Results / Open Helensburgh SC - 10/10/2015

RS200 Scottish Travellers Sprint Event, Helensburgh Sailing Club, Saturday 10 October 2015

With light winds forecast, and a glass sea on arrival, the 9 boats for the final fling of the RS200 Scottish Tour wondered whether it would be sailing or rugby viewing on offer for the day. It was decided to do the AGM before sailing in order to wait for the wind and this proved to be a great decision as (just) enough wind arrived in order for the Helensburgh SC race committee to run 8 slick races in sprint format.

The wind wasn’t quite settled for the first race causing a bit of start line chaos and a slow first beat, but once the wind settled down (from another direction) the first race was won convincingly by Martin and Bill - shortly after their pre-race comments that there wasn’t enough wind! Robert Walker steered Simon the boat into 2^nd and Neil and Alice took 3^rd.

With the wind now more consistent from the east the super efficient HSC race committee smashed in another 5 races (in between G&Ts) over a short course with a short line! The 20 min races included LOTs of place changing, a few interesting pile ups and next to no time in between races to catch your breath!

After some abysmal starts, Roger and Rachael somehow managed to notch up 5 bullets during this spell, albeit with a lot of luck and only a small amount of shouting… There was some excellent racing being had all through the fleet as the tight courses meant that boat handling was key and a tactical mark rounding could take boats from the near the back to near the front! Allan “Greece Lightning” and Amy managed a solid set of results during this period too, putting them just behind Roger and Rachael. Neil/Alice and Martin/Bill were also enjoying a close battle for 3^rd, although OCS in race 3 certainly didn’t help!

The wind decided to drop after 6 races allowing the fleet to take a well needed break. After the wind threatened to fill in from the south, race 7 got underway as a bit of a drifter. With some entertaining mark roundings and a somewhat skewed course, it was Allan and Amy who took the win, closely followed by Josh and Fenella, with Simon the Boat notching a 3^rd position to keep in contention.

Going into the final race, the breeze was back round to the east and now a bit more consistent. Allan and Amy disappeared off to take the bullet, Roger and Rachael fluked a 2^nd after some major errors and minor gear failure and this was enough to give them the overall win just in front of Allan and Amy. 3^rd place was super tight, but even after a tough last race, Martin and Bill’s consistency over a day with no discards gave them the edge over Neil and Alice.

The sailors were treated to some fantastic club hospitality in the evening and a massive thanks must go to all the volunteers who made the day such a success. Plenty of smiles after the Sprint will ensure that this is a definite fixture for the 2016 season. See you next year!

Roger.

Roger Carter and Rachael Cooke were the convincing overall winners of the 2015 RS200 Scottish Travellers series, raced at a planned 7 venues from April to October across Scotland. Although 2 events were lost to the weather, the others made up it, with close racing and some great event organization. Keep in touch with the class including next year’s dates via:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RS200SCOTLAND/

http://uk.rs200sailing.org/

Photos: Kevin Lynch 19 on Flickr. Permission given to use