Results / Gul RS800 National Championships Hayling Island SC - 26/08/2003

Day 1 51 RS800�s turned up to Hayling Island for the National Championships 2003. With a cracking days practice sailing on the Monday, seeing the use of the footstraps for the first time this year for the 800�s, and dinghy park chat of a windy week the heavy weather crews were getting excited! It was not to be however as the wind started the day as a nice force 3 and dropped as the land heated up, at least the sun was out though. Mike Lennon and Emma White started the event as they mean to go on with a convincing win in the first race. They were followed by Chips Howarth and Ali Hall in the RWO boat who pulled through well from 6th at the windward mark. Chris Hawarth and Stuart Aston and Nick Peters and Nicky Griffin also took a lot of ground out of the original leaders to take 3rd and 4th. Race two started in a decreasing breeze with James Date and Mark Hogan in Sea Sure leading from the pin end and extending to win a long race which saw Lennon/White adding a second to their first from the first race for a near perfect opening day. However, more important was that James Date, sailing with Mark Hogan (himself an experienced Nationals race winner), won his first ever race at a Nationals ever in any class�.! Third was Steve Irish and Martin Gotrell in Magic Marine to add to their 5th in the first race, pushing back Spod Olive and Mike Warren into 4th . Lennon/White lead from Date/Hogan who are tied with Howarth/Hall in third. With the prospect of some more wind for the rest of the week, and a very high quality turnout, if slightly down on last years numbers. It�s going to be good� where is everyone? There are at least 20 unused 800�s sat on the beach here at Hayling with no one to sail them�! Day 3 The aches and pains from day 2 quickly disappeared on Thursday morning, with the wind further round to a more NE direction but still at a steady force 4-5, another day of champagne sailing was on the cards with good waves still out in the bay. With the race officers favourite pin biased line the fleet got away heading left to take the header near the shore and foot into the windward mark. First round were Chips Howarth and Ali Hall in RWO. Tacking off early from the start was not a bad option as Matt Adams and stand in crew John �I�m a bit too unfit for 800 sailing in this breeze� Date came in from the right to round second. Mark �Corky� Rhodes was busy re sitting an exam as this was going on. Adams/Date took great pleasure in rolling Date Senior and Mark Hogan in Sea Sure who tacked slightly under the lay line and squeezed round in third. The chasing pack consisted of Steve Irish and Martin Gotrell in Magic Marine, Paul Bartlett and Stuart Woodger, and Spod Olive and Mike Warren in Sola. More classic downwind sailing saw Howarth/Hall pick the right hand leeward gate mark, with Date/Hogan and Adams/Date rounding the left one. Clearer breeze and water away from the fleet coming downwind seemed to be the order of the day with Date/Hogan rounding the next windward mark with a big lead followed by Adams/Date and Howarth/Hall. The positions remained the same for the next lap despite Howarth/Hall nearly snatching second as Date Junior�s strength left him and the kite was still half up for the short two sail reach to the finish. Shouts of encouragement and �it�s still in the cleat you �$%*!� from Adams ensured that they held second. Irish/Gotrell came in fourth. Race two started in a dropping breeze that was all over the place with crews venturing into the play pen in front of the mast for a moment, before the wind started to build again. With visibility gradually reducing and the wind really starting to pick up, more carnage was on the way than we managed in the first race the day before! By the time the leaders of Howarth/Hall, Chris Haworth and Stuart Aston rounded the leeward mark the rain squall hit with it being impossible to see upwind in 30knts and driving rain! Half way up the next beat the picture became clear to the leaders who could now look back downwind and see significantly less than half the fleet still upright, the rest of Hayling bay looking like a boat graveyard! The wind then moderated back to a steadier 20 knots and the race took shape with Howarth/Hall pulling away to win from Bartlett/Woodger, who snatched second from Haworth/Aston when they overcooked the layline on the last run, dropping their kite early. Date/Hogan took fourth, with Adams/Date in fifth. Day 4 It�s August apparently� You�d have had a job convincing the fleet of this on Friday with rain like we haven�t seen for months and 20 knots again. The wind decreased all day though giving the crews a rest. Less exciting racing than the previous couple of days but probably what everyone needed. A chance to get the lactic acid and alcohol out of those muscles�! Race one finally saw Chris Haworth and Stuart Aston show what the are capable of taking the lead and never looking back. Chips Howarth and Ali Hall in RWO were 2nd and Steve Irish and Martin Gotrell in Magic Marine were making up for yesterdays rain sqaull swimming in 3rd. Mike Lennon and Emma White finding the lighter breeze to their liking were flying through the fleet to get up to fourth. James Date and Mark Hogan in Sea Sure were also pulling through after an average first beat and stole fourth from Lennon/White on the last run. Race 8 of the championship and it was getting close. Second discard was coming in and the Irish/Gotrell revival was taking form with a convincing win in this race. Date/Hogan put the pressure back on Howarth/Hall with a second. Matt McGovern and Max Capener notched up their second top three result of the week with a third holding off Howarth/Hall into fourth The stage was set for the final day, Date/Hogan now lead by just two points from Howarth/Hall, with Steve Irish needing two bullets to tie scores with Date/Hogan but still lose on countback, but could still beat Howarth/Hall depending how day five went for them. Day 5 What a difference a day makes, August returned to Hayling for the weekend and the final day of racing, sunny blue skies and light shifting Northerly breeze. Tight, tactical racing, with your thinking hats on, was going to be the order of the day. Race nine was started with the port biased line being assisted by the tide, helping the entire fleet onto the pin end. From the ensuing melee a lucky few made their break up the shifty beat. Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel got the bit between their teeth and took the race by storm with Jon Partridge and Tim Smyth making the most of getting some good shifts to take second. Geoff Carveth and Craig Davies took third from Chips Howarth and Ali Hall who spend the entire race on the comeback trail after the start. James Date and Mark Hogan never recovered from getting buried on the pin at the start, and finished 15th, this brought their 4th (which was a discard) into play from race 7, and the battle for the title with Chips Howarth to the final race. Race 10 was again started on a biased line with loads of tide. The pin end jousting was impressive, and after several general recalls and some complete chaos the fleet got away. Port tack across the line was the only way to start as the wind took a huge shift, and Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel found themselves pointing at the windward mark and held the shift for longer than most to lead around the windward mark. By the top mark the leading group of ten boats had been established, with Irish at the front and Chips Howarth and Ali Hall in there somewhere. James Date and Mark Hogan had some work to do after another start where they got buried in the pack. As Irish and Gotrel set off into the sunset to take the final race, Date and Hogan were on the comeback trail and Chips Howarth was sailing down the final run in 5th then 4th then 5th then 4th, this was it�� 4th for the title and fifth for third place overall, losing on countback to Date and Irish. Date needed a 6th to beat Howarth in 4th place. Rounding the final mark Howarth secured fourth, Date's charge to the front stopped at tenth place leaving Chips Howarth and Ali Hall as national champions. Date and Hogan were second tied on points with Irish and Gotrel who finish third on countback. An excellent week was had by all with some tight and tactical racing. Chips Haworth and Ali Hall worthy champions with no results outside the top 7; James Date and Mark Hogan so unlucky on the last day but still securing an excellent second. Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel finishing the championships in style with three bullets, but left thinking about what may have been after their cutting the kite in half manoeuvre on day two. It should be a tight year at the top next year.