RS300 class at Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week

James Cowlishaw leading Matt Mercer during Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week © Matt Mercer

The annual Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week event began with four RS300s having entered. The RS300 class raced within the single handed mix competing on handicap against the likes of Finns, RS600s and a host of other classes. The event was plagued with light winds, with only four of a possible six races being completed during the week.

The first race of the week began with moderate winds which turned out to be the best conditions that the week would feature. Matt Jenkins gained a fair lead on the rest of the fleet, taking the win in his RS300 with the remaining 300s being piloted to the finish by David Jenkins coming fourth, James Cowlishaw sixth and Matt Mercer eighth.

The second race of the week began with similar conditions to the first day, however the wind became increasingly light as the race went on. Similarly to the first race the second concluded with Matt Jenkins taking another win after gaining an impressive lead, David Jenkins finishing third, after a bit of a battle and a very close finish Matt Mercer came eighth and James Cowlishaw ninth.

The third race of the event was a difficult affair; James Cowlishaw was late to the start and was later disqualified for not being in the starting area. The race began with enough wind for sailors to sit on the side however by the time the fleet was halfway up the first leg the wind had become extremely light, Matt Jenkins and David Jenkins rounded the windward mark and set upon a downwind course, pulling out a lead on the rest of the fleet including James Cowlishaw and Matt Mercer, the wind then died to around 3-5 knots and after two hours of racing (drifting) the course was eventually shortened at the 4th mark. Matt Jenkins's winning streak ended as he finished second, David Jenkins finished seventh and Matt Mercer twelfth.

RS300 sailors during Crewsaver Abersoch Dinghy Week - photo © Matt Jenkins

Racing resumed on the Thursday after Wednesday's race was abandoned due to light winds causing the fleet to fail to round the windward mark within an hour. Thursday's race involved some shifty upwind legs and fruity tides causing very close racing between all four 300s. At the end of the race Matt Jenkins had gained a lead over the other 300's finishing first and the remaining 300's finished closely with David Jenkins taking fourth, Matt Mercer fifth and James Cowlishaw sixth.

After four races the overall results showed that Matt Jenkins had won the single handed mix fleet with David Jenkins achieving a solid fourth, Matt Mercer came seventh and James Cowlishaw eighth. With all sailors achieving a top ten finish out of a nineteen strong fleet it was obvious to see the great standard of sailing within the RS300 class.

The event was made especially enjoyable with some of the evening events such as SCYC's favourite band 'Elephant Juice' playing twice during the week, a Stand Up Paddleboard Racing event and a Quiz Night. This added to the enjoyment of the event and many sailors new to Dinghy Week mentioned that it was a fantastic event for the whole family and one which will certainly be on many people's calendar for next year!