RS800 Fat Face Open Meeting at Stokes Bay

Stokes Bay SC was the host for stage three of the RS800 Fat Face Racing Circuit and the final qualification event for the Fat Face Night Sail.

Conditions were forecasted to be gloomy and light wind for the thirty-eight competitors but the first race of the weekend was started in bright sunshine and marginal twin wiring conditions. Ben McGrane & Olivier Vidal (Seldon) won the start at the committee boat tacking immediately to tuck in under the shore on the favoured side of the course. Taking a more central track upwind Justin Deal & Ollie Page (FatFace) sailed into second by the top followed by the Ralph & Sophie Singleton and Ian Martin & Adam Broughton (Magic Marine).

Little boys Deal & Page reaped the rewards of their pre-event practice at Stokes Bay and soon overhauled big boys McGrane & Vidal eventually going on to take the race win. The Singletons snapped up third and Pete Barton & Roz Allen (Marlow) pulled through to fourth.

Race two started first time in a dying breeze causing the fleet to split – left heading offshore for more breeze and right inshore out of the tide. After the breeze dropped further, it was Deal & Page that first found the new breeze out on the left and dropped their bow fetching in fast to the windward mark with a solid lead which was held to the finish.

The racing was now for second place between a large pack of eight boats fighting around the remaining laps. Final positions weren’t decided until the final run to the finish – McGrane & Vidal taking another second, Andy Cornar & Orwin Murray third, Martin & Broughton fourth and Barton & Allen completing the top five.

Race three 3 began in 12 knots and the fleet got away cleanly second time under black flag. Again the fleet split, the majority of the pack this time decided to head for the less tidal shore but with a sea breeze threatening to fill in from the left, a few of the fleet decided to head out left into stronger tide.

The gamble paid off when the breeze tracked left and picked up to 15 knots giving the small pack who broke left a decent lead into the first mark. Recent Sprint Championships winners Phil King & Tom Trueman rounded first closely followed by Winter Championships winners Ben Schooling & Tim Hirst and Andy Jeffries sailing with a Sarah Marriott stand-in on their transom. King & Trueman opted for an early gybe missing out on the offshore tidal advantage and decent gusts on the run. By the leeward gate Schooling & Hirst had pulled out a nice lead from Jeffries & Marriott.

The top two positions stayed the same to the finish despite Schooling & Hirst doing their best to throw away their lead, first hooking into the windward mark and then losing the crew over the side when the trapeze adjuster knot came undone - Schoolboy!! Deal & Page pushed hard to the finish steal third at the finish line from Barton & Allen.

Overnight Deal & Page held a comfortable eight point lead from Barton & Allen with McGrane & Vidal four points adrift. The Silver Fleet (updated criteria for the Silver fleet can be found on the RS Association website) was led by Chris Webber & 2007 National Champion crew David Steed positioned well inside the top ten.

Rob Spelman-Marriott hopped on board with Barton on Sunday morning after Allen suffered a twisted ankle overnight.

In race four, David Giles & Colin Hatton (Sail 4 Cancer) lead round the first mark. Local boys Spod Olive & Dan Brown (Harken) raced hard using all their knowledge but had to settle for second at the finish as the ever excitable, always talking Spelman-Marriott appeared to be just the catalyst Barton needed at they took the win. The grin on young Rob ‘you’re only as good as your last race’ Spelman-Marriott’s face was wider than ever!!

After being sent ashore to wait for stable wind, the fleet was eventually blessed with a solid 12 knots of wind for the fifth and final race. After one general recall the fleet got away cleanly – Cornah & Murray won the start at the pin, sailed fast all the way to left corner coming back to lead round the windward mark. They were closely followed by Tom Halhead & Christian Humphrey and Martin & Boughton.

Cornah & Murray lead at the end of lap one and little boys Deal & Page soaked their way through to second – the top four now stretching out a significant gap to the pelaton. Freshening pressure and 25 degree wind shifts provided exciting racing and many places changes. At the finish, Deal & Page stuck their noses out and took the win from improving Halhead & Humphrey. Cornah & Murray cruised through to take third and a little way back Martin & Broughton finished 4^th.

With Deal & Page (FatFace) only needing a top five placing in the final race, they wrapped up the overall open meeting win comfortably. Well done guys!! Ever consistent Barton & Allen/Spelman-Marriott (Marlow) finished second discarding their fifth race result. A breakage in the last race but good scores in the previous four races gave McGrane & Vidal (Seldon) third overall.

After Saturday, there was never any doubt about the silver fleet result – Webber & Steed took the fleet win and associated promotion to gold scoring eighth place overall. RS200 legend David Giles & Colin Hatton were second positioned seventeenth overall.

Many thanks to Stokes Bay SC for providing a great racing despite the tough conditions. The RS800 next visit the hugely anticipated Beer SC on the 28/29^th June for stage four of the Fat Face Racing Circuit.