RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix Event Number Five at Beer SC 11-12 July

On the water photos thanks to Beer SC.  Beer SC view thanks to Hannah Tattersall.

Saturday report by Hugh Shone

The forecast for the weekend looked excellent and the 13 teams that made the trip to sunny Beer were not left disappointed.  We were served up an epic weekend of wind, waves, sunshine and some very reasonably priced bar refreshments!  The icing on the cake was the team of amazing volunteers - helping at every turn to make sure people had a fantastic time.

Race 1 started in around 10 knots.  Immediately Hugh Shone/Hannah Tattersall broke free on the right to lead around the top mark with the Andy and Allyson Jeffries in pursuit.  It stayed like this for a couple of laps until a jellyfish caused some rudder issues on the leading boat allowing the Jeffries to take the honours closely followed by Shone/Tattersall in 2nd and Tim Saxton/Fiona Hampshire in 3rd.  It certainly seemed as though the jellyfish in Devon are built of sterner stuff than their wobbly Dorset counterparts!

Race 2 and the breeze was beginning to freshen.  With the wind came a building sea which brought errors.  It was a close affair between the Jeffries, Jimmy Green Marine Boys (James Green and Jamie Trewick), Shone/Tattersall and the Luke and Emma McEwen.   By the finish Shone/Tattersall managed to keep their mast in the sky and took the bullet followed by Jimmy Green Marine and then the Jeffries. 

Race 3 and with the right side of the beat looking better and better, team Saxton/Hampshire executed a very impressive port flyer to lead the fleet around the top mark with a very healthy lead. With an ever increasing breeze there was a fair bit of carnage as boats did their best not to stick their noses in downhill. Other obstacles involved the very solid jellyfish.  Steven Greaves/Caroline Edwards in particular came a cropper on one such creature, snapping their rudder line at full chat downwind!  Saxton/Hampshire sailed off to the horizon, meanwhile Shone/Tattersall battled their way to 2nd after the Jenkins managed to capsize metres from the line whilst in 2nd.  This handed third to the McEwens.

The evening was spent admiring the beautiful view from the Beer Sailing Club balcony.  Food was plentiful and company excellent as people discussed accommodation plans for the upcoming nationals. No one got too 'jolly' after looking at the forecast which suggested that Sunday was going to be BIG.  And so it turned out to be....

Sunday report by James Green

Sunday morning dawned with light drizzle and a subdued South Westerly.  With the fresh forecast clearly subdued by the overhead conditions, the fleet headed out into the bay.  Once past the main headland, the fleet found a steady 12 kts and a large swell, exaggerated by the current pushing against it.

The first race got away cleanly. The right hand side paid heavily up the first beat and this was to become a theme of the day’s racing.  Leading at the first mark was Team Jimmy Green, closely followed by the Jeffries, Team Saxton/Hampshire and the McEwens.  With the right clearly favoured, chances for passing boats mainly came from the ability to nail a lay-line as many teams ‘rang the bell’.  With the tide pushing up the course, every team had their ‘surely they won’t make it from there… ‘ chat.  Team Jimmy Green held off a determined offensive effort from the Jeffries to take line honours followed by Saxton/Hampshire.

The breeze freshened a little for the second race as the waves continued to build.  The occasional set now presented a considerable obstacle upwind and a serious hazard downwind.  Several teams lined up on port for the start of the second as we got away cleanly yet again.  Team Saxton/Hampshire showed a fine turn of pace to lead at the first mark from the Jeffries, McEwens and Team Shone/Tattersall.  The chasing teams gybed off early as Saxton/Hampshire headed off to the right corner with Team Jimmy Green chasing hard. Unfortunately, the ocean parted for team Saxton/Hampshire as they exited their gybe, this resulted in a perfect pitch-pole.  Team Jimmy Green nailed the lay-line to sneak into the lead at the bottom only to relinquish the lead in similar fashion to Team Saxton/Hampshire on the next round.  Team Jeffries took full advantage only to break a trap line up the final beat to complete the ‘leaders curse’ for each lap.

Line honours were eventually taken by Team Shone/Tattersall from the McEwens and Team Jimmy Green. Team John Warburton/James Clapham were not far behind as they pipped Greaves/Edwards, both teams revelling in the conditions.

The final race was postponed a little as news was received that team Jeffries had been ashore and were going to be able to make the final race.  The breeze was now up to a decent 18kts with massive breaking waves.  Again the start was away cleanly with everyone now heading to the right.  Team Saxton/Hampshire lead at the windward mark from Team Jimmy Green and the McEwens.  Yet again Saxton/Hampshire were singled out for the special ‘Beer Mine’ treatment as the tide and waves combined to swallow them at pace to allow Team Jimmy Green through.  With many teams now backing off downwind in the deteriorating conditions, Team Jimmy Green cut loose to extend away and take line honours from the Jeffries and the McEwens.  Team Shone/Tattersall came in fourth followed by Paul and Peter Jenkins who showed great resilience to come back strongly in the final race after a tough start to the day.  Fourth was enough for Team Shone/Tattersall to secure the top spot overall from the Jeffries in a fitting finale to an exhilarating day.

RS800 Report – Beer S.C by Jamie Trewick

13 boats travelled to Beer S.C for round five of the RS800 Magic Marine Grand Prix circuit this weekend. Sailors were greeted with blue skies, a great welcome party helping to get all the boats onto the beach, and bacon butties galore served by the wonderful galley in the sailing. The forecast for Lyme Bay over the weekend was set up perfectly for some great racing, ready to show Beer off at its best!

Race 1 got under way in a 10 knot westerly. Shifts, pressure differences and the attempts of some thermal enhancement of the breeze provided the sailors with a challenging first race. Hugh Shone and Hannah Tattersall showed their intentions from the start by leading the way, only to be later overhauled by Andy and Allyson Jeffries, with Tim Saxton and Fiona Hampshire making up ground to take third.

By the start of the second race, the breeze has flicked out and settled into a much more steady South Westerly with building waves. The tide meant there was a dash to get across to the right of the course, and that’s exactly what local boys James Green and Jamie Trewick did to lead round the first windward mark, followed closely by Hugh & Hannah, with the Jeffries leading the charge behind. James and Jamie extended their lead over the first 2 laps until they exhibited how not to bear away at the final windward mark, letting H & H through to take the win. J & J recovered quickly to finish 2^nd, with A & A finishing strongly in 3^rd.

By race 3, the breeze had increased further to 15 knots, and the waves were getting more akin to something you’d find at Alton Towers. The race was still on to get to the right of the course, with Tim and Fiona squeezing J & J out at the pin end for a perfect port flyer – never looking back thereafter.  J & J chased hard throughout until the final downwind leg, where it was proved that an upright boat really is quicker than an upside down one. H & H sailed another solid race to take 2^nd, with a special mention in dispatches for Paul and Peter Jenkins who looked set to take a great 3^rd place until a swim cost them 50 yards from the finish line, gifting it to the ever improving Luke and Emma McEwen.

The tired, hungry and definitely thirsty bodies of the sailors were well replenished in the Sailing Club after racing, with plenty of talk about just how big it might be the following morning!

Sunday dawned damp and dreary, with a settled 12 knot South Westerly again. The seas had built overnight, providing some excellent roller coaster moments throughout the day.

Race 4 was a tight affair with 4 boats rounding the windward mark in close succession. A good lay-line call at the bottom mark allowed J & J to sneak inside A&A where a close battled proceeded for the remainder of the race and that was how it finished. Tim & Fiona again showed good pace to round off the top 3.

By the fifth race of the series the breeze had picked up again, and there were plenty of casualties. J & J again lead round the windward mark, closely followed by H & H, the Jeffries’ and the McEwens and T & F.  J & J were the first to take a closer look at the Jellyfish demonstrating how not to gybe, followed shortly after by T & F recreating their own version of Oblivion for their first pitchpole of the day!  A & A looked set to take victory thereafter until Andy showed that wiring hard doesn’t always pay off when his trapeze line decided to give way, leaving them in the drink and out of the race. H & H showed good pace yet again to take their second victory, with Luke & Emma sailing well for 2^nd, and James and Jamie recovering for 3^rd.

After a quick trap line change for A & A ashore, the final race of the day saw most of the main protagonists all starting on port again, so it was left to Luke and Emma on starboard to try and upset the apple cart! And so it turned out, with an incident resulting in J & J doing penalty spins, while H & H forced into a crash tack caused Hugh to fall out the back of the boat, leaving them to play a game of catch up! Out in the tide at the first windward mark the waves were steep causing hoisting issues for both Jamie and Emma, with both kites trawling. Luke couldn’t quite save it meaning the McEwens went for a swim, while James managed to hold on to minimize their losses. The first run was an exciting affair, with Tim and Fiona the first of the unfortunate casualties in the 800 graveyard taking their second dramatic pitch-pole of the day! From there on J & J pulled away for a horizon job by the finish, with the Jeffries’ sailing yet another solid race to take 2^nd, and the McEwens rounding off the top 3. The big question on returning to the shore though was had Hugh and Hannah done enough to recover from their early dip…

The answer proved to be yes with Hugh and Hannah taking a very well deserved victory on 10 points.  Andy and Allyson were left ruing their gear failure for 2^nd overall on 12 points, with James and Jamie finishing in 3^rd on 13 points.

Big thanks go to Beer Sailing Club for putting on a fantastic event, the conditions really delivered, and the sailors were left battered, some bruised (hope you’re ok Mr Gibbs!!) but very happy on their journeys home. We now look forward to the Nationals at Castle Cove where the racing is guaranteed to be close throughout the fleet!

Big thanks go to Beer Sailing Club for putting on a fantastic event, the conditions really delivered, and the sailors were left battered, some bruised (hope you’re ok Mr Gibbs!!) but very happy on their journeys home.   We now look forward to the Volvo Noble Marine Nationals at Castle Cove 20-23 Aug where the racing is guaranteed to be close throughout the fleet!  All the event information is at: http://www.rs800.org/championships/mindex.asp?clselect=Home&eid=1107