Results

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

Massive congratulations to Harry McVicar forsecuring the Triple: National Champion, Inland Champion and End of Season Champion, Pete Mackin also cemented his victory of the 2023 Rooster National Tour.

The fewer sailors, the greater share of honours! 

RS300 Rooster National Tour – End of Seasons & Inland Nationals 2023 – Rutland 4^th & 5^th of November

Pete said “Come to the End of Seasons, it will be great!” Not sure on Pete’s interpretation of “Great” but it was a fantastic weekend despite the weather Saturday!

6 intrepid 300’s signed on, but by the time I arrived at a very wet, very cold and windy Rutland one had declared no stomach to this fight and departed, leaving a 5 strong band of brothers ready for the action of the weekends racing. Those of you who didn’t attend shall think themselves accursed they were not here! There was some classic close racing in challenging conditions and multiple place changes that the results don’t quite capture!  

The forecast was interesting and Saturday proved to be following the script – Consistent rain pouring down, cold and heavy gusts racing down the lake. Enthusiasm for launching across all fleets was low!

Race 1: Heavy Rain, Cold, Gusty & Shifting 15 – 20knts

With our own start, we obediently lined up for the Go – Though 1 of our team was predicably late and still some 300 meters away at the gun – No prizes for guessing that it was Pete… again!

Lawrence made the best of the start timing his run expertly to show Luke a clean transom down to leeward with Sam and Harry coming in fast above. Pete eventually crossed the line and tacked off immediately whilst Luke found all the snakes on the shifts. By mark 1 a pecking order for the weekend began to become clear with Harry leading Pete, followed by Sam, Luke and then Lawrence. Pete pulled past Harry on the second beat to take an impressive win given his start!

Race 2: Heavier Ran, Very Cold, Gusty & Shifty 13 – 16knts

The breeze moderated for the second race and Luke was caught shivering on the final countdown letting Sam lead off the line followed by Lawrence, Harry and Pete, to be honest I can’t quite remember what happened in the race as the cold was beginning to bite, but Pete took his second bullet with Luke cold on his heels and Harry uncharacteristically pulling in 3^rd a head of Sam. Lawrence, obviously not suffering from the cold, took a swim to cool down!

Race 3: Rain eased to drizzle, Very Cold, Steadier wind direction, 8knts dropping to 0knts

Pre-start manoeuvres saw Sam and Harry lining up at the Port end with Lawrence, Pete and Luke pilling down the line on starboard as the gun went – A well timed start and the two Port end flyers were off squeezing past Luke – they were going fast…. but in the wrong direction! Luke and Pete exchanged places but at the close of lap one and with the wind dropping Luke was ahead and praying for an early finish, however the race officer had other ideas as we marched on for the 2^nd lap. Pete and Luke continued to swap places and with the wind shifting left and dropping by the minute the front four started the last downhill drift with Luke a boat length or so clear of Pete, with Sam then Harry slightly further back. Needless to say Luke choked as Harry went hard left followed by Pete and Luke went hard in to reverse letting all-comers through – Pete expertly navigated the tricky conditions to drift off to a significant lead followed by Harry, Sam and some way, way back Luke. Lawrence had a tough day to bring up the rear.

With most sailors on parental duties for fireworks night (and Lawrence not allowed back to play Sunday) the fleet split for the evening with Luke opting for a warm hotel whilst Pete persevered in his Tin Tent.

Sunday dawned and what a difference a day can make -  We had Sunshine and the breeze was back… with a vengeance! The direction was a little steadier but the gusts were big, very big! Over coffee and bacon butties the lake was mostly white caps and the four 300 sailors all looked much more appropriately dressed after Saturdays big chill!!

Race 4: Sunshine, Chilly but not cold, Gusting 18 – 25+knts

Sam again went for a Port ender – it was going to be close….. however as reward for his audaciousness Luke dipped the bow by an inch and protected the left lane. The number of place changes between Harry and Luke through the race was too much to keep up with, Luke made a coupe of school boy errors heading to the wrong windward mark briefly to allow Harry a breather and Pete earlier managed to park himself on a mark! On final run Luke had again closed up on Harry, with Pete never far away. Harry, very politely, went for a swim on the gybe gifting Luke his lead back. On the final sprint beat to the finish all Luke had to do was tack for the line, Harry was close behind after a quick recovery and Pete had split off not far back. Not used to being at the sharp end, Luke tacked for the pin, only to find it was actually the start pin not finish! Gifting the lead back to Harry, Luke then just squeezed through a head of Pete for a 2nd!  

Race 5: Sunshine, Chilly but not cold, Gusty & Shifts 20 – 25+knts

Sorry not much to say on this one! The breeze had built again and it was definitely hang on to your hats in the gusts – The four of us rounded the windward mark in very close company, I think Pete, Luke and Harry and Sam, Luke managed to pop round on to the run neck and neck with Pete and the four of us careered down hill picking the waves, Luke had extended away from Pete and Harry but the last thing remembered was that rolling feeling as a belter came through with a shift as the mast slammed in to the wet stuff – No idea what happened after that other than according to the results Harry won!

Race 6: Sunshine, Chilly but not cold, Gusty & Shifts 20 – 25+knts

It was all to play for in race 6 – The winner of Pete and Harry would take the title and if Sam beat Luke he’d take 3^rd! If anything the wind was closer to the 25+knts with some hefty shifts accompanying the gusts, upwind was getting lumpy. It was full on sailing and we were all very close. Harry rounded 1^st and on his transom Pete then Sam with Luke seconds behind. Places changed hands again and again down the run and the beats with Harry never really significantly giving up his lead. Pete and Luke seemed locked together and missed Harry tacking off on a shift to extend out to what would be a Inland Championship winning lead to add to his Nationals in the summer and to take the end of seasons. Sam had decided it was his turn to take a swim, having kept a clean sheet all weekend to come in fourth.

Massive congratulations to Harry securing the Triple: National Champion, Inland Champion and End of Season Champion, Pete also cemented his victory of the 2023 Rooster National Tour.

A big thank you to Rooster Sailing who have again supported another excellent year's racing across the country for the RS300 class. The 2023 Rooster National Tour has been a huge success, showing solid growth and a big thank you goes to our sponsors, host venues and the RS Class Association.

2024 promises to be an exciting year for the RS300 class. Helping to celebrate 30 years of RS Sailing at Hayling Island in June, a new inlands venue at Carsington SC, the return of the RS300 Development Days and now the prospect of some brand new RS300s! There's never been a better time to join this growing class. Get in touch to find out more and arrange a test sail via our Facebook group "RS300 Class" or via the contact info on our website: RS300.org 

Report by Luke South

Up on Y&Y here

Photos Don Munro, Pete Mackin and Natalie Smith - make sure you scroll for the 300 photos after the generic ones!

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

RS EoS

RS200 Class

RS300 Class

RS End of Seasons Regatta – RS400

The final remnants of Storm Ciaran made a damp and chilly start for the 15 hard crews who battled through the downpours for the final RS400 Rooster National tour event of 2023. Rigging was optimised to allow maximum time in the clubhouse watching the late arrivals getting soaked while clutching a hot cup of tea to restore some feeling to cold hands.

Day one saw the breeze initially hovering around 12-15 knots before dying away through the day. A tight and shifty racecourse right on the shoreline made for close racing, with seconds proving the difference between a great race or a discard. Finding the conditions rather too easy were series leaders Ollie Groves and Esther Parkhurst, taking a couple of bullets and a 2^nd to lead comfortably overnight. Often sniffing around the lead, and snatching the final bullet of the day was Dave Exley and Alistair Coates to sit in 2^nd  with a gaggle of boats in close attendance behind. In with a shout of a podium finish at their first national event were Richard and Gemma Hanby proving that in the lighter conditions they could really mix it with the top crews.

An efficient turn around by the race team meant plenty of time for everyone to dry out before an evening at the local wheatsheaf, once again very well attended and a definite highlight of any Rutland event.

Sunday dawned bright and dry, although those of us enjoying breakfast at the local Best Western were treated to an uninterrupted view of the white horses blowing down the race area. A hyperspeed reach with the kite down the startline confirmed the conditions were definitely ‘fun’, and those keen enough to think about such subjects as rake and rig tension were seen to be popping the pins another few holes down on the shroud plates. The first race saw a monster course set up northerly leg of the reservoir, with only 2 laps possible in 40 minutes of racing. Once again Ollie and Ether were setting the pace, with a blinding last leg from Sam Knight and Chris Bownes popping them into 2^nd ahead of Dave and Alistair. With the bit between their teeth, Sam and Chris went on to take the remaining two bullets, with a 2^nd in the second race being enough for Ollie and Esther to take the overall event. Getting their own back with a final leg move in the final race, Dave and Alistair took 2^nd by a single point from Sam and Chris with the ever-consistent Tom Halhead and Paul Hilliar in 4^th.

The final event win was the cherry on the cake for Ollie and Esther who had already wrapped up the overall series after a stellar year on the circuit. Sam and Chris had done enough to defend a close 2^nd place from Tom and Paul, closely followed by Hamish Gledhill/Ross Southwell and Sam Watson/Geoff Edwards in 4^th and 5^th.  112 boats took part in the national tour this year, with 63 attending more than one event, a fantastic achievement for a fleet approaching its 30^th Anniversary. Next year promises to be even better, with a special anniversary event at Hayling Island celebrating everything RS before in addition to the regular tour events. Planning is already underway for the fleets 30^th National championships at Royal Torbay yc, if you have previously owned or are looking at an RS400 there isn’t a better time to be getting into the fleet.

Finally, the tour couldn’t continue to be so successful without the backing of its sponsors.  Huge thanks must go to Rooster for sponsoring both the final event and the overall series, as well as many of the prizes right across the fleet.

See you next year!

Sam Knight, RS400 Class Chair

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

Photos thanks to Don Munro and Natalie Smith

RS400 Class

RS500s at the RS End of Seasons Regatta - Rooster National Tour finale

A number of RS classes braved the cold, wind and rain and had a smashing time at Rutland on the weekend of the 4-5^th November.  The race team set superb windward leeward courses for both days with 3 races per day. 

Saturday saw persistent rain and a generally 20knot plus breeze decrease as the afternoon went on.  The earlier stronger breeze suited Peter and James Curtis winning the first race from Steve and Sarah Cockerill in second and the youth team of Thomas Leather and Maeve Hall in third.  The Cockerill’s got their own back in the second race, beating team Curtis into second with the Grafham team of John Reynolds and Fran Howell clinching third spot.  The wind started to fail during the third race and after a glamor start by the whole fleet, the beat became tight and shifty.  Samuel Leather, crewing for his dad Robin, convinced him to go up the right side.  The master stroke saw them round the windward mark in the lead, much to their (and everyone else probably) amazement.  The run to the leeward gate allowed team Cockerill to close and Leather rounded the gate just on the inside.  The wind had continued to drop and Leather welcomed the shortened course flag holding off Cockerill in a nail biting short reach to the finish line.  Curtis watched the battle ahead from third.

Sunday was sunny and the wind was back with a vengeance.  Curtis and Cockerill fought each other hard for the top two spots.  The young Leather/Hall pairing excelled in the strong breeze finishing in third in the first two races.  Bob Preston and fearless daughter Isla also enjoyed the breeze with some excellent results despite a few capsizes.  Robin Leather and Samuel hung on, mainly to the centreboard, but managed to finish all three races.  Reynolds/Howell thought better of it and were joined shoreside by Angelyna Gheur and Harry Wilson after the first race of the day.  In a real nailbiter, Peter and James Curtis took the event from Steve and Sarah Cockerill in the last race, practically on the finish.  Robin and Samuel Leather held on to third overall from Bob and Isla Preston.  Spinnaker problems and a DNF in the last race halted Thomas Leather and Maeve Hall’s charge to get on the overall podium.  A great time was had by all and it was nice to see so many family pairings and juniors taking part, the RS500 really is a fabulous boat for those looking for an alternative to the traditional youth classes in the UK.

The prize giving for the RS End of Seasons Regatta and Rooster National Tour took place after racing with thanks to Rutland Sailing Club for such a well-run event and to Rooster for their support throughout the season.

Robin Leather

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

Full Rooster National Tour results to follow soon

Photos thanks to Don Munro and Natalie Smith

RS500 Class

RS End of Season Regatta and rooster National Tour finale – RS600

The RS End of Season Regatta started off slow with a few people running into issues.  Jamie and Jake had to go pack their boats up in the morning after forgetting the previous weekend. George had a tyre blowout on route, Will’s trailer decided it didn’t want to stay on the back of the car as he drove off the driveway and Matt forgot his sailing watch so went back for it and barely made the first start. Despite this, the forecast was set to make a great (but cold) weekend! 

Wind started off strong but brought a lot of cold rain with it so we were all wrapped up warm for the long day ahead. As we had 12 boats, we had our own start making for some exciting action! Off the start, George, Will and Richard tacked off early and made it to the windward mark first, but that didn’t stop everyone else keeping up. George and Jamie were already on each other's tail after the first lap as the Rooster National Tour winner would be decided on who beats who at the event! George made it round ahead with Richard Smith and Will Russell getting involved in the action too! Jamie managed to squeeze ahead and win it. Race 2 was a similar affair but George managed to keep ahead and win it putting the top 2 on equal points.

Between Race 2 and 3, the course was reset to the new wind direction. However, with that the wind was also dying. Race 3 began and we were already struggling to trapeze off the racks. The racing was very tight with George leading ahead and Jamie making a recovery through the fleet. As we went into Lap 3, Will’s mainsheet ratchet had got jammed so let Jamie past and by the time he got it sorted, the wind had died even more. By the time everyone got onto the run, it was a mirror. No sign of finishing any time soon, so much so that the race was shortened and boats were towed back in. The results were mixed allowing for it all to change with 3 more races to go! 

Day 2 greeted us with blue skies, sunshine and lots of breeze! A few were wondering about raking back, and other ways to make the day more manageable! The course was the other way around as the wind had done a 180 overnight making for a new set of challenges! Race 4 got underway into some big waves for a reservoir. Richard Smith led to the finish but fell out over the rack on the final tack allowing George, Jamie and Will to slip pass! Jamie thought he had to tack to get through the line, meaning George had to quickly duck him, while Will sneaked up near the pin end. All 3 finished within 10 seconds of each other with Jamie just taking the bullet before capsizing! 

Race 5 was also tight with Jake and Will fighting it out for 3rd place and George and Jamie trying to get past each other! Jamie was on George’s tail but an unexpected capsize pushed him back on the run letting George take the win. Will had a comfortable lead on Jake going into the final lap but Jake went the other way down the run and found a huge amount of pressure and came round in front at the gybe mark! Will put the pressure on all the way to the line, but Jake was able to just nip ahead and take 3rd.

Going into Race 6, the Rooster National Tour was all going to be decided on this final race with George only 1 point ahead. Jamie led at the windward mark (first time this weekend!). George managed to get past on the second beat.  Jamie nearly caught him on the last run after catching a huge gust, nip and tuck up the beat to the finish. It was neck and neck but George won by a few seconds to take the race, event and series. Jake was over the line in Race 3 so despite getting past Will in the final lap after Will had a few lightning quick swims, Will took 3rd place securing 3rd overall for the event!

That concludes the 2023 Rooster National Tour and we can’t wait to see more people in 2024. The calendar is already set so make sure you put the dates in your diary and we’ll see you there! Again, thanks to Rooster for sponsoring another fantastic National Tour!

Will Russell

Photos: Natalie Smith

Full results for all fleets

RS600 Class

RS End of Seasons Regatta 2023 at Rutland – RS800

It’s always sad when a good season comes to an end, but this weekend was a great way to round off the RS800 2023 Rooster Tour.   We were also very happy to see lots of 800 sailors from further north, as far away as Glasgow.

Spirits in the fleet were high on Saturday despite incessant drizzle and a biting force 4 from the north-east.  Beating up to a short spreader reach tucked right under the dam, the wind was surprisingly steady in direction but there were big upwellings of water from the pumping station, best passed on the windward side, and downwind there were lanes of pressure to be found for those with heads out of the boat.   Luke and Emma McEwen took the first race, with Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore getting up to speed in their new boat to win the second one.  Monique Vennis-Ozanne and Hugh Shone, having finished a promising second in the first race, didn’t shine quite as much as expected when Hugh’s trapeze broke in race two.  Hugh tied a very unsuccessful granny knot which gave way, tied it again and it snapped.  After a trio of refreshing if unwelcome baptisms they sensibly decided to fix it ashore, then broke the scissors and the fid.  Hugh suspects foul play but perhaps it was just the rain gods giving them an excuse to retire to the warmth of the clubhouse with a cup of cocoa.  Meanwhile Bryan and Anna Ormond had a great second race, trading places with Luke and Emma all the way down the last run. 

By the third race the wind had dropped to single wiring upwind, crews on the foredeck downwind.  At the windward mark it was all about finding some pressure to escape the pack, successfully executed by Luke and Emma on the left and Tom and Guy heading right, with Joe Bradley and Maddie Kirk leading the rest of the bunch.  Our race officer David Rowlands showed great premonition (or perhaps he was just getting hypothermic) and shortened at the end of the first lap.  As we reached the beach, the wind died completely.

A long and very convivial evening followed, gradually defrosting our extremities around a cold glass.  After several beers and a tasty lasagne it still wasn’t even 7pm – it’s weird this winter time sailing.  To fill the remaining several hours before bedtime, the arch games-meister Hugh Shone laid on a knockout competition of finger-flicking fun with Pucket, “the world’s No.1 elasticated board game”.  It turns out that youth and skill can actually overcome age and treachery, at least onshore.  So Monique won the final to regain the coveted Social Conch trophy and its admirably weighty plinth.

On Sunday we were rewarded with bright sunshine and great breeze, maybe a bit too great at times for those who weren’t feeling very bright after so many hours in the bar.  Michael and Sam Dyer pulled off a stylish “Dyer Flyer,” clearing the fleet on port.  29er supremos Rob Mawdsley and Oscar Morgan Harris are also starting to show moments of brilliance in only their second event in the 800.  They rolled Hugh and Monique leading an epic downwind just in front of Tom and Guy, before spinning the wheel a bit fast at the leeward gate amongst the carnage of capsized 400s.  If Rob and Oscar can iron out the boat handling blips they will definitely be up there in 2024.

Emma was suffering from a recurring shoulder injury so handed the unenviable job of crewing for Luke to Fred Lord, who kindly stepped into the breach for the day - an eventful day indeed with one lost hat, two lost gloves (how did they both fall off in the same gybe?), numerous swims and a broken bowsprit in one of the monster gusts.

Tom and Guy got back into their stride in Sunday’s strong wind, hitting 21 knots downwind and winning all three races.  Behind them James Penty and Eddie Grayson had an epic dual with Monique and Hugh.  The latter dazzled the fleet with their new fluorescent yellow trapeze lines, but were out-dazzled by James and Eddie’s fluorescent gloves and kite, giving the Boys from Beaver the edge by a whisker at the last finish line.  In the final results, behind Tom and Guy and James and Eddie it couldn’t have been much closer, the four-way points tie for third place going to Luke and Emma/Fred on countback.  Rooster Tour hats went to mid-fleet heroes Michael and Sam, as well as Stewart and Martin Walker who picked up the well-deserved endeavour prize for finishing all the races.

Huge thanks are due to the race team and volunteers at Rutland SC especially in Saturday’s rain, to Rooster for sponsoring the prizes through our whole 2023 tour (more on that in the overall series report) and to all the sailors who made it another great fun weekend of RS800 sailing and chat.

Luke McEwen

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

Photos thanks to Don Munro and Natalie Smith

RS800 Class

Vareos at RS End of Season Regatta

Despite the adverse weather forecast 5 RS Vareos joined in with the end of season fun at Rutland this year.

Our race officer John set us off first along side the RS200s using the outer loop of the trapezoid course - nicely set up so we didn’t conflict with the following fleets on the longer course but all finished close enough to get smartly into the subsequent races- both days.

On Saturday we had 2 races in a moderate breeze and one following a big shift course reset in wind dying to nothing.

There were some significant shifts and a tower disturbing things in the middle of the track to cope with which made for some chances for most of us to take and lose the lead at least once  - it’s not often you get to see last place Luke at any stage but it happened (temporarily) twice this event!, however the cream always rises to the top and In the end Luke and Michelle shared out the top two spots, chris and Nick shared the 3s and4s .Newby Andy showed some promising speed at times but said he still has much to learn.

Post racing we had a brief bar discussion on all things vareo and a group dinner at the local curry house.

Sunday forecast to have less wind turned out to be even fresher. Blowing the whole length of the lake to the racing area giving the added dimension of a bit of chop. 

Luke and Michelle continued to battle closely for first overall with Nick having some good off wind speed to catch up at most of the leeward buoys.

In race 4 Michelle retired following an incident with Luke just short of the finish line allowing Nick to get 2nd.

In race 5 they were both racing so hard that they forgot to go to the finish allowing Nick to take a win and Chris to get between them for third.

Overall 

Winner: Luke, then Michelle, Nick, Chris,  Andy - see table below.

In addition to sponsors prizes for the first 3 We we’re able to say again - Everyone gets a prize in the Vareo fleet courtesy of our Czech friends who had sent us some Eurocup commemorative glasses to distribute!

The prizegiving also included the overall tour prize vouchers thanks to National Tour sponsor Rooster - overall tour results and prize giving photos to follow.

Report by Nick Crickmore

Up on Y&Y here

Photos thanks to Don Munro and Natalie Smith

Full results for all classes - RS200, RS300, RS400, RS500, RS600, RS800, RS Vareo

RSVareo Class