RS800 Fat Face Open at Draycote Water SC

by Sarah Marriott on 16 Mar 2006 The first round of the RS800 Fat Face circuit kicked off this weekend at Draycote Water Sailing Club.

Twenty-Two boats braved the chilly forecast for a weekend of competitive racing in everything from 4 knots to 15 plus snow!

Day One, Race One and it’s the lightest breeze the 800s have seen in a while. With the crews remembering how to trapeze in front of the shrouds, there were gains to be made early on.

Top mark for the first time and Matt Gill/Jimbo Hughes rounded just ahead of Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel (Magic Marine). Ian Martin and Claire Booth (Sail4Cancer) rounded in 3rd.

Sadly for Tim Collins and Simon Coleridge, their spectacular tangle which left them floundering on the spreader mark for quite some time was caught on camera by none other than Jane Olive who took up the coaching spot this weekend while poor Spod recovered from man flu!

As the wind died there was lots of place changing further back in the fleet, but the top three showed speed and consistency; Irish and Gotrel (Magic Marine) taking the first bullet of the day, Gill and Hughes in second, Booth and Martin (Sail4Cancer) in third.

Thankfully the wind filled in a little for race two and the tactic at the start was to get onto Port as soon as possible! Local boys Irish and Gotrel (Magic Marine) lead from the word go, Paddy Gamble and Fiona Lockwood back on form sailed their way into second place and held their own to the finish line. Fleet newcomers Charlie Roome and Steve Hall posted their best result of the day with a third place, great work! Great also to see Rob Watson and Gimp back on the racecourse after a season’s break, a 4th place for them.

Last race of the day and this time left up the first beat paid off. Calling the shots right this time was Martin and Booth (Sail4Cancer) rounding the top mark just ahead of Justin Deal and Sarah Marriott, Irish and Gotrel (Magic Marine) hot on their heels. The puffs and shifts lead to lots of place changing but Martin and Booth held their nerve to the finish to take the bullet. Irish and Gotrel fought their way into second place forcing Deal and Marriott to settle for third.

After a much needed hot shower Steve Irish and Jane Olive treated the fleet to an excellent debrief of the days racing. Just when we were all feeling so confident with our performance we realised where we were going so wrong! But a huge thanks to Jane and Steve who gave us all some excellent advice and some race winning tips – made so much clearer with the video camera! A few beers later and one or two kebabs it was off to bed – the lucky ones in the fleet had friends living nearby, or indeed booked a B&B – others opted for a night under canvas or even in the car… Snow greeted them in the morning!

Frozen boat covers, a biting wind and snow flurries made for the most inviting days sailing of the season so far…! Dry suits and steamers at the ready…. This was going to be cold!

Race four and the wind had piped up significantly from Saturday. The race officer made no mistake and got us all off without a hitch (except for one or two to the right!) By the top Mark Irish and Gotrel rounded in first, shaking off the icicles as they bore away! Deal and Marriott close behind with Gamble/Lockwood, Roz Allen & Neil Ashby and Peter Barton & Sally Wakefield in the chasing pack.

Frozen kite sheets and halyards made frustrating work for the crews and before you knew it we were gybing onto port and laying the leeward gate. Ashby and Allen made the biggest gains in the fleet sailing into second place just behind the Magic Marine boys who secured their third victory of the event. Gamble and Lockwood sailed over the line in 3rd place with Martin and Booth in 4th after a spectacular recovery from a capsize.

Things were definitely getting colder… more snow flurries and ice coated trapeze strings – the race officer got us all off promptly again! Same story, Irish and Gotrel (Magic Marine) stomped all over the fleet to take the bullet while Ashby and Allen, still on spectacular form secured another second place close behind. Barton & Wakefield secured third place – an excellent recovery after a dodgy start whereby Pete fell out the boat with 30 seconds to go!

Last race of the day and only eleven boats left on the course! The snow and ice proved far too much for the sensible ones who left the final line up to battle it out for the podium positions! Barton and Wakefield lead the fleet round the first windward mark, but true to form (and with no Irish/Gotrel on the course!) Ashby and Allen secured the bullet! Gamble and Lockwood hung in there to take second with Barton and Wakefield in third.

And so the podium positions were filled. Third place after an excellent weekend of consistent results went to Ian Martin and Claire Booth (Sail4Cancer). Paddy Gamble and Fiona Lockwood sailed themselves into second on the final day while Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel (Magic Marine) proved victorious once again to claim top spot, the Winners of the Fat Face RS 800 Draycote open meeting.

Victory in the Silver fleet went to Charlie Roome and Steve Hall – an excellent circuit debut for them, while second place was awarded to Phillip Highfield and Tamsin Butcher who put in an excellent effort to take 10th place.

Thanks to everyone who took part and to Draycote Water Sailing Club for making a cold and miserable weekend into a thoroughly enjoyable and competitive one! Next circuit event is April 22/23rd at Rutland - spring will definitely be upon us so we hope to see you all there!

RS800 Final overall positions after 6 races, 1 discard:
1 1058 Steve Irish Martin Gotrel Draycote Water SC 1 1 2 1 1 DNC 6pts
2 1012 Paddy Gamble Fiona Lockwood Stokes Bay SC 13 2 5 3 4 2 16
3 1089 Ian Martin Claire Booth Bough Beech SC 3 5 1 5 5 4 18
4 1016 Peter Barton Sally Wakefield Royal Lymington 11 6 7 7 3 3 26
5 1101 Neil Ashby Whistable 10 12 DNF 2 2 1 27
6 1010 Ollie Page Tom Odell Lancing 5 9 6 4 6 DNC 30
7 1054 Sarah Marriott FPSC 6 8 3 6 9 DNC 32
8 1075 Matt Gill James Hughes Royal Corinthian 2 11 9 8 10 DNC 40
9 964 Charlie Roome Steve Hall Draycote Water SC 7 3 4 18 11 DNC 43
10 848 Phillip Highfield Tamsin Butcher Waveney & Oulton Broad 4 15 8 10 13 10 45
11 1059 Ralph Singleton Sophie Singleton Chew Valley Lake SC DNF 7 14 12 8 6 47
12 1076 Robert Watson James Holmes Royal Corinthian 15 4 DSQ 17 7 5 48
13 808 Daniel Tregastes Polly Tregastes Restronguet SC 17 20 10 11 12 7 57
14 991 Malcolm Streeter Miles Roebuck HISC 9 10 17 15 15 9 58
15 836 Derek Buchanan Elaine Buchanan Oxford 16 17 12 9 14 8 59
16 1047 Simon Grundy Guy Whitby HISC 8 14 13 14 16 11 60
17 883 Kate Gillow Andy Griffiths Draycote Water SC 12 13 16 13 DNC DNC 77
18 987 Tim Collins Simon Coleridge RORC 18 16 11 16 DNC DNC 84
19 989 Ben Schooling Tim Hirst Datchet 14 DSQ 15 DNC DNC DNC 98
20 815 Sam Ferens A Harvey 19 19 18 DNF DNC DNC 102
21 909 Iain Christie Adam Smith Draycote Water SC 20 18 19 DNC DNC DNC 103
22 1105 Jane Smethwick Nicholas Hand 21 DNC DNC DNC DNC DNC 113