Results / Winter Championships Leigh & Lowton SC - 17/03/2012

RS300 Fat Face open meeting, Lee-on-Solent 6/7 May A lack of wind and an excess of rain greeted the competitors at the Fat Face-sponsored RS300 open meeting at Lee-on-Solent over the weekend of 6/7 May. The sacrifice of some rather nice cups of tea to the weather gods worked wonders, however, and racing got underway with the wind very nearly reaching force 2 at times, full hiking conditions in a 300. In race 1, the fleet got away evenly on a well-set line. Steve Cook from Stokes Bay, making a welcome return to the circuit, led at the top mark but Steve Bolland from Bristol Corinthian managed to wriggle by downwind. Cliff Shaw, also from Stokes Bay, finished 3rd. Race 2 and Steve Cook again managed to get away cleanly and led from start to finish. Alastair Wood from Bough Beech showed that an A rig can be competitive in all conditions in the right hands and sailed exceptionally well to hold off a late charge by Bolland on the final run. In a dying wind in race 3, Bolland, Shaw and Cook were all in close contention until the former two managed to find some extra wind on the final beat to pull clear to finish in that order. Barry Steel had a storming last beat to overtake Cook who had to fight hard on the run to the finish to regain 3rd. Day 2 and there was even less wind than day 1, but the sun was out at least. The light conditions didn�t deter Alastair Wood who looked fresh having rested his gammy knee overnight and made the best of a heavily port-biased line in race 4. Barry Steel was also looking good initially, looking to capitalise on his overnight 4,4,4 score line. Approaching the top mark, however, the fleet was called back as the wind went really funny. Race 4 was restarted in not much more wind, about 3 knots, and Bolland drifted to the windward mark first, a lead he held to the finish. Cook finished 2nd and Graham Cooper from Bristol Corinthian showed his light wind prowess by crossing in 3rd. A brief delay while the wind sorted itself out was worth the wait and the last 2 races were run in a steady force 1 and a half. Some close racing saw Bolland win both races with Cook and Shaw getting a 2nd each. Wood showed excellent consistency by finishing 3rd in both races. Then it was in for some more rather nice tea and cakes. Overall, a good meeting that was enjoyable and hard work despite the predominantly light winds. Thanks to Lee-on-Solent for hosting the event well both on and off the water and particular thanks to the race officer and his team who did exceptionally well to fit in the full schedule of races in trying conditions.