Budworth Sailing Club

Saturday, 7 June 2008 dawned bright with a light breeze; as much as anyone who had been watching the forecast dared to hope for.
15 home boats took to the water, showing the strength of the RS200 at Budworth SC.  There were no visitors as this year, due to a regular rotation of venues, the event does not feature on the RS Northern Tour.

Fleet Captain Rob Murphy was otherwise engaged, being at his wife’s side to oversee the delivery of the new addition to the Murphy/Dobrowolska household.  However, despite other more obvious priorities, Rob and Hannah had still managed to make sure everything was in place for a great day’s sailing.
Read on for the rest of the report and the full results

PRO Phil Hackney and team got racing underway just after 11:15am, with a windward leeward course that would set the format for the main series of races.  After the only general recall of the day, Luke and Marie Shaw set the early pace and led comfortably for the first lap and a half, but their lack of recent time in the boat showed as they were reeled in by the chasing pack.  Graeme Bristow and Caroline Fox showed good speed and awareness of the right hand shift to recover from a disappointing first lap and take the lead, closely followed by Russell and Vicky Page and Graham Tinsley and Millie Cowan.  In a close finish Bristow/Fox took line honours from Page/Page and Tinsely/Cowan.

After a short break whilst the PRO and his team moved the course, Race 2 commenced and was led at the first mark by Page/Page with Shaw/Shaw and Bristow/Fox hot on their heels and the chasing pack close behind.  As the race progressed Bristow/Fox showed their determination to put a firm grasp on the trophy and sailed into the lead taking the victory from Page/Page with Shaw/Shaw in third.  However, with no discard available the event was still wide open.

After a tasty lunch prepared and served by the galley team, a refuelled fleet took to the water for the final race of the main series.  Bristow/Fox wasted no time in sailing away at the front of the fleet, with Martin Joesbury and son Alex the only likely threat to their potentially perfect set of results.  In the end though Joesbury/Joesbury could only settle for second as Bristow/Fox completed an impressive event.  Shaw/Shaw pulled through to take third. 

With Bristow/Fox the clear event winners, Page/Page’s fourth place in the final race was sufficient to give them second overall, whilst Joesbury/Joesbury had secured third.  In the silver fleet, Bill Kenyon and Ben Ditchburn emerged as victors.  The day however was far from over! 

The fleet again took to the water for some “fun” races, the first of which was a personal handicap pursuit race based on the results of the first two races of the day.  Ross Crook and Andrea Bailey set off first before the rest of the fleet was released in pairs at 30 second intervals, giving Bristow/Fox and Page/Page nearly four minutes to make up!  At the front of the fleet the sailors revelled in their opportunity to lead and put their foot to the metal.  Meanwhile the back of the fleet toyed with the idea of whether it would be “fun” to be last boat on the water, something they have not experienced for a while.  In the end though they would have little choice as although the fleet bunched together in the closing stages, Crook/Bailey kept the chasing pack behind them from start to finish.

The second fun race allowed the PRO the opportunity to reverse the course direction at his discretion!  This caused much pondering on shore as to the best tactics to adopt, with sailors generally appearing to just go for it in the direction of the moment.  At the first turnaround, early leaders Tinsley/Cowan might have questioned whether this was the best approach, as their almost unassailable lead quickly turned to last place - by a long way!  Shaw/Shaw who had started very late thought their “tactics” had paid off as they now had a comfortable lead.  However, at the next turnaround, smiles were quickly restored and removed respectively.  With the next claxon signalling the end of the race, Tinsley/Cowan took a comfortable victory.

It now only remained to present the prizes, light the BBQs and settle down to a night of fun and games off the water. 

A big thank you to everyone who helped to make the day happen.

Full results, click the pdf icon here:

This entry was written on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pm and is filed under RS200 News, Home.
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