RS Games- WPNSA 2011

Burghfield Sailing Club was well represented at the RS Games at the Olympic venue in Portland with members competing in the RS200, RS400, RS500, RS600 and surprisingly in the RS800 too.
The games comprised of world or national championships for all the adult RS classes and the Vareo. They were staggered over the fortnight, August 15th to 26th, so that it was possible to compete in more than one event. Those of us who took that option did a lot of sailing!

RS 800's

Taking the events chronologically, the RS800 started first. Although we do not see RS800s at Burghfield we actually have a lot of expertise. We were represented by Ian Martin (crewed by Jony Clegg), Justin Deal (Olie Page), Ally Martin (Claire Cummings) and Chris Martin crewing Nick Charles.
For the record Stevie Wilson crewed by Alan Sign (the current 49er European champion crew) won it with straight firsts but Ian sailed an excellent series despite his lack of time in the boat to finish a comfortable 2nd. Justin finished 6th overall with Nick & Chris 11th. Ally had a character building week but showed some great potential.
Strangely, if they had a club prize, Burghfield would be a strong contender for top 800 club. Now theres a thing…………….

RS 600's

It was just Mark Cooper from Burghfield in the RS600s. As far as I can tell it was windy most of the time, but more importantly relatively steady. Mark came ashore everyday with a grin on his face, some tales to scare you, some excellent results and 5th overall and the Silver Fleet trophy (oddly for the second year running). It all goes to prove that Burghfield is not just a venue for hiking boats and that skills developed there can be transferred anywhere.

RS 500's

The RS500 started next. This was their world championships and it was a truly international fleet. The weather threw everything at them with both strong and light winds and racing in the bay and in the harbour. James and Lucinda Tanner had a very good week returning a consistent set of results to finish 20th out of the 55 entries. Richard and Sue Morley also had a consistent week but were not quite able to match their pace and finished a very respectable 36th in this competitive fleet.

RS 400's

The RS400s started on Thursday for 4 days. All races were sailed in the bay. The first day was windy, the second day was light and the last 2 days moderate with thermally enhanced breezes picking up during the day. Chris Jennings and Toby Ashton showed how to sail in all conditions and finished 10th overall. Rob and Jan Martin showed flashes of speed in the lighter weather and were more than pleased to finish 15th . Andrew Leigh and Chris Neal showed us all how to get upwind in strong winds at the start of the week but the lighter winds were not really to their liking but it was good for James Cutler and Jane Bromley who significantly improved on their last nationals position despite what they termed a few “mistakes”.
It was just Mark Cooper from Burghfield in the RS600s. As far as I can tell it was windy most of the time. Mark came ashore everyday with a grin on his face, some tales to scare you, some excellent results and 5th overall.

RS 200's

And so to the big one, the RS200s. There were 158 entries and if you wonder how you get 158 boats on a course, the answer is by making the course big. All races were sailed in the bay and the first beat was 1.75 miles and the second beat 1.5 miles.
The first day was moderate to light winds, the second day was a dropping breeze and the last 3 days were full on force 5.
Ian and Chris Martin sailing the veteran boat “The Cowboy Racer” finished 2nd in the first race and then hung on in the first 4 only to be edged out to 5th overall in the final race, losing on countback to Stuart Bithell, one of the current Olympic development squad sailors. The winner, James Peters and second Ben Saxton are also Olympic development squad and many others attended too boosting to quality of the fleet to an amazing standard.
Chis Catt and Ally Martin won the 3rd (light) race (in “Lily”) but also sailed a great series to finish 11th overall. Ian Sharps and Ellie Martin (in the brand new” Isabella”) finished 21st overall and these 3 together just missed out by 5 points from retaining the Best Club which this year went to Hayling Island.
Also there, but not also runs, were Caroline & Nick Martin (“Marge” 41st ), Dave Steed & Katharine Lovering (“Rosy” 43rd), Emma Johnson & Justin Deal (helming/crewing either way round 56th), Rob & Jan Martin (“Molly” 64th) and Toby & Rachel Ashton (“Its rude to point” 71st).
Everybody finished well above halfway. Sailing in a fleet that size is just quite amazing and an experience that can be both uncomfortable with the sheer number of boats around you as well as exhilarating if you get to the front of the fleet and look back.
And finally, the RS Association gave awards to the people who were most successful combining 2 championships. Chris Martin with 11th in the 800s and 5th in the 200s was 3rd but the clear winner was Ian Martin with 2nd in the 800s and 5th in the 200s.
Overall an amazing experience which may not be repeated for many years.

Rs 200 Nationals 2010- North Berwick

Six Burghfield boats made the long trip to North Berwick on the Firth of Forth in the last week of August for the RS200 National Championships. Chris Catt and Ally Martin starred finishing 5th overall, and with Chris Martin and Katherine Lovering and Ian Martin and Kate MacGregor ensured that Burghfield retained the “top Club Trophy”.

North Berwick is a lovely place to spend a holiday, but the racing was extremely difficult. This was the week when the south of England was affected by continuous rain and strong winds. By contrast in east Scotland we had a range of wind strength and direction (usually in each race) and a mostly sunshine and black clouds.

Racing started on Sunday afternoon after a delay while the wind dropped below 25 knots. Following a wild run to the starting area Caroline and Nick Martin were second at the first mark. By the finish, as the wind dropped, they were passed by Chris and Ally and Ian Sharps and Elly Martin finishing in 11,12 and 13th. For the second race the wind went light and the “team” finished mainly around the early twenties.

Monday was a wipe out with lots of rain and no wind. By the evening it was clear enough to climb “The Law”, the hill behind the town. That is enough exercise for any day.

Tuesday arrived like Sunday with a wait while the wind moderated. Again the first race was sailed in a reasonable but dropping westerly breeze. Chris and Ally placed 4th ahead of Caroline and Nick in 9th. For the second race the wind started light northerly and then got lighter as the clouds built up. In the end a little westerly wafted Chris and Ally across the finish in 1st with Ian and Elly and then Ian and Kate in 9th.and 10th. There was no chance of catching up a race with the wind dropping to nothing.

Wednesday started with a light westerly and a long beat against the tide. The Burghfield contingent sailed well with Chris and Ally. Ian and Kate and Chris and Katherine in 4th, 5 and 6th places. The wind then went to nothing with most people sailing towards the shore. But suddenly the sea breeze arrived as a nice force 3 from the east. Two more races were sailed with short beats with the tide and long slow runs . Chris and Ally had a great time scoring a 9th and 2nd, putting them into 3rd overall at the end of the day and Chris and Katherine took a another 5th.

The final day was sailed in a force 3 easterly. To begin with the wind was straight off the Bass Rock, breeding home of thousands of Gannets. You could smell the wind even at 3 miles. Fortunately the wind settled with a bit of north sparing us a whole day of guano. This time it was a beat against the tide giving long beats and short runs. . The finish order of the next race was the reverse order of starting through the gate, leading a range of different crews getting good places. The course was so one sided it was hard to make ground. The final race was similar but at least everyone knew the problem. Apparently the highlight of the day for the early starters was being watched a seal lounging in the sea and chewing on a fish.

Overall a good week out, and a reminder that Burghfield RS200 sailors do sail well

Burghfield win top club at RS200 nationals-2009

Ian Martin / Chris Catt stamped their intent by winning race 1 and led mid-week. They finished third behind sailing legend Geoff Carveth crewed by Emma Clake, and youth stars James Peters / Alan Roberts. Chris Martin / Juliet Charles and Ian Sharps / KT Nichols both showed class, sitting comfortably in the top ten for most of the week and finishing 10th and 16th respectively.

The other Burghfield boats also had a good week, enjoying a range of testing conditions and a busy racecourse - one mistake could cost tens of places. Caroline and Nick Martin sailed shrewdly to finish 22nd, Paul Whitbread / Neil Hayes flew as soon as the wind piped up to finish 38th. Katharine Lovering / Ellie Martin enjoyed the light conditions and came 46th despite two broken fingers. Rob and Jan Martin clocked a top ten result and finished 61st, whilst Toby and Rachel Ashton improved on last year in 87th.



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