Congratulations to Nick Craig and Tobytastic, RS400 Inland Champions 2024!

Grafham laid on a fantastic forecast of 12 knots and glorious sunshine for day one of the RS400 Inland Championships, sponsored by Rooster Sailing.  The RS400s shared the lake with the RS200s and RS500s, who also contested their inland championships.

Race one saw defending champions Nick Craig and Toby Lewis take an early lead in the rapidly shifting breeze.  They extended downwind in the gusts to win from Tom Halhead/Paul Hilliar, with Sam Knight/Chris Bownes winning a tight scrap for third.

Sizeable gusts up to 18 knots were coming down the racecourse and  Craig/Lewis again took an early lead but with Ollie Groves/Esther Parkhurst nipping at their heels.  A big shift on the second upwind launched Halhead/Hilliar into the lead.  The top two battled for a lap before Craig/Lewis showed their experience to win the race but Groves/Parkhurst launched into a massive gust on the final downwind to take the runners-up spot.

The wind stayed shifty but with increasingly punchy gusts for the final race.  The same top three pulled away from the fleet and had some super tight racing with lots of lead changes.  At the finish, only two seconds separated the top three, with Craig/Lewis somehow coming out ahead of Halhead/Hilliar and Groves/Parkhurst.  Knight/Bownes came fast on a late charge but just ran out of racecourse and finished only a few seconds further back.

Sunday morning racing got underway in 10-12 knots.  Significant shifts regularly rolled through and kept everyone on their feet but without the whopping gusts of the previous day.  Groves/Parkhurst were super-fast out of the blocks for the first race, battling for the lead with Knight/Bownes and Chris/Nikki Webber.  However, the wind gods had other ideas for the chasers, and Craig/Lewis pulled through to take the runners-up spot ahead of Halhead/Hilliar.

Knight/Bownes scorched into the first mark from the left in the next race and quickly built a sizeable lead but unfortunately, they forgot to mention to Craig/Lewis that it was their turn to win a race.  Sure enough, the Jaws music started playing, and Craig/Lewis couldn’t be denied the race win and the event win with a race to spare.

 The wind softened a little to 8-10 knots for the final race and Craig/Lewis squeaked around the first mark in front of Halhead/Hilliar and the Webbers.  Craig/Lewis gybed early with Groves/Parkhurst to launch off into the lead.  It turned out that both corners of the first run paid heavily and as the leading two came into the downwind gate, Stuart Halman/Anna Walsh were hot on the heels of the leaders.  As the large shifts continued to roll through, the leading pair were duelling so hard that they were joined by Knight/Bownes. 

Overall, the results said that Craig/Lewis won at a canter, but the detail showed that the racing was tight all through the weekend.  Runners-up Groves/Parkhurst really took it to the event winners on day two, but Craig/Lewis showed their class to consistently pull through to the front of the fleet.  Halhead/Hilliar were rewarded with third overall for a consistent series, finishing ahead of Knight/Bownes.

Many thanks to the club for putting on an excellent event.  The race team did an outstanding job of cranking out the races at an amazing pace. 

Report by Paul Hilliar

Photos: Hilary Talbot and Graham Timms

Full photo gallery thanks to Hilary Talbot here

Up on Y&Y here

Rooster Prize Winners

Rooster Endeavour Prize Max and Amy Burrows, Rutland SC

Rooster Mid Fleet Heroes Gary Knott and John Tailby, Notts County SC

RS400 and RS500 Inland Championship

Grafham Water Sailing Club

Results are provisional as of 13:32 on October 6, 2024

RS400 Class

Congratulations to Chris Catt and Emma Hivey, from RNSA/ASA, RS200 Inland Champions 2024!

Once again we made the trip to Grafham Water for our Inlands with a promising forecast for the weekend. With the fleet returning to the flat waters the question was who would come out on top; National Champions Ben Whaley and Lorna Glen, the experienced duo of Chris Catt and Emma Clarke, British Sailing Team member Sam Whaley with super crew Jess Hammett, Scotland’s finest Brendan Clarke and Emilia Russel or would another in the fleet set up to challenge these contenders? With a relaxed noon start the fleet caught up before heading on the water with many questions over how much breeze there would be. Forecasts suggested 12-18 kts from the South East. 

Once on the water, the fleet got into the conditions and were ready for race 1. As with most first starts when we are doing line starts following our Nationals we had the customary general recall, with the start line re-laid we got away the second time under the U-flag that would remain for the weekend. Although there was 1 boat missing with Sam and Jess having snapped their tiller in the general recalled start now sailing in to find another rudder! Rumour has it Sam is getting good at this having done it 2 weeks previously in his Switch. Race 1 saw the wind shift to the right leading to a boat speed race but passing lanes did present themselves when utilised especially downwind and the ability to get planning. Ben and Lorna continued their Nationals form to take the win from Brendan and Emilia with Jamie Harris and Ellen Main in third. Race 2 saw the windward marks moved under the trees following the right-hand shift in the first race which enabled more ladders up the beat but equally many snakes. Ben and Lorna continued with another win this time beating Sam and Jess, having sourced the spare rudder from the club boat, with Paul Cullen and Verity Hopkins taking third. The third race of the day saw the breeze build slightly more with more consistent downwind planning being achieved, this saw Will Taylor and Niamh Davies win the race from Fresh Abendstern and Ross Kemp (Southwell), followed by Ben and Lorna to secure the most consistent results of the day on an otherwise very difficult day. Overnight this left Ben and Lorna leading from Will and Niamh with Fresh and Ross tied on countback in third. 

Most fleets go to Grafham for the racing but the RS200 fleet also has an additional competition that is possibly becoming more important, the Ben Whaley Fussbal Invitational. For those unaware, this occurs at any club with table football and Ben is attending. There were many challengers to Ben’s crown but he fended off all to retain his status as champion on the Grafham table.

Returning to the club for Day 2 the wind appeared more down the lake from the dam so the question became would the breeze be more consistent? The forecast implied slightly more breeze with 12-21kts again from the SE. After a short blast out to the course it looked like conditions would remain the same as Day 1. Fastest out the blocks were Ewan Wilson and Rory Gifford with Brendan and Emilia second, it seemed these were the conditions of Team Scotland taking the 1,2, with Sam and Jess in third. Although the sail out to the race course presented planning conditions it was clear these were less occurrent than on Day 1 with soaking skills also being tested. Race 5 and Chris and Emma took the win from Ollie Evans and Zoe Nieveen with Fresh and Ross in third. Race 6 and the final race saw Sam and Jess take the win from Chris and Emma with Brendan and Emilia in third. Upon arriving ashore and washing boats down, the fleet knew the final results were going to be tight with no boat achieving all top 5’s through the racing. 

Once calculated the winners were Chris and Emma from Sam and Jess with Will and Niamh rounding out the podium. This year the experience came through and with Sam and Jess getting their eye in could be challengers next weekend at the Endeavour. But downwind flyers Will and Niamh were proof that gains could be made on those final runs if confidence was there and breeze utilised.

The racing over the weekend proved how much you had to keep racing to the finish with gains still possible with a tightly packed fleet and gusts that would be 20m wide at points. At the prize giving Emma spoke highly of the enjoyment that was had during the racing and thanked to the club and association for putting on the event, as well as the RS200 Championship Tour sponsors, Rooster. 

Will Taylor

Photo gallery thanks to Hilary Talbot here

Prize Winners

Rooster Mid Fleet Heroes Ben Tylecote and Alistair Coates, Rutland SC

Rooster Endeavour Prize Winners Sam Johnson and Freya Welham Waveney and Oulton Broad SC

RS200 Inland Championship

Grafham Water Sailing Club

Results are provisional as of 14:42 on October 6, 2024

RS200 Class

Congtratulations to Peter Curtis and Martyn Denchfield, RS500 Inland Champions 2024!

The RS500 fleet were welcomed to Grafham Sailing Club on Saturday 5th October with beautiful sunshine and a sheltered rigging area.  

The race officer started promptly in the 12 to 15 knot southerly breeze, with everyone trying to gain in the slight shifts up the first beat. It was the son and father team, Sam and Robin Leather that lead the close fleet at the windward mark.  There followed some wild downwind sailing as the breeze increased to include gusts up to 18 knots, with large gains to be made by aiming and staying in the gusts. Big brother Thomas Leather and Maeve Hall showed their downhill speed securing a first, with local boats Peter Curtis and Martyn Denchfield in second and John Reynolds and Fran Howell in third.

Whilst the breeze moderated for the next two races, the intensity of the racing increased. Sam and Robin maintained their first-at-the-windward-mark success in all three races but could not hold the fleet back.  Mike Saul and Oli Kent improved throughout the day peaking with a 2nd in the last race, but it was Peter and Martyn securing firsts in races two and three, that put them as overall leaders at the end of the day, with Thomas and Maeve and father, daughter combo Bob and Isla Preston in joint second.

The fleet enjoyed a fantastic curry at the club on Saturday night, sharing notes on tuning and handling to help each other, especially fleet newcomers Catherine and Douglas.

Sunday morning presented the 500s with similar comfortable winds and shifts to tease, though the race officer nearly caught a couple of boats out with his military time-keeping schedule.  Bob and Isla won the first race, with Thomas and Maeve hard on their transom in second and John and Fran securing a third again, showing they perform best in the first races of the day. Thomas and Maeve won the second race, with Mike and Oli in hot pursuit, finishing second.

Battles were had throughout the fleet at front, middle and back, and saw some personal battles with boat speed and handling.  There were frequent place changes from back to front and vice versa. Despite winning the final race Bob and Isla settled for third overall as Thomas and Maeve performed more consistently well, taking second. It was class expert Peter, with stand-in crew, Martyn, who had done just enough, sneaking in a second in the last race to be crowned Inland Champions 2024! A great event for the 500 fleet and a warm welcome from the host club.

We hope to return to GWSC in June 2025, in the meantime, the finale of the Rooster National Tour 2024, is the RS End Of Seasons at Rultalnd SC, 2/3 November

Photo gallery thanks to Hilary Talbot here

Rooster Endeavour Prize winners: Catherine Wyman and Douglas Bradshaw, Grafham Water SC

RS500 Class