Gul RS200 National Champs, Day 3

Weymouth provided another day of sunshine for the RS200 fleet sailing in the bay. Early forecasts of another day of a good breeze where lost when the sunshine warmed the land and the sea-breeze started to fight the gradient wind. The first race favoured those who started early out of the gate and held on until the wind shifted. Mike Saul and Sophie Hartley made the most of this and sailed very fast down wind to win the race by a healthy margin. Behind them a pack of three or four boats where playing cat and mouse fighting for the lesser places, amongst those was the current first place holder Tom and Jo Hewitson and Jon Lewis who was having his best race of the championships so far. The gusty conditions meant that it was possible for great gains in distance and places to be made and outwith the leading pack of boats there was some real catch up being done. Dave Giles and Fiona Clark had their first bad race of the championships and only managed to scrape their way upto 24. The second race was sailed in some very testing conditions, after a number of general recalls the fleet eventually got away in what was to be a very fickle wind. With the wind swinging over 400 and changing in velocity from 5 to 10 knots the test was well won by Dave and Nicky Derby. Hanging in there pulling out another rabbit from the hat was Tom and Jo Hewitson getting their second, second of the day. Behind the leading group once again there was some serious place changing with the wind changing in direction and velocity nearly every two or three minutes. Sam Mettam and Geoff Philip held there cool and bagged a nice result getting a seventh in the race. After the long sail in most people where very keen to head off to the �hog roast� and then make the most of Weymouth hospitality. Calls of naked by midnight were made by some of the more enthusiastic social members of the fleet.