Parkstone SW Ugly Tour event report 14^th May

A keen fleet of RS200 sailors arrived for the second event of the season in the www.2ndhanddinghies.com SW Ugly Tour at Parkstone YC on 14^th May. A forecast of sunshine proved correct as the fleet rigged, bathed in sunshine and a slightly chilly breeze, with the smell of bacon wafting through the air. Now that's how you can tell you're at a club that knows how to put on a good time, bacon on the BBQ is a winner every time!

The very healthy fleet of 35 boats launched into a breeze that seemed stronger than anticipated, giving a nice downwind blast provided you didn't flirt with the sandbanks too much! The wind lulled the fleet into a false sense of security as the first race got away in conditions that were ever so slightly shifty. Add to this wind of anywhere between 2 and 15kts and you have yourself a challenging day on the water! Any rumours that Nick and Juliet Charles were out of practice in a 200 were put to bed up the first beat, where they stormed into a large lead which only seemed to increase throughout the race, giving them a convincing race win. The rest of the fleet was led by Matt Mee/Emma Norris followed by the local boats of Dan/Georgie Vickers and Peter Eyre/Sam Norman in 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

Race 2 was more of the same on the wind front, with the sun also keeping high in the sky. This time around in was Ian Martin/Lucy Preston who took the initiative and the race win, followed by the ever quick Mee/Norris team, and chased hard by Alistair Norris/Helen Summersgill with the locals of Edd Whitehead/KateAllam in 4^th.

The third race saw Mee/Norris begin to dominate, with a race win, consistency is always king in these conditions as they proved! However sibling rivalry may have kept them more focussed than usual with Norris/Summersgill giving them a hard time, and starting to revel in the conditions finishing 2^nd. Third and fourth places were a Parkstone affair, with Whitehead/Allam and Vickers/Vickers and Karen Baker/Jo Allam in 5^th giving three local Parkstone boats in the top 5.

The fourth and final race threw in a few surprise shifts, with one notable header resulting in a big windward capsize, and duly notifying the fleet of its imminent arrival. In a reshuffle of the fleet, Ben/Adrian Whaley put in a bullet to give them line honours, from Norris/Summersgill and Roger/Lucy Phillips finishing off their day with their best result of the day in 3^rd. Fourth place again went to Whitehead/Allam to give a consistent end to their series.

Once ashore the fleet were again greeted by the BBQ and the prize giving in the boatpark, still under the glorious sunshine. Matt Mee/Emma Norris from Burghfield/Red Wharf Bay SC winning the event and taking the lead in the Ugly tour series. Alistair Norris/Helen Summersgill from Bristol Corinthian/Red Wharf Bay SC took second overall, and scuppered any chances they thought they may have of being put into silver fleet! Third was taken by local Parkstone boat of Edd Whitehead/Kate Allam. Silver fleet was won in style by tour newcomers Ben/Adrian Whaley from Swanage SC in an impressive 8^th overall, with another member of team Parkstone Peter Eyre/Sam Norman taking 2^nd Silver and Parkstone showing their strength and depth with 3^rd Silver being taken by Chris/Alice Bailey. In Bronze fleet, Victoria Upton/Jess Harding from Exe SC yet again put in a great performance, making it 2 years in a row winning Bronze at Parkstone, with Shuan Robson/Marie Smith from Parkstone taking 2^nd bronze and Pete/Flea Haddrell from Burghfield rounding off the top three in the fleet.

So yet again Parkstone's hospitality proves its reputation isn't all talk, and really do know how to run an all round great event, although an order for more consistent wind has been already placed for next year! The next 2ndhanddinghies.com sponsored Ugly Tour event is at the top sea venue at Exe SC on 30^th July, a club who know a thing or two about great 200 events, having hosted several 200 Nationals, one not to be missed!