Fantastic Inlands at Rutland

RS 800 INLANDS
RUTLAND SAILING CLUB

35 800s were greeted with near perfect pond sailing conditions on arriving at Rutland Sailing Club for the GUL RS8000 inland national championships 2005..... With the forecasted 10 knots blowing nicely from the east meant the racing got away bang on time.....

Race 1 and the Magic Marine boys Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel bombed up the first beat in true �we�ve just won the national championships� style! Jane Olive also deserves a huge thumbs-up for beating hubby Spod to the top Mark, rounding in 2nd place having never helmed an 800 before! The glory was short lived as Spod popped her in her place and whizzed down the first run with great style. With lots of place changing in the pack over a very short course the top three after race 1 were Irish and Gotrel (Magic Marine), Matt Gill and Jimbo Hughs and Spod Olive and Sarah Hughes (Sola Harken).

Race 2 very similar conditions and it was a repeat performance from Irish and Gotrel. Olive and Hughes went one better to notch up a 2nd while big wind and wave specialists, Andy Jeffries and Ally Ody from Eastbourne, showed awesome pond sailing skills to take 3rd place.

Race three and no prizes for guessing the winner! Paddy Gamble and a slightly worse for ware Fiona Lockwood showed excellent pace holding second all the way round only to be overhauled on the last lap by Andy Jeffries and Ally Ody who finished in second with Andy Cornah and Orwin Murray in 3rd.

With the racing all tied up by half past three the action moved to the bar and the top five looked like this: Irish and Gotrel in first, Jeffries and Ody 2nd, Olive & Hughes 3rd, Gill and Hughes 4th and Gamble and Lockwood 5th. In true 800 style �twenty ones�, the bunny game and drink while you think whittled away the hours before the fleet dispersed into bunk beds, tents and camper vans!

A very misty start to Sunday meant an hours postponement before any racing could commence. The breeze looked fresh though leaving everyone raring to go....

Race 4 and what more can we say - turbo shandys are obviously fast! Ian Martin and stand-in crew Sarah Marriott blew a marginal hangover away by leading the pack to the top mark, closely followed by Ben Schooling and Tim Hirst; Spod Olive and Sarah Hughs snapping at their heels in third ( no sign of Steve and Martin yet.....!) Despite pulling out an awesome lead by the end of lap two, Martin and Marriott couldn�t quite hold it to the finish, giving Olive and Hughes their first bullet of the day! Schooling and Hirst just loved the bigger breeze and flew across the line in 3rd, just behind Martin and Marriott. Result!!

Race five and Merlin Rocket legend Phil King and his daughter Christina found great pace at the front of the fleet. But all fired up from a bullet in race 4, Olive and Hughes hung in their to take first place once again. The Kings took a very convincing second, Irish and Gotrel third and Jon White and Alex Cruttenden crossed the line in 4th.

Last race of the day, 4 laps to go and a marginal increase in breeze brilliant! Hamble-based James Ross and Heather Back showed fantastic form leading the fleet round the top mark! King and King sailed their way to the front of the fleet rounding in 2nd, once again leaving quite a tussle behind them! But from nowhere and returning to race-winning form, Irish and Gotrel picked perfect lanes every time to take 1st place, Ross and Back stormed accross the line in 2nd, with King & King in thrid and Gill & Hughes in 4th.

So Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel proved themselves once again and took the title of GUL RS800 inland national champions for the 2nd year running. Spod Olive and Sarah Hughs finished up 2nd on the podium while Andy Jeffries and Ally Ody came third.

A fantastic weekend�s racing from Rutland and a huge thanks to our race officer for setting fantastic courses, not to mention the sponsors GUL for some great goodys!