Barton and Steed GUL RS800 National Champions

by PR on 14 Sep 2007 Even when conditions became more lottery-like than fair sailing, one team still excelled above the rest. Peter Barton and David Steed (Skifftastic) from Lymington took first place and the RS800 National Championship title for 2007.

Sunshine but just a slight north easterly greeted the fleet for day 4 of the GUL RS800 National Championships 2007 at Eastbourne. With three races scheduled for the day, the first got off bang on time in about 6-7 knots of breeze.

Most of the fleet agreed that left was the way to go up the first beat, keeping nicely out of the tide, however with a good shift and some nice pressure some big gains were also had out on the right.

By the first mark very little separated the top ten boats as they fought for the breeze down the run. James Eastbury and Max Wheaton lead the way and rounded the leeward mark in first. Andy Cornah and Orwin Murray rounded in second with Ian Martin and Adam Broughton in third.

Two laps later and in only a couple of knots of breeze Lawrie Fitzjohn-Skyes and Dan Allen took the 8th bullet of the championships ahead of Justin Deal and Sarah Marriott (Fat Face) who finished 2nd. Peter Barton and David Steed (Skifftastic) maintained their consistent score line and took third place.

With only zephyrs of wind blowing down the course by the time race 2 was due to start, the Race Officer made the sensible decision to send the fleet ashore to wait for the breeze to settle. Sadly it didn’t materialise so racing was abandoned at 3:15 pm. Crazy golf then became the competitive activity of the day before the evenings well received hog roast!

C2 marine sponsored the evening’s prize giving, and winners of the Gold Fleet were Lawrie Fitzjohn-Skyes and Dan Allen while James Eastbury and Max Wheaton took the Silver Fleet Award.

Going into the final day of racing and the points couldn’t be more mixed. 7 different race winners out of the eight races sailed proves what a tough and varied competition it’s been so far. The forecast still looks to be on the lighter side so as always with 800 racing, it isn’t over just yet!

With big gains and losses all riding on the outcome of day 5, tension was running high. Despite a frustratingly light wind from the northeast, Race Office Maggie Macdonald waited for the sea breeze to fill in before getting the start sequence running. With a last race cut-off time of 1:30 pm, there was still a chance that two races would be held.

For many however it all went wrong from the word go – a general recall on a black flag start made and broke many people’s regatta.

Class Chairman Ian Martin and LDC’s Adam Broughton suffered the biggest blow of the fleet, one black flag too many for them, ruining their chances of a top five finish.

Then there was Neil Baker and James ‘Uzzi’ Hughes’ bad luck. As the hunters, they became the hunted as event leaders Peter Barton/David Steed (Skifftastic) sailed the duo across the start line taking them out of contention for top spot and indeed their overnight second place. In fact, the majority of the top ten sailed themselves out of the race opening up some interesting opportunities for the other boats.

By the second start the fleet got off cleanly and this time Mick Whitmore and Sarah Smith from Eastbourne showed a clean pair of heels to the remaining boats and rounded the top mark in 1st place ahead of Giles Bradford/Helen Farr and Andy Jeffries/Ally Ody.

By the end of the short 3-lap course Lawrie Fitzjohn-Sykes and Dan Allin had the winning form and took the bullet ahead of Rob Style and Ben Lister in second and Whitmore/Smith in 3rd.

With literally seconds until the last-race time limit the fleet were thrown into another hectic start sequence. But it wasn’t to be, a significant wind shift caused the start to be abandoned and the regatta was declared as over!

So, the top prizes went to the following:

In the Gold Fleet, third place went to Charlie Roome and Steve Hall who proved consistent in the light and breezier conditions. A stunning performance including two first-paces by Lawrie Fitzjohn-Sykes and Dan Allin rewarded them with 2nd place overall but there was no mistaking the National Champions for 2007.

Even when conditions became more lottery-like than fair sailing, one team still excelled above the rest. Peter Barton and David Steed (Skifftastic) from Lymington took first place and the National Championship title for 2007.

In the Silver Fleet Jamie Hilton and Tom Street fought hard to secure third place just behind Andrew Pickrell and Jonathan White who took second. But it was Simon Grundy and James ‘Gimp’ Holmes that took overall honours and secured 1st place in the silver fleet for 2007.

Mick Whitmore was awarded the first Master’s prize in 9th place while Sam Maxfield and Chris Fisher won the first Youth Boat Award in 13th. Sarah Marriott (FAT FACE) won the first lady crew award in 6th overall while Jane Olive secured the lady helm prize in 17th.

A huge thank you must go to Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club for hosting a fantastic National Championship. While the wind didn’t do exactly what we’d all have hoped for, everything else about the competition exceeded expectations. The food, the shore support, the race committee and the club’s all round enthusiasm made the event particularly special; thank you to everyone that made it all work so well.

Lots of appreciation also to our Sponsors, GUL, Holmenkol, Xtremity, C2 Marine, Velocitek, Harken, LDC Racing Sailboats and West Country Boat Repairs; without your generosity the event could never have been so successful.

For the real keen sailors amongst the fleet the next event is the Tide Ride this weekend at HISC. The Inlands then follow at the beginning of October at Grafham, hope to see you all there!

RS800 - Final overall positions

1st Peter Barton David Steed Royal Lymington YC 2 3 -7 4 3 6 1 3 51 80 22
2nd Laurie Fitzjohn-Sykes Daniel Allin Didtisham SC 3 7 51 2 4 15 -16 1 1 100 33
3rd Charlie Roome Steve Hall Northampton SC 16 -29 3 1 2 14 4 5 51 125 45
4th Neil Baker James Hughes RCYC 4 9 4 -27 1 2 3 25 51 126 48
5th Alan Olive Guy Filmore Stokes Bay SC / Draycott -26 5 5 18 6 4 13 13 51 141 64
6th Justin Deal Sarah Marriott Frensham Pond SC 19 2 1 20 51 12 10 2 51 168 66
7th Rob Style Ben Lister RTYC 1 23 51 5 -24 8 18 21 2 153 78
8th Andrew Jeffries Allyson Ody Eastbourne Sovereign SC 20 -24 51 8 11 3 11 24 4 156 81
9th Mick Whitmore Sarah Smith Eastbourne Sovereign SC -29 20 -23 9 7 16 17 14 3 138 86
10th Ian Martin Adam Broughton Bough Beech SC 51 1 6 3 51 1 8 20 51 192 90
11th Andy Cornah Orwin Murray Netley SC 7 12 21 -28 14 7 15 -22 14 140 90
12th Andrew Gould Vicky Gould Emsworth Slipper SC 10 19 13 11 13 19 -29 -35 6 155 91
13th Sam Maxfield Chris Fisher HISC -27 4 10 15 51 26 6 15 17 171 93
14th Simon Grundy James Holmes HISC 5 -35 11 23 18 -29 24 8 5 158 94
15th Alaistair Shires Penny Shires Stokes Bay SC 18 14 8 17 12 13 -38 -27 13 160 95
16th Ralph Singleton Sophie Singleton Chew Valley Lake SC 14 -36 9 7 51 10 21 28 7 183 96
17th Jane Olive Nick Murphy Stokes Bay SC 24 -40 51 6 10 11 2 36 9 189 98
18th Ross McKerchar Stu Gardiner Dalgety Bay SC -37 6 17 21 51 22 9 11 16 190 102
19th David Pike Nick Jerkins Eastbourne Sovereign SC 12 -31 24 14 23 5 5 -42 20 176 103
20th Philip King Tom Trueman Oxford SC 13 17 12 16 16 -23 14 19 51 181 107
21st Simon Coleridge Tim Collins RORC -40 8 20 22 15 21 -30 6 18 180 110
22nd Ben Schooling Tim Hurst Helensburgh SC 6 -33 15 26 22 -33 19 12 10 176 110
23rd Dom Johnson Jenny Johnson Downs SC 9 27 2 10 21 25 -36 26 51 207 120
24th Kate Gillow Neil Trickett Draycote Water SC 22 10 16 12 17 -43 25 -37 19 201 121
25th Andrew Pickrell Jonathan White Wilsonian SC -32 28 51 13 27 30 7 9 15 212 129
26th Richard Keeton Helen Rumbold Royal Lymington YC 17 13 29 37 51 51