GUL RS Nationals Day 9

Gul RS400, RS700, RS800 National Championships- Day 4 Title sponsor- Gul International Associate sponsor- Jeep Following a day of abandoned racing, the fleets were greeted with 10-12 knots this morning, which increased to 18 knots during the racing. The race committee made the decision to run three races for the 400s and 800s, and four for the 700s. The shifting conditions and the close competition meant that those that had done their meteorological homework gained an advantage. RS400 There can be no other way to open a report on today�s racing without saying Roger Gilbert and James Stewart. The day truly belongs to them with three bullets. Gilbert and Stewart opened a door to the championship that seemed slammed shut, starting the day in 7th, 24 points behind the leader Chris Jennings and ending in 1st can only be described as an awesome performance. The first race, started by Russ Gibbs and Jayne Singleton, as pathfinders was a battle behind Gilbert and Stewart and Duncan Glen and Tim Mitchell. The lead swapped between the two during the race a number of times. Glen was faster down the run when the breeze was relatively light and Gilbert was faster upwind. Glen lead after the second lap, Gilbert came through on the last beat and was able to hold on down the last run as the breeze had picked up. Glen and Mitchell were to have the best day of their champs scoring 2,9,2 giving them third for the day but having to count a 107 from a disastrous first day leaves them well down the fleet. Dan Vincent and Adrian Lynham were also having a golden day and finished the first race in third. Their results were to take them all the way up to third at the end of the day, a jump of six places, and a position that Dan would have taken without question had he been offered it! Jon Gorringe and Toby Lewis slotted a 4th, another consistent performance that keeps them in the running. Colin and Tony Prince came in 5th, on a day that was to prove much better for them. The second race saw David Giles and Jared Halligan, who were having a much more consistent day, as pathfinder. Gilbert and Stewart stamped their authority by leading from start to finish. Vincent and Lynham came in second followed by Robin Kenyon and Keith Bedborough who were having their best day of the championships, fighting their way into the top 15. The third race with Jonathan Ching and Claire Phethean as pathfinders again saw domination from Gilbert and Stewart, who lead from start to finish. Gilbert said the key to their performance was hard work, they knew that they were languishing well down the fleet but put in an incredible amount of work to give themselves the best chance. Even with three bullets their position was still going to be dependent on the performance of the leading sailors Chris Jennings and Craig Burlton. Unfortunately, Jennings was to have probably the worst day of his campaign and Burlton, although consistent with 6,6,11; good enough for fourth on the day, was not able to hold of the storming challenge of Gilbert and Stewart. Duncan Glen finished the race second, followed in by Colin and Tony Prince, a result to take the Princes to 6th. 4th was Vincent, 5th Russ Gibbs and Jayne Singleton bringing them up to 13th overall. RS700 The fresher conditions meant that the heavier sailors had an advantage today. Neil Robinson scored two bullets and a 4th, assuring his move from 3rd place to 1st. He is closely followed by Andy White, with two 2nds and a 4th. Both Robinson and White suggested that the racing depended very much upon staying upright today. Ben Oakley�s lighter weight placed him at a disadvantage, slipping back to third place with 9.7.8. Gareth Morgen enjoyed the fresher conditions, with 1.5.2., placing him in the middle of the close competition for 3rd, 4th, and 5th place. RS800 Greg Wells and Celia Edgington had a cracking first race today, with a half leg lead throughout. Wells� knowledge of the forecast led him to the right of the course, where he was lifted to the windward mark. He immediately gybe-set which assured him the race. Control, sailed by Neil Upton-Brown and Ian Gotts, had a better day, managing to change spinnaker between the second and third race, and still finish 2nd. Hyde Sails, sailed by Richard Lovering and Richard Kent, were back on form today, scoring two bullets and a third. The pressure is on for Michael Lennon and Craig Davies, scoring 2.2.4, who need to hold onto their 3 point lead. Hyde Sails and Lennon/Davies need to keep an eye on LDC Racing Sailboats, sailed by Nick Peters and Caroline Litchfield, who jumped from 11th place to 3rd place today, with 4.5.10. Overall positions after 4 days RS400 1st 873 Roger Gilbert &James Stewart 2nd 949 Craig Burlton & Andrew Bonsey 3rd 980 Dan Vincent & Adrian Lynham 4th 1102 Jon Gorringe & Toby Lewis 5th 896 Chris Jennings & Ed Nicklin 6th 1055 Colin & Toby Prince 7th 1044 Stewart & Ben Robertson 8th 1007 Richard Catchpole & Alan Woosey 9th 1009 Colin & Sarah Smith 10th 1072 David Giles & Jared Halligan RS700 1st 744 Neil Robinson 10pts 2nd 741 Andy White 12pts 3rd 714 Ben Oakley 20pts 4th 712 Gareth Morgen 23pts 5th 716 Carl Vining 23pts 6th 708 Steve Stubbs 32pts 7th 724 Russell Belben 34pts 8th 706 Gerard Hughes 38pts 9th 727 Paul Bartlett 41pts 10th 707 Paul Lewis 46pts RS800 1st 927 Michael Lennon & Craig Davies 7pts 2nd 934 Richard Lovering & Richard Kent 10pts 3rd 930 Nick Peters & Caroline Litchfield 20pts 4th 961 Neil Upton-Brown & Ian Gotts 27pts 5th 835 David Sayce & Fiona Sayce 31pts 6th 871 Geoff Carveth & Jim Dean 31pts 7th 874 Tim Johnson & Laura Chapman 32pts 8th 935 Lee Sydenham & Anne Vaudry 34pts 9th 932 Ricky Tagg & Steve Greaves 35pts 10th Tracey Covell & Vanda Zadorozny 39pts