Results / GUL RS RACING CIRCUIT weymouth and portland sailing academy - 30/06/2001

GUL RS RACING CIRCUIT AT WEYMOUTH AND PORTLAND SAILING ACADEMY � JUNE 30/JULY 1. A total of 196 boats in five classes set a new record for numbers competing at a GUL RS Racing Circuit event at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy on June 30/July 1. This was the first event that the RS700�s competed in and what a performance, 16 boats with some major hot competition, the return of some old RS friends and spectacular action downwind on Saturday. Without doubt a very successful launch of a new class by any criteria. The 196 boats were split over three courses. The fact that Race Officers David Campbell-James, Frank Newton and Richard Stevens ran three good quality races each day in a relatively short space of time speaks volumes for their race management skills and the co-ordination work of the WPSA staff. Of course no event can be a success without the help of the weather gods and were they smiling on Weymouth at the weekend!! 16-22 knots of breeze all day on Saturday from the South West with sunshine all afternoon. Full on Monty sailing, crews going yahoo downwind and a yacht dismasting for good measure; what else could a self respecting dinghy sailor want. Ah yes, beer, Saturday night featured a very large party in one of the old hangers and the video of the Lions stuffing the Wallabies!!! After all this excitement there were many relieved people when Sunday started grey but with a very gentle 5-6 knots from the west. The breeze very slowly built to 10 knots during the day and by the end there was glorious sunshine. Whilst the results showed some people had a weekend of two halves the overall winners showed their true mettle by producing consistent results across some varied conditions. With the Nationals only one month away this weekend again proved that each class has many front-runners with many crews hitting form at the right time; I for one would not like to predict who the winners will be. The GUL RS Racing Circuit is now building very nicely to a really tight finish in all classes; the last two Circuit events of the season will see some major tussles. RS600�s The weather gods were blessing the RS fleets for the annual trip to Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, with big grins on the faces of the larger members of the fleet and a nice sunny 18-20 knot south-westerly blowing. The 600 fleet swelled to an impressive 35 boats; with everyone keen to get in the last few practice events before the nationals begin at the end of the month. Such a good entry has dispelled the rumour that the introduction of the RS700 would have an adverse affect on the RS600 Race one began with a nice long beat in the fresh breeze, the usual suspects at the front, and relative newcomer Andy Peake showing impressive speed for much of the race. A tight battle developed in the front bunch for much of the race and Richard Smith eventually came out in front, followed by Peake, Orlando Gledhill and Anthony York at the finish. Race two and Smith led the fleet from the start, the chasing pack consisting of Gledhill, York, Andy Irons, Jason Belben and Dave Geal, all revelling in the strong breeze. Plenty of place swapping at the front of the fleet and plenty of swimming further down the fleet. York led the chase for Smith at the finish closely followed by Geal in third, Irons, fourth and Belben in fifth. Race three and another clean start saw a tight pack at the front of the fleet, with York breaking away to lead to the finish, pursued by Geal in second, Gledhill, third, Smith fourth and Belben again in fifth. Day two dawned bright and sunny with a rather light and shifty 6-7knots of breeze. Race four was started with a nice long beat with plenty of gains to be made from chasing the shifts. At the first mark it became clear that the fleet was being turned inside out and a whole new bunch of boats were at the front. Although Andy Irons led, Ian (Spiderman) Marshall was in hot pursuit and all positions held despite a sizeable left shift during the race. Matt Humphrey�s and Dave Nunn led the chasing fleet. This continued until the final reach for the finish when Marshall managed to overhaul Irons in the last 200 yards to the finish line to net first place. Irons was second and Humphrey�s and Nunn, both recovering well from a shocking first day. Race two began on a slightly smaller course The race was lead by Colin Turner who sailed well to resist the challenges of Howard Enkel, both being well clear of the fleet, Jason Belben sailed to an excellent third place and with some very consistent sailing, against the first day's leaders, who were not going so well in the lighter winds, was moving up the leader board. Race six began in a bit more breeze and a general recall. Once underway Belben took up the running at the front, the only other possible event winners were York and Smith, but with Smith retiring this left York to mount a challenge from somewhere in the chasing pack. Belben looked strong throughout the race and led to the finish, chased hard by Peter Sanders, with Marshall back up in the leading group, this time edging out Mark Sempers for third place. With a range of conditions across the weekend consistency was the key to success and with Belben being the only boat not out of the top ten all weekend he took a well-deserved victory. York finished second overall two points adrift, and Smith third a further two points behind. Thanks must go to Race officer for the weekend David Campbell-James for ensuring some great racing, and turning the races round quickly and efficiently, enabling the full complement of races and still enable the fleet to head for the beach at a reasonable hour on both days. Two excellent days racing in a range of conditions and still no front runner for the nationals title, as the competition hots up and heads to Mumbles in a fortnight's time. Brian Greensmith appears to have improved his lead in the GUL RS Racing Circuit but Anthony York is now a real danger with results of 2.4.2. With four events to count he now needs one useful result from the remaining two events to be strongly challenging. Alex Davies Sail No Helm Tally Series Points Series Place Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 842 Jason Berber 165 19 1 8 5 5 5 3 1 876 Anthony York 169 21 2 4 2 1 13 5 9 860 Richard Smith 173 23 3 1 1 4 9 8 36 861 Andy Irons 150 32 4 11 4 36 2 7 8 942 Orlando Gledhill 161 33 5 3 7 3 10 12 10 654 Ian Marshall 168 38 6 18 12 16 1 6 3 680 Colin Turner 680 38 7 9 10 12 16 1 6 902 Andrew Peake 167 39 8 2 8 6 36 11 12 826 David Nunn 170 53.01 9 APA11.67 APA11.67 APA11.67 4 17 14 734 Brian Greensmith 156 55 10 7 6 11 24 20 11 GUL RS Racing Circuit overall � counting four out of five results. 1. Brian Greensmith 23pts 2. Dave Nunn 31pts 3. Mark Sempers 33pts 4. Anthony York 38pts 5. Ian Rhodes 39 pts