The 2011 RS800 National Championships were hosted by Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy. Portland Harbour & Weymouth Bay delivered  fantastic days racing for the 60 boat fleet for 5 days of the RS Games.

Stevie Wilson teamed up with 49er ‘hot shot crew’ Alain Sign & they dominated day one with straight wins in the 10 – 15 knot breeze. Ian Martin & Jonny Clegg came in second overall with a 4^th & 2^nd whilst RS200/400 guru Dave Hivey crewed by James Stewart had a good day with a 3^rd & 4^th.

Day 3 brought a new wind direction and racing out in Weymouth Bay, it would be a day or “snakes and ladders” as the shifty NE breeze was rolling off the west cliffs of Weymouth.

Race 6 started in 6 to 7 knots but as the fleet split it became apparent that the boats on the left were sailing into more breeze as they approached the cliffs and the left hand lay line, this localized breeze dominated the whole race with huge difference in pressure between the windward and leeward marks resulting huge place changes throughout the race. Stevie Wilson/Alain Sign took it all in their stride to take another win, followed by Justin Deal/Ollie Page in 2^nd and Ian Martin/Jonny Clegg in 3^rd.

As boats struggled to finish the race the AP was hosted and the wait for wind began, in a search for more breeze, James Gollop moved the course area away from the cliffs and closer to Weymouth town, after a relatively short wait, the breeze filled in to give a shifty 12-15 knots. Race 7 got underway and again the dash to the left lay line began, plenty of place changes ensued behind the now familiar sight of Stevie and Alain’s green spinnaker, with the final results being Stevie Wilson/Alain Sign, Dave Hivey/James Stewart 2^nd and Tom Halhead/Stu Jagger 3^rd.

A fantastic sail in from the course brought the fleet back through the harbour and past the other fleets providing a beautiful spectacle for the now very busy WPNSA.

One final race on the last day in a pleasantly sunny medium airs breeze was enough to iron out the last few shuffles in the results card. Noteworthy performers were Hugh Shone & Hannah Tattersall and Matthew & Mike Chapman who scored a 2^nd and 4^th respectively in the last race to bolster their overall scores in the 60 boat fleet.

Andy Jeffries & Allyson Ody dropped to 8^th overall after a bad last race start. Simon Hiscocks & Mary Rook had an unfortunate drop to 7^th when the unwelcome Mr Gear Failure came visiting. Justin Deal & Ollie Page took 6^th with a consistent series just loosing on a tie breaker for 5^th to fleet newbie’s David Hivey & James Stewart who have proven that RS200 sailors can trapeze in a breeze despite what they say.

The movers of the day were Russ & Penny Clark ‘Rooster’ elevating to 4^th after they recorded their second successive bullet to jump to 4^th overall. “I just did what my wife (Penny) told me”, exclaimed a delighted Russ Clark. Back seat drivers! Penny claimed the top girl prize having overtaken both Mary Rook and Ally Ody on the last day.

Peter Barton & Paul Davis ‘Harken’ held on to 3^rd from a chasing pack. A position they were delighted with as after snapping their mast in Lymington the afternoon before the champs they wondered if they would make the start line. However, a bit of carbon, epoxy and a passionate boat builder willing to come to work on a Sunday evening and she was as good as new the following morning – many thanks to Simon Maguire of maguireboats.com . Ian Martin & Jonny Clegg survived their big Thursday night hangovers to keep 2^nd overall. After a jittery start they cleared their heads and very cleverly nailed a big righty on the 2^nd beat. Genius.

Stevie Wilson & Alain Sign didn’t survive their hangovers but they had already done more than enough for an unchallenged 1^st overall. They counted straight 1^sts demonstrating a complete repertoire of quality skills; Great starts, speed, tactics and boat handling. Fantastic to watch and very hard to beat but a good show of how much more we may all be capable of. After a string of 2^nds in recent years it was definitely Stevie’s turn and he made it stick - emphatically!

First all Womens team was Francis Peters and Nicola Groves, and Sophie Singleton helped Dad Ralph around the course to win him the Masters trophy.

The 800 fleet is on a high at the moment with both new faces joining and old faces returning.. The Women’s Skiff Squad is gathering momentum and continuing throughout next year in the RS800s. These are exiting times for the class especially as 2012 sees another two premier championship destinations to look forward to; The fleet’s bi-annual pilgrimage to the windy cliffs of Lake Garda (they were made with the RS800s in mind!) in July for their Europeans before returning to a UK Nationals at Hayling Island, deservedly one of the UKs most sought after championship venues. Bring it on!

Closing quotes;

“I enjoyed contributing more to tactics when racing the RS800 as the helm trims the main upwind”, commented winning crew and 49er ace. Alain Sign

“I wanted to win this one, we didn’t make many mistakes” said ex-nearly man, Stevie Wilson ‘RS Sailing’

“I used to think this fleet was most competitive in 2003 but actually I think it is stronger now than ever before, and with 60 boats whizzing around it is fantastic fun”, said James Date ‘RWO’.

“Those scales were over weighing”, quipped Numerous.

Class Chairman, Andy Jeffries, summed up a great week’s racing, “Personally it was a very proud feeling to sail in a fleet with so much talent from other classes, including Olympic medallists and campaigners. It was a huge challenge for both RS Admin and the RS Association to arrange such a big event and it has been a real success from the RS800 point of view. The social atmosphere was very open and I’m sure that everyone who competed in the event will have come away buzzing about the class. There are plenty of sailors now considering the 800 for their next challenge.”