Results / Magic Marine RS300 Grand Prix Event at Bartley Sailing Club Bartley SC - 13/09/2015

Photo one of Bartley SC member and event host Rich le Mare presenting Sam Knight 1st prize

Photo two Steve Sallis receives 2nd and the Master prize

Photo three Alastair McLaughlin is presented with 3rd prize

RS300s at Bartley Sailing Club Sun 13 Sept 15

Magic Marine Grand Prix Event Number Five Part Two

It was an early start after some late nights for the RS300 fleet on day two of the Magic Marine Grand Prix event number five. Ten hardy travellers had made the trip from the first day at Attenborough to Bartley, and these were joined by three home boats for a tight day of racing. Race officer Andy Bownes welcomed the guests and gave a brief tour of the marks before declaring a prompt first start at 1030hrs. The fleet launched in to a light South-Easterly-ish breeze, with frequent North, South, East and Westerly shifts thrown in to keep the sailors busy. Equally busy was the lead rib who was seen hastily writing down the course with a minute to go, presumably on many sheets of paper as the fleet was sent round the scenic route of South West Birmingham, whilst fielding many questions such as “where is the first mark?”, ”what colour is the first mark?”, “which orange one?” and of course “where should I go from there?”.

The first start was all clear, and fastest out of the blocks was 476, Steve Sallis followed by light wind specialist Alistair McLaughlin and the peloton close behind. Rounding onto the second beat local, Sam Knight, had managed to find some separation from the fleet to close into the top two, and finding some favourable shifts had a small lead at the next mark. From there Sam was able to extend out and hold on for the win, but behind him Steve S had also a good gap in second. Multiple national champion Steve Bolland had found a way past Alistair to take third, with the Grand Prix series leader Tim Keen in fifth.

The second race started in similar conditions, this time with the ever purple Richard Le Mare showing some blistering pace to lead halfway up the first beat. Unfortunately he found a large header on his approach to top mark, just allowing Sam a slender lead onto the second leg. Once again Sam was able to pull away from the fleet, this time with Alistair in tow. By the second lap the top two had a decent lead, until Alistair was heard to declare “I think we’re well away nooo”. He was dramatically proved wrong as the top two sailed themselves into a hole, allowing the chasing Steves to close to with a few boat lengths. Up the next beat Alistair and Steve S tacked away early, with Sam and Steve B continuing on port. The early tack proved a killer move, and from there Steve S took an easy bullet with Alistair in second and Sam third despite a good last beat. The racing was incredibly close throughout the fleet, and no place was guaranteed before the last race.

After an hour ashore for lunch, watching the wind die and pick up from varying directions every ten minutes, the RS300s were back on the water with much enthusiasm for the final race. There were three sailors in it to win it, Sam and Alistair needing a top two finish at least, and all positions were vital for the weekend overall. The course was reset to account for another wind shift and another clean start was observed by the race officer. With the wind shifting so much, there were place changes galore up the first leg. Once again Sam took a slender lead into the first downwind, only to be pegged back by Steve B getting inside rights round the next mark. Steve S and Alistair had not fared well on the first beat but with Tim Keen pulling a great pass on both Sam and Steve on the next reach it was still all to play for. Little changed for the first lap until Sam just pipped Steve B to the top of the first beat on the second lap. On the next reach the chasing fleet found plenty of pressure to close into the podium positions. It looked like all three would be swallowed by the pack but Steve B was offered as sacrifice in return for allowing Tim and Sam to continue out ahead. Clearly the wind gods were happy with this offering, letting the top two retain a small lead into the final few legs. On the last run Sam found a small band of pressure to take him through to the front where he stayed until the finish, giving him the bullet and overall victory for the day. Tim was untroubled in second, while Alistair had staged a late comeback to finish in third.

Overall Sam took the day with two wins, Steve S was 2^nd and first master with Alistair in 3^rd. Through the fleet seven sailors had finished on joint points with someone else, showing how close the racing was. A special mention must be made of home A rigger Kevin Payne who picked his way through the mayhem in race three to finish 7^th to boost him up to ninth at his first (and last!) RS300 event.

The calculations for results over the weekend were long and complicated, but the current thinking has Tim as overall winner on countback from Steve S with Steve B third and Pete Ellis 4^th.  Results of the day and of the whole weekend are below this report.

Next month takes the RS300s to the Far East for the Gul Inlands at Alton Water. I hope to see many of you there for the final event of the season. All the information on the event is here. 

Report by Sam Knight

Photos thanks to Pete Ellis