RS 400s in Abersoch

Matthew Bailey reports on drizzle, sun tans, rum, new cars, fighting between band members and some racing

For Round 2 of the 2004 Fat Face Racing Circuit the RS400 and 200 fleet descended upon the idyllic Welsh village of Abersoch for their first combined event of the year. Abersoch always proves to be a popular venue and with a good turnout of 37 400’s, the scene was set for a fantastic weekends sailing. The weather on the other hand had very different ideas, as most of the fleet arrived on Friday afternoon to a mill pond sea with drizzle and fog. It began to look as though the majority of the weekend’s action would be in the pub.

Ian Pickard made an early claim for the Duckhams Award by deciding to attempt the very steep slipway in his brand new car…a decision that lead to the inevitable skidding noise before both car and double stack were unceremoniously dumped up to the axles in Abersoch’s finest soft golden sand.

Saturday morning dawned and with little change in weather, the PRO opted for a postponement. The sun gradually burnt off the cloud so that the fleet could at least work on their tan if not their sailing. By 3 o’clock most had taken the decision not to sail and the covers were slowly going back on the boats and the first of many pint’s were being ordered in club house bar. However, the wind was up to its usual tricks and 5 knots began to fill in across the bay. The PRO took what might be his only chance to send the fleet out and after a little panicked drinking and rigging, the fleet arrived on the start line just in time for the wind swing through 180 degrees before disappearing altogether. It was going to be one of those days…. but with a night of partying RS style ahead it’s never all bad.

It certainly looked like we were in for a lively evening when during a practice session, the band had to be thrown out of the club house for fighting between themselves! All kissed and made up and the band proved to be a little better at rocking the party than they were at resolving disputes. As usual it wasn’t long before the bar staff admitted defeat - that they were yet again drunk dry of rum.

Sunday morning, and again the bay looked still and calm. A few boats decided that enough was enough and as the PRO put the postponement up, their rigs came down. However, good things come to those that wait and by early afternoon the fleet was afloat under clear blue skies with a shifty 10 knots blowing across the course.

Race 1 began with a general recall as the fleet all struggled to bag the pin end of a heavily port biased line. After a slight adjustment and with the hoisting of the black flag, a second start got away cleanly. Roger Gilbert & Toby Lewis laid down the challenge by working the shifts up the right hand side of the beat to lead at the windward mark from where they sailed on to win unchallenged. Nick Craig & Keith Bedborough followed in second, with Craig Burlton & Andrew Bonsey in 3rd.

In race 2, Mike Budd & Arline Couch found their form and, after notching up a 10th in the previous race, they made the best of a strengthening breeze to take the win. Gilbert & Lewis were not far behind however, and consolidated their earlier win with a 2nd. Chris Jennings & Ed Nicklin scored their best result of the weekend to finish 3rd.

By the start of race 3, the wind had swung to give a slight starboard bias to the start line. The black flag was hoisted and, after deciding they didn't fancy the next race, The Brothers Grimm shot off the line about 30 seconds early, taking 5 other boats with them. It was therefore a slightly reduced fleet that got away at the second attempt. Again, Gilbert & Lewis were on the pace and took another win, effectively winning the event although the battle for second remained wide open. Budd & Couch continued their good run by bagging second in the race, closely followed by Burlton and Bonsey.

With the event already won, Gilbert & Lewis might not have bothered with the last race, but as if to underline their dominance of the event, they sailed on to win race 4 as well. Craig and Bedborough won the tight battle for second place, enough to give them 2nd overall, while Budd and Couch's 6th was sufficient to secure them 3rd overall. A consistent scoreline of 3 3rd's gave Burlton & Bonsey 4th overall.