Results / GUL RS Nationals Pwllheli SC - 27/08/2005

Day 1 of the Gul RS800 Nationals 2005 at Pwllheli Sailing Club dawned sunny, with a pleasant force 3 and relatively calm sea, a distinct change from the previous few days which had enjoyed monster waves, howling winds and plenty of ominously dark clouds. This change in weather was cursed by the fat boys who love a blow, but definitely welcomed by those who needed a calm day to ease into the nationals. Race 1 was delayed as the wind backed, but it finally settled, allowing race officer Rob Wainwright to start the sequence. A slight port bias resulted in a pile up at the port end, leaving the starboard end clearer for those who like a safe start. Eventual race winners Steve Irish & Martin Gotrel in Magic Marine were a casualty of the port end crush, and had to reach along the line on port for a few minutes before the could find a gap. When they finally found a gap to tack into, they were forced to hit the left hand side of the course, which thankfully paid, and they rounded in first, closely followed by Phil King & Christian King and Ollie Page & Tom Odell. The advantages of being in the lead became apparent as they were able to head fast and low on the starboard gybe, lengthening their lead while the boat behind all forced each other higher and higher. Further down the fleet, rounding the windward mark was a tricky business � it seems that general boat-handling and boat speed in the RS800 is improving all the time, as the fleet had not spaced out much. Coming in on starboard, overstanding the mark seemed the only thing to do, as otherwise you could end up stalled and stuck under a whole load of boats taking your wind. Coming in on port was almost as perilous, as it was hard to find a gap to tack into. Neither did the fleet space out much down the run � by the twin leeward marks, the fleet was still bunched up and picking a way through to round either mark was tricky business, easy to lose 10 places by being stuck on the outside of a raft. Irish/Gotrel maintained their lead throughout, with King/King clinching second. Chris Haworth & Stuart Aston, who were caught up in the port-end raft at the start and who also did turns, managed to fight back to third place. James Ross & Heather Back from Weston SC sailed a brilliant race to come fourth although rumour has it James fell out the back of the boat in astonishment at how well they were doing� The first start for race 2 was a general recall, and the second start saw Rob Wainwright crack out his prized Guinness flag in place of the traditional plain black flag. The second attempt at starting was much more sedate and got off cleanly with a pretty square line. On the first beat, the right hand side paid slightly, and Irish/Gotrel, who had gone left, rounded second behind Page/Odell. Irish/Gotrel gybed off after being sailed over by the third and fourth boats rounding the mark, which means they could sail the way they wanted, while the others ended up forcing each other slightly high, so Irish/Gotrel popped out in the lead at the leeward mark, and held it from there. Irish/Gotrel sailed comfortably to their second bullet of the day, with Nathan Batchelor & Joe Crabb pulling through to second place, and Page/Odell scoring a well-deserved third. Spod and Jane Olive in Sola Harken sailed two consistent races, fighting their way up the fleet both times, coming fifth and seventh, to be lying third overall behind Irish/Gotrel and Haworth/Aston. Adrian Coatsworth & Julia Jenkins sailed brilliantly in race two to come sixth, which is clearly a good omen for their forthcoming wedding this weekend, and Justin Deal & Sarah Marriot showed a return to form with a fifth.