Sailing Chandlery RS400 Southern Tour at Lee-on-Solent Sailing Club

A red arrows fly-by! © RS Class Association

A very welcoming, well-run club with great weather and a Red Arrows fly-by!

Race 1

Race one started with a 15 knot wind over tide breeze which felt a lot winder due to the very strong tide pushing us over the line and into the wind. The majority of the fleet opted for a pin end start which turned out to be the correct end. Groves/Parkhurst were straight out of the blocks showing their speed up the first beat to take the lead closely followed by Halhead/Hilliar and Holden/Henderson. With a strong tide against you downwind, the obvious decision was a gybe set to head to the shoreline which seemed to pay well. Groves/Parkhurst jostled with Halhead/Hilliar but eventually laid down the law to take the bullet.

Sitting just behind the front three was a second group fighting it out. This consisted of Bevington/Skeens (perhaps with local knowledge??) Whitmore/Whitmore and Munnelly/Hosken. They battled throughout the race with Bevington/Skeens eventually taking 4th.

Race 2

A similar situation in race 2 but this time with less wind. It was Halhead/Hilliar who rounded first and led most of the race from Groves/Parkhurst and Holden/Henderson. After leading for around 40 minutes, a delayed gybe set at the final windward mark from Halhead/Hilliar allowed Groves/Parkhurst to sit in a wind stealing position for the final downwind. Unfortunately, by this point both boats were too far ahead for anyone to understand what really happened but by the finish Groves/Parkhurst had managed to steal the lead just before the final rounding to win the race. Whitmore/Whitmore took 4th who had a great first run by straight setting rather than opting for the early gybe.

Race 3

Lighter again with less tide. The Red Arrows decided to treat the fleet to an impressive fly-by which was distracting to say the least. This time it was the committee boat end of the line which paid. Groves/Parkhurst AGAIN fought it out with Halhead/Hilliar for the top place, this continued for most of the race....however a new player had arisen.... Webber/Webber showed impressive boat speed in the lighter conditions to be well in the mix, but still just behind the leaders. On the final rounding they cunningly straight set with the two leaders gybe-setting as per norm. Holden/Henderson decided they didn't want to gybe again because they were tired so followed Webber/Webber. On the final rounding to the finish Webber/Webber had overtaken the leaders by some distance to take the win with Holden/Henderson 2nd and the 'other two' close behind in 3rd and 4th.

A head on collision between Bevington/Skeens with Sheehan/Sheehan (with Ellie giving out an enormous scream!) ended Bevington/Skeens day a little early. Luckily, minimal human damage was done but a new kite pole was on order the same afternoon from Bevington/Skeens! Munnelly/Hosken channeled their inner Howard to sail a good race, not far behind the leaders in 5th place.

Day 2

Race 4

A slightly more southerly direction this time (coming more from the island) and a more 'cross-tide' race. Webber/Webber had a very envious port-tack flyer out the start. This time Holden/Henderson managed a good beat to take the lead from out the left. The early tackers suffered in the right corner. Although Groves/Parkhurst never admitted it, it was very clear that they were beginning to be slowed by Ollie's cheese wire mainsheet and lack of gloves. Halhead/Hilliar showed their speed once again and managed to fight their way up the fleet to 3rd. Bevington/Skeens in a different boat (after the crash) took 4th.

Race 5

This was a slightly more shifty race with the leaders generally doing well from avoiding lay lines and staying in the middle of the course. Whitmore/Whitmore sailed a great race fighting it out with the leaders, as did Bevington/Skeens. The final results however showed Groves/Parkhurst were not to be messed with taking the win (and I think the event by this point?).

Race 6

A big right shift combined with tide made this race slightly more one sided. That did not stop Holden/Henderson from sailing into the wrong corner of the course to put them well out the back. Halhead/Hilliar showed no issue in understanding what was going on and led the race from start to finish.

The weekend was very well run both on and off the water. The race team did a fantastic job on the water and the shore team were helpful, friendly and efficient. Bacon rolls were gratefully received from the galley before racing on both days. We are all certainly looking forward to returning next year.

RS400 Results