RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley Sailing Club

RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley © Nigel Wakefield

Twenty RS200s descended on Netley Sailing Club for the second round of the Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour on what felt like the first day of summer. After a quick bacon sandwich and briefing outside the impressive new clubhouse, the competitors applied the sun cream eager to get racing under way with what little breeze there was forecast to die away as the day went on.

That eagerness was evident on the race course too, with the first start ending up with a general recall. It got away at the second time of asking but with several premature starters having to return opening up nice lanes for a trio of the visitors from Queen Mary to wriggle their way up to the windward mark in the podium positions.

However, that wasn't to last with Jamie Harris and Ellen Main from Netley/Hayling deploying their light wind downhill speed to overhaul Charlie and Lucy. They then set about eating into the lead of Andrew and his crew and the father son duo of David and Rowan. It came down to the short final leg from the gate to the finish with Andrew and crew doing enough, just, to hold off the charging Jamie and Ellen.

Andrew Barnett and Jo Lloyd take fourth in the RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley - photo © Nigel Wakefield

Race 2 saw the breeze flick left during the sequence and Ben and Lorna take advantage, coming off the pin end to build an unassailable lead of around half a leg. Jamie and Ellen again turned on the pace to sweep through to second, while Andrew and crew were completely buried but rolled the dice on the final downwind by splitting from fleet on the run and found a band of pressure to take them up from about three from the back to three from the front.

Andrew Barnett and Jo Lloyd found their feet in the light conditions to put a fourth on the scorecard.

With the breeze fading and shifting left, the tide became a bigger factor in races 3 and 4. But while it had started to go out down at the start, there was strangely never much at the top of the course closer to the channel. The tactical debate was whether to go uptide first and try and get the tide under the lee bow, or to head out on port closer to the middle of Southampton water, where the tide didn't appear to be as strong.

RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley - photo © Nigel Wakefield

It turned out that the advantages of each broadly cancelled out, with pressure the deciding factor. Lorna clearly had her head out of the boat in race 3, as she and Ben tied up another race win with Jamie and Ellen second. Richard and Oliver Brown, a father son team from Carsington Water showed some good light airs pace to come in third.

It looked questionable whether a fourth race would go off in the dying breeze, but with Ben and Lorna 2 points behind Jamie and Ellen and carrying a six after having to go back at the start of race one, they were no doubt relieved to see the flags go up for a decider. The perennial bridesmaids up to that point, Jamie and Ellen managed to sneak past Ben and Lorna on the final downwind to take the win.

Ben Whaley and Lorna Glen win the RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley - photo © Lorna Glen

With Ben and Lorna taking second, they jumped to the top of the leader board after the drop, with Jamie and Ellen in second, and Andrew and crew in third.

The competitors enjoyed cake from the galley the Easter sunshine on the waterfront after racing, as race officer Nigel Wakefield presented the prizes from the club and Sailing Chandlery. Nige and his team did a stellar job to get four fair races away in increasingly challenging conditions, but always just enough puff to get the kites filling and get 200s over the tide. Netley really does feel like a holiday resort when the sun is out - I hope we can return next year!

Jamie Harris and Ellen Main take second in the RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley - photo © Lorna Glen

Overall Results:

Andrew Wishart and crew take third in the RS200 Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour at Netley - photo © Lorna Glen