Noble Marine RS200 National Championship 2026 at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Day 4

Day four of the Noble Marine RS200 National Championship started slightly slower than usual with light unstable wind a hangover from the passing cold front, as well as different types of hangovers from those who frequented 'Spoons' the night before.

After a 1 hour AP, and launching into the very light looking breeze, the forecasted 15-20 knots kicked in from the WNW. With the race committee deciding to use a more central racing area, perhaps race tactics would be different today. Would the left stay favoured or were there new features in play?

Top 3 going into the day was Ian and Emma in 1, Rory and Henry in 2 and Jamie and Ellen in 3. With mainly lighter racing in prior days, the bigger winds were going to keep everyone on their toes if they wanted to keep in contention.

Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torquay Day 4 - photo © Oli King

Race 7 got under way with the main contenders all starting fairy early and heading out to the left hand side of the race course. After playing the shifts left of middle, Ben and Isobel arrived at the windward mark first, followed by Jamie and Ellen then Rory and Henry.

Now the big question, straight set or gybe set... Generally, the front of the fleet straight set, with this seeming to pay off compared to those who gybed off. This downwind also gave the fleet its first taste of gybing in stronger winds, which caused some to do a bit of swimming both on the bear aways and gybes. Ben and Isobel were still ahead at the bottom mark, with Joe and Angus in 2nd and Jamie and Ellen in 3rd. Race leaders Ian and Emma had a tricky first beat but clawed back 8 places on the first downwind leg to round in 8th.

The 2nd beat remained fairly similar to the first, with Ben and Isobel holding onto the lead. The final downwind saw gusts and shifts throughout the course enabling some more gybe out options. Ben and Isobel completed their superb race and led to the finish. Brendan and Ellen had an excellent last downwind, gaining 4 places to take 2nd with 3rd going to Jamie and Ellen.

Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torquay Day 4 - photo © Oli King

The breeze and chop seemed to keep building, although the race committee said they only saw max of 20 knots during racing and 23 just after. I am sure most of the fleet thought it was at least a few knots more than that.

This race decided to throw a few curveballs which caught some of the fleet by surprise. With the gate boat starting on a strong lifted tack, Ben and Isobel made a call to start slightly later and to the right of the main pack. A decision excellently made as they once again got to the windward mark in first. With good pressure and a big righthand shift, those who went left were left struggling compared to those who went further right. Alistair and Ella lying 38th overall got to the windward in 2nd with James and Fiona closely behind in 3rd. Many top contenders had some serious ground to make up if they wanted a countable result.

The downwind was again breezy, leading to a few more people inspecting their slot gaskets and a general 50/50 split of the pack to the left and right. Ben and Isobel chose an early gybe which again worked wonders, as they held their lead to the bottom gate. James and Fiona improved up to 2nd and Theo and Eloise gained 7 places to round in 3rd. All coming in from the early gybe set, playing some of the shifts and gusts down the left (looking downwind).

Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torquay Day 4 - photo © Oli King

The wind was still up and the chop was pretty nasty by this point, another factor for everyone to deal with. As had become the norm of the day, Ben and Isobel managed to cover their competitors to get the windward mark in first again, followed by James and Fiona in 2nd and Theo and Eloise in 3rd.

The final downwind was a more open playing field, with the majority of the pack going for the gybe set but the straight set was not out of the question. Both Ben and Isobel with Theo and Eloise went for the left hand side and held out to take the first and second respectively. Will and Erin chose the straight set which gained them a place and took them into 3rd.

With the end to a big day on the water (top boat speed of 16.6kn by Ewan and Rory), a few breakages and a few swims, the fleet made itself back ashore in time for a relax before the evening of AGM, Prize Giving sponsored by RS Sailing and Trac Trac briefing.

All to play for going into the final day with Ian and Emma needing to find some speed to hold off the charging pack in the final two races.

Results after Day 4: