RS400 Open at Portchester Sailing Club
by Paul Oakey 2 Oct 2018 20:13 BST
29 September 2018
RS400s at Portchester © Ross Underwoo
The RS400 event at Portchester Sailing Club sponsored by Chichester Harbour Gin and Sailing Awards stylish trophies saw experienced racer Ivan Burden finally taking up the role of principle race officer.
With a "not normally like this here" light and unstable north easterly Ivan had the full experience of multiple course adjustments, postponements, a general recall and black flag starts. An eventual first time but should be satisfied with three good races completed in very tricky conditions.
Chichester Harbour Gin had generously donated two bottle which seemed too good to reserve for the winners so were given as a draw of sail numbers. The first went to 527, Andy Powell and Ian Verso, reversing their luck on the race course with the light patches and shifts, culminating with a black in the last race. The second bottle went to 1427, Mick and Sarah Whitmore who then immediately returned to the podium with a consistent set of finishes claiming third place. Steve Rastall and Chris Stubbs performance summed up the conditions; winning the first race, almost last in the next, before adding a second for second overall.
Paul and Mark Oakey also managed to turn a potentially race winning position in the first race in a mid-fleet finish before finding the speed and a go right strategy to win the last two races and the meeting.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1441 | Paul Oakey | Mark Oakey | Portchester SC | ‑7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2nd | 1189 | Steve Restall | Chris Stubbs | Downs | 1 | ‑9 | 2 | 3 |
| 3rd | 1479 | Mick Whitmore | Sarah Whitmore | Eastbourne SC | 3 | 2 | ‑4 | 5 |
| 4th | 1429 | Neil Bevington | Alan Syens | Lee on Solent SC | 2 | 4 | ‑5 | 6 |
| 5th | 1377 | Sean Leary | Annalise Nixon | Oxford SC | ‑6 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 6th | 1444 | Nick Martin | Clare Darch | Lee on Solent SC | 4 | ‑10 | 7 | 11 |
| 7th | 1181 | Bruce Mills | Andrea Jarman | Warsash SC | 5 | ‑8 | 6 | 11 |
| 8th | 1060 | Pete Pickford | John Pickford | Thorney Island SC | 9 | 5 | ‑10 | 14 |
| 9th | 421 | Adrian Neal | Tracy Neal | Castle Cove SC | ‑8 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 10th | 947 | Brian Beavis | Louise Wells | Portchester SC | ‑10 | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| 11th | 527 | Andy Powell | Ian Verso | Castle Cove SC | 11 | 11 | (BFD) | 22 |