RS400 TridentUK Northern Tour at Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club
by Hamish Gledhill 14 Apr 16:48 BST
12-13 April 2025
The RS400 Trident UK Northern Tour moved to Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club for the second event of the season. The forecast promised a bit of everything, and that's certainly what we got.
Blue skies and a gentle southerly breeze greeted the competitors on Saturday. Four races were scheduled for Saturday, with the course shared with the RS200 fleet, with 3 more for Sunday for the 400's alone.
As the fleet rigged for the first race, many sailors were dashing back for sunglasses and a quick scrape of sun cream around their face.
Sailing out to the starting area it was clear the wind was not stable with 90-degree wind shifts making the OOD's task in setting a course impossible. After a lengthy postponement the wind had settled down to allow a course to be set across the width of the lake, but large shifts still made it interesting. Louise McKeand/Sean Ratcliffe (Leigh and Lowton SC) and Alastair Rimmer/Phil Hodgkins (Bassenthwaite SC) hit the right side of the first beat rounding first and second. A tactic they would pursue all day, with similar positive effects. The challenges of the first run increased as the fleet met the RS200 fleet beating upwind, with crews having to respond as quickly and sensitively as a Diplomat responding to a Donald Trump tweet! There were plenty of opportunities to overtake. Ollie Groves/Esther Parkhurst (Beaver SC) made their way to the front of the fleet and were pursued closely to the finish by Sam Waller/Martin Penty (Beaver SC). Behind them Hamish Gledhill/Ross Southwell (West Riding SC) and Dave Exley/Nigel Hall (Leigh and Lowton SC) battled it out to finish third and fourth.
Race 2 was soon under way with a port biased start line. Once again Louise and Sean, along with Alastair and Phil hit the right-hand side of the beat to lead the fleet around the first mark, but again Ollie and Esther soon made it to the front, this time pursued by Hamish and Ross and then Sam and Martin.
Whilst the fleet went ashore for some lunch the OOD continued to compensate for the shifty wind tweaking the course, attempting to maximise the length of the course with the windward mark under the dam wall. Race 3 got away with a couple of individual recalls, and it was no surprise at the windward mark to see Alistair and Phil glued to Louise and Sean coming in from the right at the front of the fleet. Behind them the fleet scrapped to follow them round. Louise and Sean held onto the lead for a couple of laps, but as night follows day and day follows night Ollie and Esther made it to the front of the fleet. In the most shifty and tricky conditions of the weekend they held on to take the lead from the persistent Sam and Martin.
Before the start of the fourth race there was the welcome move to move the windward mark away from the dam wall, reducing stress and anxiety levels for all concerned. This time Dave and Nige led the fleet up the first beat ahead of the tight pack. After a couple of laps, it was clear the legs were getting shorter as the windward mark drifted downwind. The course was getting busier with the 400's and 200's fighting for space on the diminishing course, but Dave and Nige were holding Ollie and Esther at bay until the last off-wind leg when Dave and Nige were unable to gybe due to the traffic on the course, allowing Ollie and Esther the opportunity they needed to take the lead, and finish the day with an impressive 4 wins from 4 in the most tricky and shifty winds. Behind Dave and Nige, Hamish and Ross were third in front of Sam and Martin in fourth.
After a few beers in the evening sun and a filling dinner provided in the clubhouse, the fleet dispersed to their overnight accommodation ranging from boutique hotels, to pop-up tents in the boat park. Those at the lower end of the luxury range were awakened during the night with strong gusts of wind flapping their tent canvas, and the sounds of halyards clanking against masts.
Whilst the sun was still shining the thermostat had been turned down by 10 degrees and there was the welcome (for some) sight of white horses down the lake kicked up by the boisterous F4/5 westerly breeze, which allowed the OOD to set a 1km length course down the length of the lake.
Winter gear was fished out of sailing bags and crews swung on the backs of their masts as they raked back for the stronger conditions.
Whilst the conditions were very different, the form on the water was similar to day one. Dave and Nige led round the first mark with Ollie and Esther in close pursuit. Ollie and Esther took the lead, but they were pushed closely by Dave and Nige right through to the finish. Sam and Martin were third. Ben Dearden and Alice Carter showed good pace in the stronger wind, rounding the first mark in the leading pack.
By now Ollie and Esther's dominance meant they already had done enough to win the event, but behind them the other podium positions were far from settled.
Ollie and Esther led race 6 with a narrow lead ahead from Sam and Martin, with Hamish and Ross, battling with Dave and Nige closely behind. The punishing beats took their toll on the legs but there was no relenting with the four boats finishing within 30 seconds of each other.
Ollie and Esther had the luxury of heading in for a warm shower whilst the rest of the boats started race 7. Hamish and Ross led the first lap from Dave and Nige and then Sam and Martin. Sam and Martin played the left side of the second beat with Hamish and Ross on the right, exchanging third for first and vice versa, with Dave and Nige remaining in second. At the second leeward mark the three boats round one after another with Hamish and Ross tacking off straight away for clean air. The early tack allowed Hamish and Ross to benefit from the same left-hand shift that had buried them on the previous lap, allowing them to round the penultimate mark first, with Sam and Martin rounding just ahead from Dave and Nige. The wind shift resulted in a long one-sided blast down the lake with the boats finishing in the same positions, allowing Sam and Martin to take second place overall.
At the prize-giving, there was a draw for Trident UK Vouchers after which Ollie Groves thanked Yorkshire Dales SC for a great event.
Trident UK Vouchers were presented to:
£20 Alistair Rimmer and Ginger Phil (Bassenthwaite SC)
£15 Clive Hames and Paula Kent (Yorkshire Dales SC)
£10 Ben Dearden and Alice Carter (Yorkshire Dales SC)
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 1526 | Ollie Groves | Esther Parkhurst | Beaver Sailing Club | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (DNC) | 18 |
| 2nd | 1492 | Sam Waller | Martin Penty | Beaver Sailing Club | 2 | ‑3 | 2 | ‑4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 |
| 3rd | 1511 | Hamish Gledhill | Ross Southwell | West Riding Sailing Club | ‑3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ‑4 | 3 | 1 | 19 |
| 4th | 1460 | Dave Exley | Nigel Hall | Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club | ‑4 | ‑4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 23 |
| 5th | 1191 | Louise Mckeand | Sean Ratcliffe | Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club | 5 | ‑6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | (DNC) | 43 |
| 6th | 438 | Alastair Rimmer | Ginger Phil | Bassenthwaite Sailing Club | 6 | 5 | 6 | ‑8 | 6 | 6 | (RET) | 49 |
| 7th | 730 | Ben Dearden | Alice Carter | Yorkshire Dales Sailing CLub | ‑7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | ‑8 | 4 | 47 |
| 8th | 750 | Joseph Spencer | Andy Spencer | Yorkshire Sales Sailing Club | 8 | ‑10 | 8 | ‑9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 55 |
| 9th | 1131 | Erica Caswell | Faye Caswell | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 68 |
| 10th | 532 | John Simms | Andrea Clough | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | (DNC) | (DNC) | 74 |
| 11th | 1282 | Clive Harries | Paula Kent | Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | (DNC) | (DNC) | DNC | 78 |