Class Association
Your Co-Chair Hugh Shone has a sneaky Inlands preview for you:
INLANDS PREVIEW:
Rope4Boats RS800 Inland Championships at Grafham Water SC 1st-2nd October 2022
Just across the water from my home sailing club at Swanage one can find the UK hotspot for seahorses off Studland Beach. A majestic and magical creature in a beautiful location. Yet it utterly pales in comparison to Grafham Water’s claim to wildlife supremacy. As well as hosting our annual inland bout - would you know it, it is also home to the "nationally uncommon" Warty Newt and is world renowned as being ground zero for the UK's killer shrimp threat. So in short, budding naturalists should definitely come to the inlands (Naturists should still head to the far end of Studland Beach please).
Warty newts and nudists aside, the Inlands is not one to miss. Traditionally it’s a competitive and rewarding event with a decent turnout of in-form teams who have ironed out their glitches over the summer. Whilst things will kick off with the annual Autumn conundrum as to whether it’s long john or steamer weather, when finally out on the water (and inevitably too hot or too cold) the shiftier breeze and flat water will level the playing field and open the door for more teams to have a good old go.
As event 5 of 6 in the 2021/22 Rooster Tour teams will also be keeping an eye on the bigger picture as the series nears its climax. There is a clash of the titans at the top with the McEwens (Luke and Emma) hoping to hold off Tom Morris and Guy Fillmore and close battles for the teams from 3rd to 6th. It's going to be interesting to see who comes out on top and who will slip up (most likely on swan poo given Grafham's famous lunch box marauding mute swan colony. Another big tick for Grafham's wildlife credentials).
Although there is a lot to play for in the overall standings, there will also be a lot to play for in the post sailing social in the bar. Whilst not fully formed at this stage (but watch this space), we can promise a degree of madness, team building/destroying and general good fun yeah. Intrigued I hear you murmur well I guess you’ll just have to come along to see what's going on.
If that wasn’t enough, to give you extra incentive to attend, Tom Morris (my Co-Chair and 2022 RS800 National Champion Helm) will be hosting the first post sailing 'race clinic', aimed at equipping the fleet with the knowledge to compete at the top come Garda 2023. This first session will cover calibration of main control systems and the basic settings he uses!
So to summarise, why should you make the trip up, down or across?
- Wildlife to die for and very few nudists
- A decent turnout of RS800s managed by an excellent and experienced race team
- An opportunity for all: beginners, mid-fleet heroes and podium dwellers to line up with the fleet and learn something new
- Evening entertainment that will at least confuse you silly
- RS800 Clinic: Control calibration and basic settings
Please do get your name on the list ASAP so we can start building numbers. As long as you pay by midnight on the 28th September you can claim the reduced entry fee. You can do that here
Also, if you are interested in coming but your other half is AWOL then let me know (FB message or email). There are always willing and experienced sailors out there keen to jump onboard.
See you there!
Hugh
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