The RS 800 winters were held at Grafham possible one of the best inland venues for the class with its vast available sailing area. It was somewhat surprising that only 15 boats turned up (may be the cost of petrol is becoming prohibitive) or indeed that there is not a large fleet of 800s at Grafham. The forecast was for wind to slowly decrease during Saturday then increase strongly on Sunday. As a consequence Peter Saxton our PRO for the weekend (congratulations Peter on being made an International Race officer) decided to go for 4 races on Saturday. 

The first two were held in a force 3 with Ben Schooling and George Kingsnorth having a close tussle with Nick Charles and Chris Martin but holding out top take the bullet. In race 2 new boys Jeremy Collins and James Penty led the way taking the gun from Nick and Chris.  The wind then dropped a notch for the last 2 races with some big shifts starting to require some thought. Nick and Chris won race 3 and Justin Deal and Ollie Page decided it was time to play and won race  4. Ralph and Ollie Singleton clearly liked the shifty, Chew Valley like conditions and finished the day of with two 2nds. So overnight Nick and Chris led with Justin and Ben vying for second. Peter Saxton had a great day turning the races round and setting great courses.

The wind duly arrived on Sunday and blew away the alcoholic haze pretty quickly.  20-25 kts from the south provided a good test for the fleet. Despite sleeping in the car overnight Justin and Ollie started where they finished with a bullet closely followed by Ben and George. More of the same in Race 6 with some of the fleet deciding that the near perfect skiff conditions (apart from a few large gusts) were a little challenging. Ralph and Ollie led the start to finish fending of challenges from Justin and Ollie (took a dip to cure the hangover) and Rob Watson and john Clifton who had put together a very consistent series. So it is possible sail well in light and heavy winds. 

So all in all a great weekend sailing with the top 5 finishing within 4 points of each other. Justin and Ollie took the honours  by a point from Ralph and Ollie in 2^nd and Rob and John 3^rd. Thanks to all at GWSC particularly Peter Saxton and his race team.