Gul RS300 Nationals at Prestwick Sailing Club

Gul RS300 Nationals at Prestwick Sailing Club - Overall

by Steve Bolland 26 Jul 2010 19:30 BST 23-26 June 2010

Bottoms up on final day of the RS300 nationals at Prestwick © Alan Henderson / www.fotoboat.com

Happy prize winners after the RS300 nationals at Prestwick © Alan Henderson / www.fotoboat.com

For the fourth day in a row the forecast was wrong, but happily every day it has been in our favour. On the final day we got 20 knots instead of the forecast 7, and with it some quite monstrous waves.

Steve Bolland (Bristol Corinthian), needing just one more decent result to secure the championship, was fastest out of the traps in race 9. However, it was beginning to look like a lightweights benefit when Tim Keen (Sheffield Viking) and Richard Kennedy (Thorney Island), who’s combined weight is only the same as 4th placed sailor Neil Beveridge, were 2nd and 3rd at the windward mark. Beveridge made the pies pay on the superb reaches though and moved into 2nd place by the leeward mark.

The problem with the second beat was that you knew you had to bear off onto the run at the end of it. The huge waves caused quite a few casualties, not least Keen and Beveridge, the latter still managing to finish despite breaking his main haulyard during the capsize.

Mercifully race officer Jim McCardell shortened the course at the end of the run as many of the fleet were showing their bottoms. The order at the finish was Bolland followed by a Scottish contingent consisting of Ian Baillie (Dalgety Bay), Neil Beveridge (Prestwick) and John Wilson (Prestwick).

The final race was run in similar conditions. Yeats, showing the results of a serious fitness campaign over the winter, led at the first mark from Bolland and Sam Sutton (Leigh & Lowton). Down the first reach these three were racing line abreast for much of the time before Bolland slipped ahead before the gybe mark. Baillie was also going well and the first 4 were separated by only 10 boatlengths at the leeward mark.

Bolland pulled out on the second beat having picked up a useful right-side shift. The run was no less tricky than the first race of the day but all of the leading protagonists survived I think (though I couldn’t spare much time to look around to check).

After another set of furious reaches the finishing order was Bolland, Yeats, Baillie, LeMare (Draycote Water) and Sutton.

This was an outstanding finish to a quite outstanding championship. Prestwick Sailing Club pulled out all the stops to put on one of the best regattas the 300 fleet has experienced and we will endeavour to return in the future. To top it all Neil Beveridge even wore his kilt at the prizegiving!

Many thanks to South Ayrshire Sports Council for sponsoring the event.

Prizewinners:

Master – Steve Bolland
Youth – Richard Kennedy
A rig – Mark Henman
Probationer – Nostrilboy Millar
Top Scot – Ian McBaillie
Top old bloke – Barry Steel

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Pts
1	411	S Bolland	1	1	1	1	27	1	1	1	1	1	8
2	445	I Baillie	4	9	3	8	1	3	2	4	2	3	22
3	328	T Keen	3	3	6	4	2	2	5	6	5	7	30
4	352	B Yeats	2	4	4	6	7	5	6	2	8	2	31
5	416	N Beveridge	5	6	2	3	4	6	7	5	3	27	34
6	432	R Kennedy	27	2	7	2	3	4	8	13	27	8	47
7	502	J Wilson	15	27	5	7	8	12	4	3	4	6	49
8	426	R LeMare	7	5	9	11	9	13	10	7	7	4	58
9	313	A Millar	9	10	12	5	5	7	9	9	27	27	66
10	456	T Ballingall	6	7	8	9	27	10	14	10	9	11	70
11	365	D Barker	10	12	11	10	6	11	11	12	16	27	83
12	422	A Wood	8	8	13	12	11	16	13	14	17	27	95
13	519	J Marksz	12	11	18	15	14	14	15	17	11	9	101
14	436	S Catterall	13	15	10	14	13	19	12	11	27	27	107
15	514	S Sutton	27	27	27	27	27	8	3	8	6	5	111
16	450	M Henman	11	14	17	16	17	15	19	20	12	27	121
17	439	D McClay	17	18	16	13	12	18	16	15	27	27	125
18	403	A Sinclair	18	20	14	18	27	17	17	27	14	13	131
19	343	S Dewberry	20	19	20	22	19	23	23	18	10	10	138
20	525	B Steel	19	13	22	23	20	21	22	21	15	14	145
21	507	I Wilson	22	22	15	20	16	22	20	19	18	15	145
22	521A	P Carr	27	27	27	27	27	9	18	16	13	12	149
23	437	M Downie	16	21	21	21	18	20	21	22	27	27	160
24	521	A Henderson	14	17	19	17	15	27	27	27	27	27	163
25	481	J Hughes	21	16	27	19	10	27	27	27	27	27	174
26	508	J Bassett	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	23	27	27	212