RS Scottish Champs

Reports from the RS200s and 300s

RS200

A contented bunch of sailors from as far afield as the Isle of White completed a weekend of exhilarating and very competitive sailing in the waters of the Inner Moray Firth at Fortrose during Chanonry SC Annual Dinghy Regatta. The regatta incorporated the Gul Scottish Championship for RS200, RS300 & RS400; this being the first time that Gul has supported the event. Other fleets were Scottish Fireball Travelers and a fast handicap fleet.

Saturday dawned with strong south westerly winds blowing all day at around Force 6 and building unusually big waves for this venue. Wind strength tantalizingly abated and then strengthened making for very difficult decisions for the race committee lead by David Gibb who had signaled a postponement before the first start was due. Eventually very late in the day the wind abated sufficiently for the race control team to decide to try a race. Boats were launched; however the wind had the last say as it once again strengthened and forced abandonment of the race, resulting in no racing on the day.

Sunday was kinder with a force 4 or 5 and the Race Officer called for 4 races to be sailed back to back but with the slow handicap fleet of 5 Toppers left onshore. Conditions continued to change throughout racing causing resetting of courses prior to each race, the odd squally shower and finally wind strengths dropping to force 2 as the fleet left the water.

Competition was very close with race places changing throughout each race in all fleets. For the RS200's several overall places had to be decided by breaking ties and the overall championship depended on the outcome of a protest relating to the first race when James Stewart from Stokes Bay, the lead boat at the time, failed to sail the "sausage" required in the final lap.

Commodore Ewen Smith acknowledged the valuable sponsorship of the event by Gul and the local chandlery, Caley Marina. He also thanked the Lairg Sailing Club, Inverness Sea Cadets and Caley Marina for provided a safety boat each to augment the club's own boats. Special thanks to David Gibb, Race Officer, and his team on the water and to the tireless galley crew who provided food and drinks endlessly throughout the event.

RS300

The RS 300 Scottish Championships were held over the weekend of the 2/3 August at Chanonry Sailing Club, situated on the Moray Firth near Inverness. The event was sponsored by GUL and Caley Marina and we are very grateful for their assistance.

There was no racing on the Saturday as the strong wind made sailing a bit marginal and had kicked up a very short steep sea which had the rescue crews struggling to control their boats. But when the tide turned we were let off the leash for a race, however the wind increased again and stretched the rescue cover beyond what was safe, so racing was abandoned before it started. While the wreckage on the shore was cleared up, some of us stayed out a bit longer to practice our gybes and the standing waves by the harbour wall as we came in were very interesting.

Early on Sunday morning it looked like the same again, but gradually the wind decreased and four races were held.

Race 1 was the windiest at around 20 knots, with tricky short steep waves to make things more interesting. Ian Baillie got clean away at the start on port tack and had a 100-metre lead by the windward mark, which he improved upon as the race progressed. Ben Yates was second and Mark Henman third. Steve McDonald spent too much time getting acquainted with his centreboard and Andrew Grant, attending his first 300 event found the conditions very challenging but managed to finish.

Race 2 was won by Ian after he had he picked the better shifts up the first beat, with Mark and Ben having a close tussle for second. Mark came out on top thanks to some great down wind speed, with Steve close behind.

The wind was steadily decreasing as race 3 started and the sea was much smoother, but it was still Ian in the lead by the first mark. Ben was close behind so Ian had to keep a close watch on him all the way round. It was Mark and Steve who had the closest race though and at the finish Steve had done just enough to edge through.

The final race was very tight with Ben taking the lead off the start line and Ian right on his transom. Ben kept a tight cover on Ian upwind and although Ian nearly broke through on several occasions down wind, he could not get past, giving Ben a deserved win. Steve and Mark were very close behind as the leaders slowed each other down.

So after an exhausting days sailing, Ian Baillie emerged as the RS300 Scottish champion for 2003, with Ben Yates second and Mark Henman third.

1 Ian Baillie 445 Dalgety Bay 3 pts
2 Ben Yates 352 Chanonry 5 pts
3 Mark Henman 450 Sunderland 9 pts
4 Steve McDonald 474 Port Edgar 10 pts
5 Andrew Grant 403 Pentland Firth 17 pts