Warming up

Pete Vincent reports on the RS200 Winter Championships at Grafham Water

After a rubbish winter for sailing, full of light wind drifts, where they had been more talk of engagements and babies then rig tension and rake, it was a blessed relief to get back to proper sailing last weekend at Grafham Water SC. Also after a diet of one off handicap races it was so nice to get back to real competitive fleet racing. The RS200 does it so well and 48 boats from as far a field as Falmouth and Isle of Man had a great weekends racing at the GUL Winter Championships. The quality of racing was greatly helped by Grafham Water once again being excellent hosts with some top draw race management. PRO Charlie Stowe and his team must have been freezing on the boat and all competitors greatly appreciated their smart turn arounds.

Saturday’s wind forecast was not encouraging nor the very gentle breeze over the lake at 11.00. It was thus quite a pleasant surprise for three good races to take place in 9-12 knots of breeze; it was a bit patchy and shifty but good sailing. The first two races had a total pattern, Geoff Carveth with crew superstar Fiona Clark scoring two convincing wins; equally secure in second in both races were Tom and Jo Hewitson and third in both races was Jon Lewis and KT Nichol. Then the race officer helped shake things up a bit by firing the five minute gun for race three so quickly that many boats had drifted too far away eating choc bars and were late. Newbies Stephen Janering and Ben Evans from Wembley port crossed the fleet to lead. The Hewitsons restored order to win with Father and son Colin and Aaron Smith in second and Lewis and Nichol third again, they know their place.

Watching England beat Italy, good food and some decent Cornish Ale rounded off a good day.

Sunday and really proper sailing. A steadier south westerly built to 15-17 knots and the 200’s became a bundle of fun downwind. The black flag sent some of the leading sailors home in race four and Carveth and Clark won the battle with the Hewitsons with Ian Pickard and Emma mad Clark just winning the Bristol battle ahead of Trudie Danbury and Karen Baker. The Hewitsons led race five throughout with David Giles and Kita Carpenter second. Carveth and Clark gained a valuable third on the last run just ahead of Pete Vincent and Tessa Nicholls.

Going into the final race Carveth and Clark and the Hewitsons were tied with discard. Silver fleet champions from last year, Micky Wright and Howie Enkel, led early on with Carveth and Giles in close company. The first run saw the Hewitsons become unable to influence matters at the front of the fleet. If Carveth and Clark could finish second they would win and in the end they made sure of winning the GUL Winter Championships by winning the race from Giles and Carpenter with Lewis and Nichol in their favourite position and Wright and Enkal fourth.

Bristol’s Christian Humphrey and Rebecca Smith won the silver division from Fiona and Steve Hall whilst Scaling Dams Wayne and Debra Fletcher sailed a storming event to be 13th overall and win the Bronze division from Ulley’s Georgie Hill and Roger Ta.

Results:

1-Geoff Carveth and Fiona Clarke
2-Tom Hewitson and Jo Hewitson
3-Jonathan Lewis and KT Nichol
4-Colin Smith and Aaron Smith
5-Trudie Danbury and Karen Barker
6-Sarah Allan and Melissa Storey
7-Ian Pickard and Mad Emma
8-Matt Jenkins and Emma Jenkins
9-Pete Vincent and Tessa Nicholls
10-David Giles and Kita Carpenter