	1283	Chris Pickles	Matt Sharman	Delph SC	18	15	33	33
15th	Silver	1109	Rob Jones	Robin Russell	Warsash SC	17	18	35	35
16th	Gold	1345	Robbie Wilson	Rory Rose	Wormit Boating Club	20	17	37	37
17th	Gold	1189	Steve Restall	Chris Stubbs	Downs SC	25	13	38	38
18th	Gold	1017	Sean Cleary	Annalise Nixon	Oxford SC	14	24	38	38
19th	Silver	1362	Ben Wilcox	Kenneth Laing	East Lothian YC	23	16	39	39
20th	Gold	1370	Neil McLellan	Andy McKeown	Dalgety Bay SC	16	23	39	39