Results / Fat Face Racing Circuit Queen Mary SC - 23/09/2006

Final Round of the RS 800 Fat Face Racing Circuit! Unseasonable sunny skies and light winds greeted the 20-strong RS 800 fleet at Queen Mary sailing club this weekend for the final round in the 2006 Fat Face Circuit! While the breeze didn�t amount to much, the sun was so hot that the shorties came out for a final appearance, topping up the tans for the RS ball in 6 weeks time! Race one, 5-8 knots of breeze and wind shifts of 30 degrees �pond sailing at it�s best! After a great start and fresh from a successful Nationals Charlie Roome and Steve Hall rounded the top mark in first. Neil Baker and Oozy Hughes followed through in second while Rob Watson and Gimp Holmes settled into third place. By the end of the 4 lap course Baker and Hughes went on to take the bullet, Watson & Holmes hauling their way up into second ahead of Roome/Hall in third. The second race of the day saw Justin Deal and Sarah Marriott back on form in the light stuff along with James Ross and Heather Back. Deal and Marriott held the lead all the way to the finish to take the bullet while Watson and Holmes overhauled Ross/Back down the last run to add another second to their collection. A big leftie caused a quick course change and then race three was off! A real tussle began to unfold between the top three, and while Adrian and Julia Coatsworth lead the way down the run, Watson & Holmes and Deal & Marriott were just inches behind. The puffs and shifts meant the lead swapped hands several times but by the end of lap four Deal & Marriott found some better pressure on the right hand side of the run to take the last win of the day. Watson & Holmes bagged another second rendering them the overnight leaders, while Coatsworth & Coatsworth settled for third. Sunday dawned but the wind did not, nor did the enthusiasm from the fleet! But one hour into the postponement and a gentle 5 knots filled in across the lake; business as usual, the fleet began to launch. A slightly port-biased line lead to the first general of the day but by the second start the fleet were off. Charlie Roome and Steve Hall read the shifts perfectly to round the top mark in first place along with Rob Styce and Ben Lister second. Deal & Marriott rounded in third and slowly settled into �sinking� mode. By the final round Styce and Lister rounded the top mark with a decent lead, but sniffing out the best pressure on the course, Deal & Marriott stole the bullet with just a boat length in hand. Baker and Hughes took third overall, Watson and Holmes, 4th. Race 5 and the pressure was on! The huge wind shifts didn�t let up and the battle to the top mark was fierce! Coming out trumps however Ian Martin and his lovely �stand-in crew� Sophie S (Sail4Cancer) lead the way with Andy Cornah and Orwin Murray back on form in second place. By the end of lap three things were so tight between the top 4 that the bullet could have gone to anyone! Cornah & Murray however caught the best pressure of the day and beat Watson/Holmes across the line by about three inches. A second later Martin & Sophie crossed the line with Deal & Marriott a nano second behind! Last race of the day and the pressure built � twin stringing all the way! First out of the blocks and leading all the way to the finish was Deal & Marriott notching up their fourth win of the series. Cornah and Murray held second all the way to the line while Julia and Adrian Coatsworth came third and Aaron Barden and Claudia Spink finished up in fourth. And so the top three were decided: Neil Baker and James Hughes battled hard all weekend to take third spot, Rob Watson and James Holmes sailed brilliantly in the light airs to take second while Justin Deal and Sarah Marriott proved consistent in the light stuff to take First place. A huge thank you must go to Queen Mary sailing club for supplying great racing, great facilities and some fantastic September weather! The next event is the Inlands at Grafham Water in two weeks time so we hope to see you all there! Sarah Marriott RS800 1054