Lead reduced

Dave Jones and Mark Hogan slashed the lead of Nick Craig and James Stewart at the RS400 UK Nationals

Day two of the Gul RS400 Nationals at Mounts Bay S.C. didn’t look all that promising wind-wise but it all came good in the end. A shifty eight knot northerly tracked round to north-west and built to 14 knots by the end of the day.

Winners of both races from day one Nick Craig and James Stewart looked good out of the gate start and led early on but a big shift to the left brought Steve Middleton and Chris Rowland to the front. On the downwind leg, pathfinder Dave Jones and Mark Hogan picked the best line and extended throughout the race to win by a substantial margin. Colin and Tony Prince came from nowhere to storm through and head the chasing pack but eventually they were chased down. On the final lap the course was reconfigured to account for the persistent shift and Jon Gorringe and Toby Lewis eventually held for second place, followed by Craig and Stewart and Middleton and Rowland.

After a postponement, the second race got underway and this time Jones and Hogan shot out of the gate start early and crossed the fleet on the first shift to again build a lead that would never be challenged. Middleton and Rowland rounded the first mark chasing hard but unfortunately a bit too close as they merrily trailed the windward mark with their rudder. With much place changing in the shifting and building conditions, Craig and Stewart eventually secured second, in front of Tom Halhead and Chris Bishop and Hywel Roberts and Richard Kenyon.

After today’s results Craig and Lewis now only lead by a single point from Jones and Hogan. Four points separate third to sixth place with Gorringe and Lewis in the bronze position.

Today’s winners in the Silver fleet were Andrew Freeman and Emma Jones and in the Bronze Fleet, the winners were Sam Parker and Anna Ludgate.

Results:

Pos	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	Tot
1	Nick Craig	James Stewart	1	1	3	2	4
2	David Jones	Mark Hogan	3	10	1	1	5
3	Jon Gorringe	Toby Lewis	2	7	2	6	10
4	Tom Halhead	Chris Bishop	8	2	9	3	13
5	Hywel Roberts	Richard Kenyon	5	4	5	4	13
6	Paul Hilliar	Stuart Jagger	9	3	6	5	14
7	Steve Venables	Richar Brown	7	5	7	12	19
8	Steve Middleton	Chris Rowland	21	6	4	28	31
9	John Cooper	Becci Wigley	18	8	10	14	32
10	Nick Lowe	Elaine Marsh	12	15	8	17	35
11	Rick Peacock	Ian Dobson	6	16	14	16	36
12	Rob Jones	Liz Jones	10	11	16	25	37
13	Andrew Freeman	Emma Jones	19	25	12	10	41
14	Phil Jackson	Gerard Barron	4	23	17	21	42
15	Colin Prince	Tony Prince	27	29	11	8	46
16	Ronan Kenneally	Roger O'Corman	11	9	26	34	46
17	Michael Adams	David Steadman	15	13	18	32	46
18	Giles Chipperfield	Heather Chipperfield	17	14	25	15	46
19	Andy Fox	Ian Fletcher	22	12	24	13	47
20	Jonathon Sinclair	Gary Howland	23	20	28	7	50
21	Martin Browne	Dinah Holmes	16	26	23	11	50
22	Andrew Long	Lou Asman	13	19	DSQ	19	51
23	Howard Farbrother	Louise Hosken	52	18	21	18	57
24	Sam Parker	Anna Ludgate	53	30	13	24	67
25	Mark Reddington	Wayne Hancox	24	17	29	30	70
26	Alex Morrison	Jen Morrison	20	21	38	29	70
27	Andrew Leigh	Hannah Burywood	29	24	20	26	70
28	Sally Styles	Martin Styles	25	33	15	31	71
29	Charlie Merchant	Alain Sign	26	40	19	27	72
30	Ffion Jones	John Jones	38	22	37	23	82
31	Malcolm Ritchie	Andrew Ritchie	30	31	31	22	83
32	Simon Pritchard-Jones	Ellen Milner	14	35	36	37	85
33	Chris Jordon	Gill Jordon	31	32	22	35	85
34	Chris Bailey	Matt Bailey	56	53	27	9	89
35	Paul Browning	Paul Armitage	28	36	51	33	97
36	Nick Barrett	Sam McNamara	35	28	35	38	98
37	Patrick Keats	Zoe Punne	40	34	33	36	103
38	Chris Goswell	Alan Glenville	36	27	41	42	104
39	Bill Handley	Lynda Handley	54	54	32	20	106
40	Tim Cross	John Sheather	37	46	30	49	113
41	Nick Francis	Simon Edwards	34	38	43	41	113
42	Tom Peters	Anna Louise Morrison	33	37	52	44	114
43	Aled Bath	Jo Bath	41	44	34	39	114
44	Stuart Gurney	Karen Armitage	32	41	45	43	116
45	Wayne Shirley	Ben Biglin	42	42	39	50	123
46	Chris Harris	Tracy Harris	39	47	40	45	124
47	Simon Herriot	Seamus Gilshinan	57	39	46	40	125
48	Alistair Rose	Yv ette Rose	45	43	47	48	135
49	Stephen Shaw	Daniel Shaw	48	48	44	46	138
50	Ian Heijne	Terry Young	DSQ	45	48	47	140
51	Mark Bath	Suzanne Phipps	44	DNC	42	55	141
52	Jon Speake	Ian Fitter	43	52	49	52	144
53	Simon Mathews	Penny Atkinson	47	50	50	56	147
54	Richard Arthur	Sue Arthur	46	DNC	53	53	152
55	Christopher Horn	Jane Horn	49	49	54	54	152
56	Mark Steward	Christine Steward	50	DNF	55	51	156
57	James Stuart	Andrew Stuart	58	51	56	58	165
58	Alan Cooke	Mark Lodge	51	DNF	58	57	166

More Photos on the following pages. All photos courtesy of Lee Whitehead. www.photolounge.co.uk