RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix 5 at Beer Sailing Club

RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix at Beer © Beer SC

RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix at Beer © Beer SC

RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix at Beer © Hannah Tattersall

Saturday (by Hugh Shone)

The forecast for the weekend looked excellent and the 13 teams that made the trip to sunny Beer were not left disappointed. We were served up an epic weekend of wind, waves, sunshine and some very reasonably priced bar refreshments! The icing on the cake was the team of amazing volunteers - helping at every turn to make sure people had a fantastic time.

Race 1 started in around 10 knots. Immediately Hugh Shone/Hannah Tattersall broke free on the right to lead around the top mark with the Andy and Allyson Jeffries in pursuit. It stayed like this for a couple of laps until a jellyfish caused some rudder issues on the leading boat allowing the Jeffries to take the honours closely followed by Shone/Tattersall in 2nd and Tim Saxton/Fiona Hampshire in 3rd. It certainly seemed as though the jellyfish in Devon are built of sterner stuff than their wobbly Dorset counterparts!

Race 2 and the breeze was beginning to freshen. With the wind came a building sea which brought errors. It was a close affair between the Jeffries, Jimmy Green Marine Boys (James Green and Jamie Trewick), Shone/Tattersall and the Luke and Emma McEwen. By the finish Shone/Tattersall managed to keep their mast in the sky and took the bullet followed by Jimmy Green Marine and then the Jeffries.

Race 3 and with the right side of the beat looking better and better, team Saxton/Hampshire executed a very impressive port flyer to lead the fleet around the top mark with a very healthy lead. With an ever increasing breeze there was a fair bit of carnage as boats did their best not to stick their noses in downhill. Other obstacles involved the very solid jellyfish. Steven Greaves/Caroline Edwards in particular came a cropper on one such creature, snapping their rudder line at full chat downwind! Saxton/Hampshire sailed off to the horizon, meanwhile Shone/Tattersall battled their way to 2nd after the Jenkins managed to capsize metres from the line whilst in 2nd. This handed third to the McEwens.

The evening was spent admiring the beautiful view from the Beer Sailing Club balcony. Food was plentiful and company excellent as people discussed accommodation plans for the upcoming nationals. No one got too 'jolly' after looking at the forecast which suggested that Sunday was going to be BIG. And so it turned out to be...

Sunday (by James Green and Jamie Trewick)

Sunday morning dawned with light drizzle and a subdued South Westerly. With the fresh forecast clearly subdued by the overhead conditions, the fleet headed out into the bay. Once past the main headland, the fleet found a steady 12 kts and a large swell, exaggerated by the current pushing against it.

The first race got away cleanly. The right hand side paid heavily up the first beat and this was to become a theme of the day's racing. Leading at the first mark was Team Jimmy Green, closely followed by the Jeffries, Team Saxton/Hampshire and the McEwens. With the right clearly favoured, chances for passing boats mainly came from the ability to nail a lay-line as many teams 'rang the bell'. With the tide pushing up the course, every team had their 'surely they won't make it from there... ' chat. Team Jimmy Green held off a determined offensive effort from the Jeffries to take line honours followed by Saxton/Hampshire.

The breeze freshened a little for the second race as the waves continued to build. The occasional set now presented a considerable obstacle upwind and a serious hazard downwind. Several teams lined up on port for the start of the second as we got away cleanly yet again. Team Saxton/Hampshire showed a fine turn of pace to lead at the first mark from the Jeffries, McEwens and Team Shone/Tattersall. The chasing teams gybed off early as Saxton/Hampshire headed off to the right corner with Team Jimmy Green chasing hard. Unfortunately, the ocean parted for team Saxton/Hampshire as they exited their gybe, this resulted in a perfect pitch-pole. Team Jimmy Green nailed the lay-line to sneak into the lead at the bottom only to relinquish the lead in similar fashion to Team Saxton/Hampshire on the next round. Team Jeffries took full advantage only to break a trap line up the final beat to complete the 'leaders curse' for each lap.

Line honours were eventually taken by Team Shone/Tattersall from the McEwens and Team Jimmy Green. Team John Warburton/James Clapham were not far behind as they pipped Greaves/Edwards, both teams revelling in the conditions.

The final race was postponed a little as news was received that team Jeffries had been ashore and were going to be able to make the final race. The breeze was now up to a decent 18kts with massive breaking waves. Again the start was away cleanly with everyone now heading to the right. Team Saxton/Hampshire lead at the windward mark from Team Jimmy Green and the McEwens. Yet again Saxton/Hampshire were singled out for the special 'Beer Mine' treatment as the tide and waves combined to swallow them at pace to allow Team Jimmy Green through. With many teams now backing off downwind in the deteriorating conditions, Team Jimmy Green cut loose to extend away and take line honours from the Jeffries and the McEwens. Team Shone/Tattersall came in fourth followed by Paul and Peter Jenkins who showed great resilience to come back strongly in the final race after a tough start to the day. Fourth was enough for Team Shone/Tattersall to secure the top spot overall from the Jeffries in a fitting finale to an exhilarating day.

Big thanks go to Beer Sailing Club for putting on a fantastic event, the conditions really delivered, and the sailors were left battered, some bruised (hope you're ok Mr Gibbs!!) but very happy on their journeys home. We now look forward to the Volvo Noble Marine Nationals at Castle Cove 20-23 Aug where the racing is guaranteed to be close throughout the fleet! All the event information is available here.

Overall Results: