3000 Nationals at Rutland Sailing Club

Summer finally showed up for the 3000 Class National Championships, and as the mist cleared on Saturday morning, Rutland Water twinkled in the warm sunshine. Unfortunately, the attendant high pressure meant that conditions were decidedly fluffy as the first race began. The lead exchanged hands several times on the beat, but thereafter conditions worsened and as the fleet drifted ever more slowly towards the leeward mark, with occasional puffs coming from random directions, the race officer decided enough was enough. That was the end of racing for the day, although a breeze springing up towards the end of the day was enough to persuade several boats out for a play.

Sunday was a great improvement, and with a nice gentle, but still on occasion planable wind from the South-East, the aim was to complete four races on the trot. Ex 49er sailor Joe Pester and crew Lyndi Jones opened their account with a win. The Wilsonian Sailing Club contingent, perhaps trying to avoid the tide, all approached too close to the Whitwell shore and came away bearing large amounts of weed. The teams of Tony Hunt/Suzanne Hall and David Fenech/Alison Williams shed their loads quickly enough to hang on to 2nd and 3rd, whereas the Heyes’ decided to drag theirs around for another half lap, thus getting their discard in early. In the next two races a pattern emerged: wins for Hunt/Hall with Pester/Jones snapping at their heels and Gavin MacAulay/Ben Blake sailing very tidily for third place.

This set the final race up very nicely, with Hunt/Hall and Pester/Jones scrapping it out for the championship. Pester/Jones got the better of the melee at the starboard end, but a couple of shifts saw Hunt/Hall regain the lead. They then deployed some distinctly Ainslie-like tactics to reintroduce their rivals to the rest of the fleet before pulling away for the win and the championship (again!). MacAulay/Blake capitalised for second in the race and third overall, with Fenech/Williams trailing their kite and trailing in fourth for fourth overall.

The rest of the field also had some good racing, with some consistent performances and entertaining individual battles on the trapezoidal course. For the first time, at least for many years, all the entries were from privately-owned boats, with regulars Sedbergh School prevented from attending this year due to prior obligations. The boat's appeal to couples, parent-teenager and all-teenager crew combinations was very evident from the entry.

The venue was shared with the Buzz, Iso and Vortex fleets, who all chose to sail a pure windward-leeward course, allowing the 3000's to enjoy their own space downwind. Many thanks to Rutland Water Sailing Club for the beautiful venue, hospitality and excellent organization.

Overall Results: