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Noble Marine Rooster RS400 National Championships at East Lothian Yacht Club - Day 1

by Hamish Gledhill 9 Aug 2022 12:41 BST 8 August 2022
Noble Marine Rooster RS 400 National Championships - Day 1 © Steve Fraser

It's a long way, they said, but it's worth it. To be honest it didn't even feel that far, but what a place and what a forecast. Sun and wind - for the next few days at least!

RS400s started drifting into the picturesque town of North Berwick from Wednesday onwards, as some crews took the opportunity to enjoy what the town has to offer before the serious business starts on Monday.

By Sunday afternoon most of the RS400 fleet was assembled in the dinghy park, with the hum of activity whilst sailors slowly went about their business of faffing and fettling (what could be better), whilst catching up with old friends, and meeting new ones. All this with a clear blue sky and the beautiful backdrop of the Firth of Forth.

Many crews gathered in the yacht club in the evening for an entertaining and informative tactics talk by ex-RS400 sailor and multiple championship OOD, Jim Sinclair, before a quick beer or two and complementary scotch pie before heading off for some dinner.

Monday morning saw more blue sky and a stiff westerly breeze. The fleet was released promptly from the beach at 12:15, ahead of the scheduled 13:00 start, as they sailed to the eastern bay with the imposing backdrop of Bass Rock.

It soon became apparent that there wasn't quite as much wind as people were expecting on the beach, but there was still a decent F4.

The first race started cleanly in almost perfect conditions as most of the fleet headed left, heeding the advice from the evening's tactics talk, with wind convergence and less tide towards the shore being too much to miss out on. Downwind was less prescriptive, with competitors taking their own decisions and position changes being more frequent.

Christopher Eames and Rachel Tilley from Queen Mary SC extended their lead on the last lap to take the win ahead of Sam Knight and Chris Bownes from Bartley SC. Behind them the scrap for positions was tight with Steve and Sarah Cockerill from Stokes Bay taking third place. Stewart and Sarah Robertson from Royal Forth Yacht club suffered for the chaos at the last mark, having to drop the kite and complete a penalty turn before crossing the line, losing a couple of places in the process.

The second race got off promptly and like clockwork the fleet headed left, with more confidence than in race one. Sam and Chris played a few shifts on the top half of the beat to round the windward mark in first place and extended their lead to take the win ahead of Christopher and Rachel. Neil McLellan and Hannah Robertson from Dalgety Bay SC recovered from a snapped wing-wang line in the first race to take third place ahead Phil Murray and Neil Schofield from Tynemouth SC.

Overnight Sam and Chris and Christopher and Rachel are tied on points, with the rest of the fleet with work to do to keep them in their sights.

Results after day 1:

PosFleetSail noHelmCrewClubR1R2Pts
1stGold1376Sam KnightChris BownesBartley Sc213
2ndGold1528Christopher EamesRachel TilleyQMSC123
3rdGold1449Jamie CalderKeith BedboroughDalgety Bay Sailing Club4610
4thGold1463Stewart RobertsonSarah RobertsonRoyal Forth YC6511
5thGold1515Steve CockerillSarah CockerillStokes Bay Sailing Club3912
6thGold1398Philip MurrayNeil SchofieldTynemouth SC8412
7thSilver1410Jacob AinsworthKayleigh RobertsTynemouth5712
8thGold1502Jon HeissigNicky GriffinLlangorse SC10818
9thSilver1370Peter TaylorRuary WilliamsonDalgety Bay SC71320
10thSilver1319Brendan LynchThomas GoodmanEast Lothian YC91221
11thGold1491Jon GayAmanda HendersonLochaber111526
12thBronze1311Michael GorzkowskiSam RoomQueen Mary SC131427
13thGold1522John MacKenzieAndy BoxDalgety Bay Sailing Club181129
14thSilver768Angus MarshallEllen ClarkDBSC121729
15thSilver1316Mike SaulOliver KentYorkshire dales SC141832
16thSilver844Ronald MillarFraser MulfordRoyal Forth YC161632
17thSilver968Kevan GibbRoo PurvesLargo Bay SC152136
18thSilver1460Charlie ExleyDave ExleyLeigh and Lowton SC171936
19thGold1523Neil McLellanHannah RobertsonDBSCRET339
20thBronze1435Matt SheahanEllie SheahanWarsash sc202444
21stSilver1073Jamie RogersNeil McLarenHLSc222244
22ndGold1511Hamish GledhillRoss SouthwellWest Riding Sailing ClubDNC1046
23rdBronze612Rory FerrierBenEast Lothian YC192746
24thSilver1467Martin SpencerVanessa EvansLeigh and Lowton SC212546
25thBronze1521Andy PowellRobert BaileyWarsash252348
26thSilver1345John WilsonLaura GloverEast Lothian YC302050
27thSilver1427Carl WhiteheadCarol MilnerFiley S C242650
28thBronze877William FindlayTom McMeekinStrangford Sailing Club233154
29thBronze1445Phil BrittonMichael AtkinsonRoyal Findhorn YC263056
30thBronze1195Doug Laurie‑PieBruce MillarEast Lothian YC282856
31stBronze1148Hester RobertsonRichard HopeDalgety Bay Sailing Club273259
32ndBronze370Martin BoothAlan McleanRFYC312960
33rdBronze1294Mike GrantAlan BirseLargs SC293362
34thBronze762Paul McMeekinJane McMeekinStrangford Sailing Club323466
35thBronze1252Emma PalmerMichael WilkinsonDBSC333568

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