400s in Ireland

Dave Jones and Mark Hogan grab a last gasp victory in dramatic final race at the RS 400 Irish National Championship

30 RS400s flocked to the classic wave sailing venue of Greystones sailing club for the Irish National championships, held for three days over 14-16 October, sailed alongside the RS200 event. On the eve of the championship, before the fleet had even thought about setting afloat, they were treated to typical Irish hospitality (and not a little Guinness) by the locals.

With many a sore head, the fleet set sail on Friday morning in a solid force four to five with large rolling waves – classic RS400 downwind conditions. Once race officer Arky Wainwright had finally managed to get the committee boat to hold anchor in the large waves, racing got underway. The first start was recalled, with Matt and Chris Bailey (A.K.A Brothers Grimm) breaking their main halyard, then capsizing to fix it and drifting up-tide through the start area as the race was being restarted. Early speedsters were Greg O’Brien and Pete Rowley and Bill and Linda Handley, but it was Paul Hilliar and Toby Ashton that worked the waves best to lead the fleet. Down the first run, Dave Jones and Mark Hogan pulled through to second place but never got quite close enough and Hilliar and Ashton had the Ginster factor to pull away and win. Jones held second and O’Brien and Riley third.

The second race got away with Jones and Hogan winning the favoured starboard end of the start line but the Grimms made up for lost mainsail time and stormed up the first beat to round just behind Hilliar and Ashton, with Jones and Hogan in third. Jones blasted downwind in awesome wave riding conditions and battled the whole race with the Grimms having the edge upwind and Jones downwind, but never caught Hilliar, with the Jones and the Grimms close behind.

For race three, O’Brien and Rowley popped out of the pack again to lead at the first mark, with the rest of the fleet close behind. Downwind in the huge waves, Hilliar and Ashton managed to sneak past and fight off O’Brien to win the race, with Jones and Hogan recovering from a dodgy first beat to finish third.

At the end of day one, fat was clearly fast for some with Hilliar and Ashton tipping in at 26 stone, but proving that the RS400 can accommodate a wide range of crew weights, Jones and Hogan were a comfortable second despite their 22 stone combined weight in the windy conditions.

On Friday night the fleet indulged themselves of yet more hospitality, and ‘enjoyed’ karaoke performances including Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of fire and the memorable Gary Glitter look-alike singing ‘Do ya wanna be in my gang?’.

Saturday started with 18 knot winds and big waves forecast, but unfortunately the fleet only got the waves and were held ashore until the wind filled in. When the race got underway, it was with a very strong tide pushing the fleet upwind in six to eight knots. The fleet bunched at the top mark, with Chris Hogan and Elaine Marsh Showing early pace, but as the fleet split downwind, Jones and Hogan (jr) found some pace down the centre of the run and took the lead from Hogan (snr) and Marsh and Bill and Linda Handley. The leading bunch got away and these positions were maintained except that Hilliar and Ashton snuck past the Handleys on the final run to take third.

Saturday’s second race got away in less tide and it was again O’Brien and Rowley who initially led. However, their lead was not to last long as when the fleet again split, a gust down the left side buried O’Brien and shot the Handley’s into a comfortable lead, followed by Ffion Haf Jones and John Jones. Coming to the end of the second lap, the Handleys had maintained their lead but soon after Jones and Hogan and Hilliar and Ashton shot past upwind in the light wind and big wave conditions. Over the next two laps an epic battle ensued between the leading two, with Hilliar and Ashton taking and then losing the lead down the final run, but Jones and Hogan held their nerve best to take another bullet and prove themselves masters of the light winds.

For Saturday night’s entertainment, 55 of the fleet sat down for a meal at the local Italian restaurant ‘Diva’s’. After an excellent night, the main problem with ‘Diva’s’ location was that it was so close to the sailing club bar that a number of the usual suspects didn’t make it home until after dawn.

So going into Sunday’s racing with one discard applying, Hilliar and Ashton held a slender one point advantage over Jones and Hogan, with Hogan (Snr) and Marsh a further nine points behind and still in with a chance. Two races were scheduled and after a postponement to allow the wind to fill in, the first race got away first time in eight top ten knots and a strong tide under the fleet. Jones and Hogan got away to a flyer at the port end and soon crossed to be clear ahead as the fleet arrived at the windward mark. Hilliar and Ashton got clear of the pack but there was no catching Jones and Hogan who sped off. Mark Reddington and Jane Sutor sailed a great race but fell victim to a charging Hogan and Marsh, who snuck into third at the final mark rounding.

Going into the final race of the event, the top two could not have been closer, with Hilliar and Ashton’s 1,1,1,3,2,2 exactly matching Jones and Hogan’s 2,2,3,1,1,1 thus putting Jones in the driving seat. Whoever beat the other with a counting result would win the championship. Would there be a match race-style start or would the leaders leave it to chance?

With the tension mounting, the race got underway with slightly less tide and eight knots of breeze. Jones and Hogan again took the lead up the first beat, with the Grimms rounding on their transom and Hilliar and Ashton in third. A long run against the tide initially saw Jones and Hogan stretch their lead until a late wind shift put Hilliar and Ashton into the lead with Andy Long and Louise Asman finding wind on the left to take second. These three rounded the final windward mark well clear of the fleet but within 20 metres of each other and all gybed quickly out to the left. As Jones and Hogan closed up and started to take Hilliar and Ashton’s wind, a gybing battle ensued and with less than 200 metres to the final mark Jones and Hogan just got their noses in front and just held on to record a famous victory in one of the closest finishes ever seen.

This left Dave Jones and Mark Hogan with the win by a single point from Paul Hilliar and Toby Ashton, with Chris Hogan and Elaine Marsh sailing a consistent series to take third overall.

Many thanks go to Race Officer Arky Wainwright and the entire team at Greystones S.C. for putting on a superb and incredibly friendly event. Thanks also to Greg O’Brien for sorting out cheap ferry tickets for all the English boats.

Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Tot
1	David Jones	Mark Hogan	2	2	-3	1	1	1	1	8
2	Paul Hilliar	Toby Ashton	1	1	1	-3	2	2	2	9
3	Chris Hogan	Elaine Marsh	4	5	-7	2	4	3	4	22
4	Greg O'Brien	Pete Rowley	3	6	2	6	-16	8	5	30
5	Mark Greaves	Woosey	5	4	6	7	6	-10	9	37
6	Andy Long	Lou Asman	6	7	4	-12	7	11	3	38
7	Bill Handley	Lynda	-11	8	8	4	8	7	10	45
8	Mark Reddington	Jane Sutor	12	9	11	11	-17	4	8	55
9	Chris Bailey	Matt Bailey	(DNC)	3	5	8	24 OCS	12	7	59
10	Ffion Haf Jones	John Jones	8	13	(DNC)	DNC	3	6	6	60
11	Simon Herriott	Seamus Gilshinan	9	11	16	13	5	-17	12	66
12	Roy Van Maanen	Derek McConnell	(24 DSQ)	10	10	5	14	15	14	68
13	Paul Lewis	Sam Parker	13	12	12	10	15	9	-16	71
14	Mark Usher	Anne Usher	-15	15	13	9	10	14	15	76
15	Demo Dave	Buzz	14	(DNC)	DNC	14	9	5	11	77
16	Greg Bell	Ruan O' Tiarnaigh	7	14	9	(DNC)	11	13	DNC	78
17	Alex Morrison	Jen Morrison	10	16	14	(DNC)	12	19	18	89
18	Dave Bell	Corin Westley	16	17	15	(24 DSQ)	DNC	16	13	101
19	Robert Galligan	Shane Mitchell	18	18	18	18	-20	20	17	109
20	Richard Moran	Nina Huet	17	22	17	16	19	21	(DNC)	112