Results / Gul RS200 Youth Championships Draycote Water SC - 06/09/2003

2003 GUL RS200 YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS, SUPPORTED BY MIKE SAUL DINGHY SERVICES The 2003 Gul RS200 Youth Championships were held at Draycote Water Sailing Club on 6th and 7th September, providing regular RS youth teams and competitors from other youth classes the chance to sail against one another. Saturday dawned warm with a gentle force 2 to 3, and nearly 20 RS200s from as far afield at Scotland made the journey, which was pleasing to see considering the event clashed with several others for the RYA recognised youth classes. The first race was led for the first three laps by Andy Robertson and Christina King, until they went for the finish line two laps early, allowing Charlie Roome and Sophie Hartley to gain the lead. They held this until the final run, when Paul Dorer and Ian Robertson got the better of the shifty winds to edge past and take the gun. The second race looked to be becoming a repeat of the end of the first, but half way up the second beat a large squall, with gusts reaching force 6, covered the race course and remained for the rest of the race. Despite capsizing Paul and Ian maintained their composure to win, and Nick Marshall and Fiona Foulkes from St. Mary�s Loch near Edinburgh pulled through to second, showing their heavy weather expertise. The final race saw conditions revert to the force 2 which we saw at the start of the day, and Charlie and Sophie got away well, followed closely by Paul and Ian. As the race progressed the wind died and Charlie and Sophie took advantage of the shifts to pull away and take the win, whilst behind Nick and Fiona finished second, followed by the ever consistent Andy and Christina in third, with Paul and Ian slipping to fourth on a difficult last run. Therefore overnight just three points separated the top four boats, with Dorer and Robertson the leading pair. Before the usual RS party class coaches Ian Pickard and Sarah Taylor reviewed the day�s racing, although several of the more established members of the RS circuit were spared their blushes by the fact that the video camera had to be put away when the support boat started to sink in the windy race! The following day was much lighter, and this prompted a short postponement before racing got under way. The first two races continued in much the same vein as the previous day, with Paul and Ian consolidating their position at the top of the standings with a first and a second. Andy and Christina also showed they had the ability when lake sailing skills came to the fore, securing two more thirds to climb to up the leaderboard. Charlie and Sophie struggled to maintain their form from the previous day, but stayed in contention with a fourth in the opening race. The lighter winds favoured Dan and Sean Vernon, who secured a second and a first, holding off Paul and Ian in the second race of the day. Going into the final race places were still up for grabs, but Andy and Christina finally avoided the jinx of coming third by sailing away from the field to win, with Adam Fox showing he was beginning to master helming a 200 to come second. In what may be the final event together for this generation of 200 sailors, Paul Dorer and Ian Robertson became RS200 Youth Champions, with Andy and Christina coming second and Charlie and Sophie third. Dan and Sean pulled up to fourth overall, and also won the prize for the first team aged 16 and under, showing they may be the stars of the future if they find the time around 29er sailing. Nikki and Sarah Sharp won the prize for first all girl team, whilst the boats from St. Mary�s Loch were definitely the teams who had travelled the furthest. The RS200 Youth Crowd would like to thank Draycote Water Sailing Club for agreeing to host the event at short notice, and especially the race officers Steve Irish and Paul �Don� Goodwin for doing such a good job in difficult conditions. Finally we would like to thank Gul for sponsoring the event, and also Mike Saul Dinghy Services for providing some of the prizes.