Noble Marine RS700 National Championship at Castle Cove Sailing Club - Day 1

Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 © Richard Bowers

The Noble Marine RS700 Nationals started with a fresh breeze with a gust of 25 knots and very low visibility, however the majority of the fleet proceeded to sail out to the start line to compete the first race.

Just before the first five minute warning signal Rob Higgins decided to tack and reverse into Richard Wadsworth. This caused a double capsize for them. The first race started but unluckily Richard was still capsized while Rob had managed to get away. Theo Galyer travelled upwind at a lightning pace and rounded the windward mark with Rob close behind. As the fleet headed downwind many sailors decided they fancied a swim. Jack Napolitano took advantage of this and moved into third. The second lap and race finished with Theo leading, Rob close behind and the rest of the fleet following shortly after.

The second race started swiftly after the finish thanks to the great race committee. The start line became very busy at the committee boat and a few boats found themselves in the wrong place and got pushed off the line. These boats included Jack who ended up crossing the start line at the very back. He managed to claw his way back to the front but Theo had already pulled away from the fleet. While sailing downwind Matt Conner was observed taking the safe option of dropping the kite and tacking rather than gybing in the breeze. The race continued to be really competitive with many position changes. Theo pulled out a considerable lead and finished the day with his second bullet.

Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 - photo © Richard Bowers

I would just like to thank Castle Cove SC on behalf of the RS700 fleet for the great racing today and for the nice warm pasties when returning to the beach after a hard day of racing.

RS700 Chair Theo Galyer wins the raffle for a mainsail at the Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 - photo © Richard Bowers

2021 is the 20th birthday of the RS700. Alex Newton-Southon (co-designer of the RS700 with Nick Peters) joined the fleet this for its AGM and birthday party. RS Sailing and Alex marked the boat's milestone by very generously presenting the fleet with a brand new main sail as a raffle prize. The lucky winner was RS700 Chair Theo Galyer. The fleet celebrated its 20th year with a smartly decorated birthday cake and a keg of local Cerne Abbas real ale. 20 years of speed!

20th birthday cake for the class at the Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 - photo © Simon Hawes

Results after Day 1:

Full results

Noble Marine RS700 National Championships 2021 - photo © Clare Sargent