Results / Winter Championships Grafham Water SC - 09/03/2013

The RS200 Winter Championships at Grafham saw an intimate group of 20 boats battling the cold and forecasted snow, to produce some great close racing. All 3 fleets (Gold, silver and Bronze) were there blowing out the cob webs of the winter, fighting for some early season results. The Class Association were trialling having a class coach to support the Bronze fleet sailors, so Ant Chapman spent a chilly day on Saturday filming and chatting to the less experienced sailors.

As always Grafham produced a shifty breeze, and a temperature only the cows were enjoying! Saturday bought about the famous 200 deck perch for the majority of crews, apart from a few of the lighter teams who warmed up their hiking muscles. The 8 to 12 knot breeze saw close racing all through the fleet, with consistency being hard to obtain. Race One saw Ian Sharps and Ellie Martin win the tit for tat battle with Matt Mee and Emma Norris, which saw constant place changing. Mee and Norris crossed second, ahead of Chris Catt and Ally Martin. Race 2 saw another winner with the Rusden brothers taking control of the 3 way battle to hold on ahead of Catt and Martin closely followed by Chris and Katharine Martin completing the top 3. With the breeze gently building for the last race, Grafham produced the classic lake left shift on the last beat, allowing Catt and Martin to sneak through into the lead which they held to the finish, completing their clean sweep of the top 3 positions. Second was Ed Whitehead crewed by Alice Kingsnorth with the Rusden brothers keeping their nose in the overall standings with their 2^nd top 3 finish of the day. Overnight the light wind team of Catt and Martin led James and Will Rusden, followed by Chris and Katharine Martin.

After racing a debrief was held for the Bronze fleet sailors to help them pick up some tips and tricks via the medium of video.

Day 2 was true to the forecast of wind and snow, and it definitely delivered! The 12 to 16 knot Easterly Breeze was accompanied by the chill of snow. With all teams donning their best winter gear, they all bravely headed out for the final day. Whitehead, sailing with superstar substitute Juliet Charles in a doting sisterly act, started as they finished with a win in Race 4. Sharps and Martin who struggled in races 2 and 3, re-found some form to claim second place, with Catt and Martin finding their downwind form on the last run to sneak through to claim 3^rd . The breeze continued to build into race 5 which saw the return of the Rusdens to the top spot, claiming their second race win ahead of Mee and Norris who were starting to build their series. Bronze fleet sailors Phillip White and Lucy Preston sailed a great race, leading round the top mark to break into the top 3 in the penultimate race. With the cold starting to take its toll on a few teams, the bravest and most battle hardened stayed to fight it out in the final race. The Rusden brothers sailed a commanding race leading from start to finish to claim their 3^rd race win, and with it the event title. Mee and Norris got their second podium finish of the day and completed a hat trick of 2^nd place finishes, nudging out the ever consistent Chris and Katharine Martin into 3^rd in race 6.

In the overall standings Catt and Martin had done enough after their consistent opening 5 races to claim 2^nd overall, with Ed Whitehead and Alice Kingsnorth/Juliet Charles claiming 3^rd. Mee and Norris’s late surge earned them 4^th, piping Chris and Katharine Martin who finished 5^th.

The silver fleet was won by yet another Martin, Caroline, crewed by MJ Gifford, who put in consistent results. Second was Charlotte Savage with Mike Wood in the front, while Mike Saul and Meg Fletcher earned the final podium spot in the silver fleet, with a hugely consistent 7,7,7,7 in the last 4 races. Phillip White and Lucy Preston put in a hugely impressive series, claiming the top spot in the bronze fleet and 6^th over all, we’re sure they won’t stay in Bronze fleet for long! Tim and Carolyn Hand were second in the Bronze fleet closely followed by Chris Larr and Abigail Larr.

Once we’ve been through the video from the weekend the best bits will be posted on the RS200 website and the Facebook page, just search for the catchy name of “International RS200 UK Class Association”.

The next event in the Grand Prix series is at Northampton Sailing Club on the 13/14^th April. The club have kindly said we can all camp on site, so with dinner available and a Question of Sport themed quiz night for entertainment, there will be no need to leave the site all weekend! Look forward to seeing you all there.