RS400 Irish National Championship at Skerries Sailing Club

by Paul Hilliar 18 Oct 2006 07:39 BST 13-15 October 2006

The RS200s & 400s take part in the RS Fat Face Eurocup © Ian Jubb / www.sailboatdeliveries.com

Three days of awesome conditions

31 boats turned up at Skerries S.C. for the RS400 Irish national championships, held at the same time as the RS200 champs. Everyone that attended had a smile on their faces as they were treated to three days of fantastic racing, including a truly spectacular final day in huge waves. The socials were a strong companion to the racing and Skerries S.C. did everything they could to make the fleets welcome, including complementary food as soon as you got off the water and a late opening bar.

With a solid force 4-5 that kept up for the whole of the first two days, racing got underway and it was Alex and Jen Morrison that took an early lead before being rolled downwind first by Paul Hilliar/Stu Jagger then defending champions Dave Jones/Mark Hogan. Jones/Hogan continued the charge and took the lead from Hilliar/Jagger, with these two finishing some way clear of Warren Polly/Jeremy Tomalin in third.

In race two, Polly/Tomalin led but Jones/Hogan sped past downwind. These two were then both overtaken by Hilliar/Jagger following the leeward mark rounding. The boats finished in that order following two laps of close covering between the top three.

For the final race of the first day, Hilliar/Jagger took the lead and shepherded Jones/Hogan around the course, with Polly/Tomalin just unable to break through. Howard Farbrother/Sam ‘Dirty Knickers’ Parker had a storming opening day, ending with three fourth places.

On day two, four races were planned and the tiring conditions continued so maybe it was just wishful thinking (or maybe Guinness-induced madness) that sent the leaders to the finish a lap early! Luckily for leaders Hilliar/Jagger, it wasn’t until half way down the fleet that sanity prevailed and they won by a substantial margin from Jones/Hogan. Polly/Tomalin weren’t so lucky and lost out big time, with Ian Robson/Sandy Johnson taking advantage to finish third.

In the second race, Hilliar/Jagger shot out of the start line to tack and cross the fleet to build a lead that would never be challenged. Polly/Tomalin led the fleet’s charge and although Jones/Hogan pushed them all the way, Polly/Tomalin took second place by a single boat length.

After an on-the-water lunch provided by the host club, race 3 started and Hilliar/Jagger pulled a repeat trick, revelling in their favoured windy conditions. Jones/Hogan pulled through to second, beating Robson/Johnson into third place.

For the fourth and final race of the day, Jones/Hogan flew off the start line and off into an unassailable lead. Nick Lowe/Josh Metcalfe took second place on the first downwind while the rest of the fleet ignored the wind shift. They were chased hard by Robson/Johnson but on a topsy turvy final run, Robson/Johnson lost out as Hilliar/Jagger sneaked just in front of the pack to finish third.

Two races were scheduled for the final day and initially competitors wondered whether there would be enough wind to get any racing at all, but oh boy, the conditions came good BIG TIME. Force five and waves that made the boat next to you almost disappear put huge smiles on everyone’s faces. Hilliar/Jagger needed to finish in the top two to clinch the title with a race to spare and they once again shepherded Jones/Hogan around the course to make sure of the win, with Polly/Tomalin a close third.

Just when competitors thought the conditions couldn’t get any better, the wind and waves picked up even more for the final race! Awesome 400ing conditions! Hilliar/Jagger took the final race from Robson/Johnson, with third place ensuring Polly/Tomalin’s overall third place and the national title for being first Irish boat.

Overall it was a fantastic championship, with great racing and socials in equal measure(s!). Many thanks to the host club, Skerries S.C.

Keen RS400 sailors have a week break now before the Gul RS400 Inland national championships take place at Rutland S.C.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	Pts
1	1121	Paul Hilliar	Stuart Jagger	Bristol Corinthian	2	1	1	1	1	1	3	1	1	9
2	962	David Jones	Mark Hogan	Felinheli SC	1	2	2	2	3	2	1	2	32	15
3	1188	Warren Polly	Jeremy Tomalin	Royal Ulster	3	3	3	32	2	7	4	3	3	28
4	1251	Howard Farbrother	Sam Parker	Queen Mary SC/Weston	4	4	4	5	8	5	9	10	5	44
5	1263	Ian Robson	Sandy Johnson	Aldeburgh YC	7	5	7	3	32	3	6	13	2	46
6	1082	Chris Hogan	Elaine Marsh	Port Dinorwic	6	6	5	4	4	12	5	6	10	46
7	1257	Nick Lowe	Josh Metcalfe	Port Dinorwic	10	8	14	11	7	4	2	4	7	53
8	1274	Bill Handley	Lynda	St Mawes	9	13	8	6	6	11	7	11	8	66
9	1238	Dave Cheyne	Stephen Kane	RNIYC	12	9	18	8	10	9	11	7	6	72
10	1267	Ronan Kenneally	Roger O' Gorman	RCYC	5	7	6	32	9	6	8	32	4	77
11	1172	Alex Morrison	Jen Morrison	PDSC	11	12	11	14	13	22	12	8	9	90
12	800	Tom Molloy	Phil Johnson	RNIYC/Ballyholme YC	13	10	9	10	15	17	13	5	32	92
13	1173	Demo Dave	Joe Turnbull	Burghfield SC	17	11	10	15	14	15	17	12	13	107
14	1001	Greg Bell	Barry Swanston	RNIYC/BYC	14	19	12	18	12	8	16	9	32	108
15	549	Ffion Haf Jones	John Jones	Port Dinorwic	32	15	16	12	16	13	10	14	12	108
16	1249	Michael Ennis	Andrew Vaughan	RNIYC	15	14	15	13	11	14	15	15	11	108
17	582	John Smith	Michael Browne	RNIYC	20	18	32	7	5	10	14	16	32	122
18	1178	Simon Hutchinson	Liam Donnelly	RNIYC/ABC	18	20	32	16	17	16	18	17	14	136
19	780	Mark Broughton	Vivienne Broughton	Aldeburgh YC	19	21	20	19	20	20	20	19	32	158
20	1007	Mark Greaves	Woosey	Leigh & Lowton SC	8	16	13	9	32	32	32	32	32	174
21	857	Fiachra Etchinghasm	Colm Maguire	Greystones S C	21	24	21	23	21	21	22	22	32	175
22	1140	Simon Herriott	Seamus Gilshenan	Greystones S C	16	17	32	17	24	23	19	32	32	180
23	1255	Gordon Patterson	LEHA	RNIYC/Wales	22	25	32	24	25	18	21	18	32	185
24	1136	James Gargan	Lorcan Moran	Greystones S C	26	26	19	26	26	24	23	32	32	202
25	497	Michael Bird	David Wilson	RCYC	24	32	23	22	22	32	32	20	32	207
26	828	Gerry Cannon	Roger Britton	Greystones S C	25	22	17	20	32	32	32	32	32	212
27	1126	Robert Galligan	James Hassell	Greystones S C	23	23	32	21	19	32	32	32	32	214
28	456	Ken Keenan	Carol Keenan	Blessington S C	32	32	32	25	23	25	25	21	32	215
29	512	Charlie Horder	Emma McNally	SLYC/SSC	32	32	32	32	18	19	24	32	32	221
30	1192	David Lynch	Tom Doyle	LDYC/Kinsale	32	32	22	32	32	32	32	32	32	246
31	1032	Neil Cramer	Donal Bourke	SSC	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	256