Results / Volvo Noble Marine RS100 and RS300 National Championships Porthpean SC - 12/09/2019
Link to photos, many thanks to Chris Bilkey
And more photos thanks to Ken Fobbester
Day 1, by Paul Watson
As day 1 of the Volvo Noble Marine RS300 Nationals dawned the sailors were greeted with a grey and drizzly Porthpean. Looking out onto the water the wind appeared gentle and the sea flat.
Fortunately by the time we started racing the drizzle had subsided and as the boats reached the sailing area we were greeted with some nice waves to play on and a steady F3-4
Race 1 was hard fought, Steve Bolland eventually taking the win, despite a swim on the first run. Steve Sallis hiking his toenails off to finish 2nd, Paul Watson 3rd
Race 2 was a little more normal in terms of Steve B and Dave Acres refusing to play with the rest of the fleet to finish 1, 2. The fight for 3rd was won by Harry McVicar those downwind speed took Rich LeMare by surprise on the final leg.
Race 3 saw Steve and Dave again play a fairly anti social game but this time joined by Paul W who had finally worked out how to sail the first beat. After some close racing it was Dave who took the win from Paul and then Steve.
After the racing the fleet spent the evening at the sailing club enjoying the bar, some fantastic Chilli and a daily Prize Giving with prizes supplied by Rooster Sailing and SpeedSix
Day 2, by Steve Bolland
After the proper man's wind of day 1, the second day of the Volvo Noble Marine RS300 Nationals was more to the liking of those who prefer sitting scrunched up in the bottom of the boat. We were treated to 7 hours of this as we chased the wind round the bay until it eventually settled enough to get some races in. I would like to say that we enjoyed 3 races but that would be stretching it a bit.
Winner of the day was Steve Cockerill who had 2 race wins in his scoreline today. Also going well was Pete Mackin in what is possibly the brightest boat ever built. He had 2 second places and was within an ace of winning the last one. Harry McVicar also moved up the leaderboard with a couple of countable results. Others also had good days but I've forgotten who they are. Sorry about that. Anyway, the top 4 position are separated by only 6 points so it's tight at the top.
The evening was spent relaxing at Porthpean SC, enjoying sponsor Geeta's Premium Mango Chutney, with a curry, washed down with plenty of Doom Bar and a few spiced rums on the boom of doom.
Day 3, by Paul Watson
So the day started light with testing conditions. The wind was shifty decreasing throughout the day.
The fleet hung around for a short, 3 hour postponement.
The pasties boat arrived but still no wind. Fortunately the arrival of the pasties caused an increase in wind around various boats and enabled the PRO to start a race in a flaky 6-7knots of breeze. The officer of the day set a challenging starboard bias line again.
The wind stayed solid for all of 2 legs, fading away on the run, where, honestly, no pumping happened. The wind decreasesed. With zero knots the whole fleet began drifting.
The last upwind was ruined by the wind giving total favoritism to the patient and allowing them to sail off into the distance.
With a shortened course the fleet finished up at the windward mark. With a nice, albeit slow reach back to the shore through a zero wind shore break, moments of glory surfing onto trolleys and most importantly the bar.
Highlights of the day, pasty boat may be the future for dinghy sailing, that last beat was something of miracles for the back end of the fleet the who past the majority flipping the results table all over the place.
A stunning venue with incredible picturesque moments sadly tainted by how cruel mother nature can be.
Tomorrow beckons with 3 races on the cards. Things are looking very close once the second discard hits. This could get interesting...
Day 4, final day, by Steve Bolland
After a difficult day 3 when, in the only race possible, the wind switched off as the leaders started the second lap, leaving a 30 minute driftathon up the final beat, the fleet was hoping for a more consistent breeze for the final day. It didn’t look good as we headed out in a fickle breeze that switched off altogether causing the start sequence for race 8 to be aborted. This did nothing to calm the nerves of those towards the sharp end of the leaderboard. Overnight, only 5 points covered the first four places with another three competitors with a chance of winning if they had an excellent final day.
As race 8 eventually got away in about 8 knots it came with the wind flicking noticeably to the left. Steve Cockerill kept a close eye on his closest rival, Steve Bolland, as the beat progressed and there was a flurry of tacks from them both as they neared the windward mark. Steve C got there first and extended down the run as Steve B got swallowed up by some of the chasing pack. Up the second beat Steve C still covered as Steve B tacked off looking for a large slice of luck on the left. However, those going right pulled through with those going left losing out heavily. This was to have a significant effect on the results overall. At the finish the order was Peter Mackin, Harry McVicar, Steve Cockerill and Steve Sallis.
The wind had gone right by the start of race 9 but there was a significant left shift up the first beat. Cheryl Wood was all over this and led the fleet by a distance at the top mark. However, as the race progressed Alistair ‘Storky’ McLaughlin used his light wind prowess to take the win from Steve Cockerill, Peter Mackin and Steve B.
This made things interesting. With Storky now dropping a 16th place he was right in the frame. However, Cockerill was still holding the whip hand with a 4 point lead. Places 3 to 5 were covered by a single point.
The tenth and final race started on a port-biased line in about 7 knots. Storky and Steve C were both showing well up the first beat before the latter had to tack off after being squeezed out by the former. Steve Sallis led from Steve B and Storky at the first mark. Steve C was around 6th. Game on. With Storky moving up to 2nd on the run Steve C had to make a similar move and he did so, starting the final beat in 5th.
The wind went a bit funny on the final beat but at the final windward mark Steve C was still the virtual champion, Storky remaining in 2nd place with Steve C still in 5th but only a couple of lengths from 4th. In a dramatic final twist, Storky took the race lead on the final run and Steve C, despite several attempts, was unable to make it up to 4th. The result? Storky winning on countback in one of the closest championships for years, with the fight for 3rd place also being decided on countback. Phew!
At the prize-giving Storky thanked the dedicated volunteers of Porthpean SC who had gone above and beyond to make sure that the fleet were welcomed and looked after, from the coming ashore beers on day 1 to the final cream tea, with everything from pasty deliveries to tin can alley and keeping the 2ndhanddinghies.com Boom of Doom charged with rum in between. Thanks also to the generous title sponsors, Volvo and Noble Marine and to Rooster, Geeta's and Speedsix for their contributions.
In 2020 the RS300s will once again share a Nationals with the RS100s, travelling to SCYC, Abersoch, 17th-20th September 2020 #beatthestork