TridentUK RS400 Northern Tour at Carsington Sailing Club

The 12 boats that entered the TridentUK sponsored RS400 Northern Tour Open at Carsington SC experienced the full range of sailing conditions during the 6 races sailed and which are not understood from a simple review of the results.

Similarly the final overall places do not reflect the intensity of the racing that was going on between Ollie Groves and Chris Pickles throughout the event which was run in conjunction with the RS300 and RS600 Inland Championships. In total there were 38 boats sailing during the weekend.

Saturday afternoon started with the race team struggling with a very shifty wind but eventually all classes started and the finishing position set a pattern for the rest of the event - the front two having close racing, then the mid fleet again having close racing with much place changing. The start of Race 2 was delayed by a general recall and then a thunder and lightening storm which forced all boats to return to shore will the storm passed. After a short break all fleets returned to the water and the delayed Race 2 started in a pleasant force 3. 5 minutes later a rain squall came down the course with winds of force 6 - 7 which resulted in a bit of survival sailing for those that stayed upright. 5 minutes later wind had reduced to 2 - 3 but normal positions on the course did not seem to have been affected too much by the squall. 3 laps later large holes in the wind were starting to appear which the leaders helpfully demonstrated to the midfleet and Charlie Sansom took full advantage to score a first.

Sunday was a day of relatively steady force 3 - 4 winds and occasional sunny spells. Racing was again close although by this stage there seemed to be a consistency to the finishing places which does not reflect the amount of place changing that was happening. The boat handling skills of the 2 front runners was particularly noticeable to the rest of the fleet in the last race of the day as the close-quarters combat between Chris and Ollie started in the pre-start period and continued all around the course to the final gun.

Overall a great race series in a range of conditions -well done to Ollie and Esther for the win and thanks to TridentUK for the prize vouchers.

The RS Class Association would like to thank all at Carsington for their welcome and for delivering such a good event.

Trident Voucher Winners:

• £20 Tim Bird sail no. 854
• £15 Charlie Sansom sail no. 979
• £10 Louise McKeand sail no. 1191

Overall Results: