RS 800s at HISC

43 RS 800s gathered at Hayling Island Sailing Club on the weekend of the 26-27^th May for the 5^th round of the 2007 Fat Face Racing Circuit. After a week of beautiful sunshine and soaring temperatures, it all went to pot on Saturday morning leaving the fleet to launch in drizzle and 8 knots of breeze. Still spirits were far from dampened and some top notch racing kicked off at lunch time.

Despite several general recalls for the 400 fleet, the 800s finally began race one without a hitch. A good 8-10 knots filled in and Neil Baker/Jimbo Hughes made the most of every puff to round the top mark in first place. Andy Bryson/Tom Foster rounded close behind with Justin Deal/Sarah Marriott (Fat Face) in third. By the bottom mark Deal/Marriott’s blistering pace put them firmly in front, leading the charge up the next beat. Positions within the bulk of the fleet changed constantly but the top 3 remained unchanged: Deal/Marriott (Fat Face) took the first bullet of the day followed by Bakers/Hughes in second with Bryson/Foster in 3^rd.

Race 2 and after one general recall (with several boats binned) it was business as usual. This time Phil King/Tom Truman showed great pace off the line along with Jamie Reid and Ed Clay. But Deal/Marriott’s (Fat Face) great down wind speed put them at the front of the fleet once again, and they held the lead all the way to the finish. King/Truman lead the charge for second place while Reid and Clay took third.

Final race of the day and the wind began to pipe up a little…. After another spate of general recalls Baker/Hughes lead the way up the first beat and rounded the top mark with a great lead in hand. Fresh from a great result in race 2, King/Truman lead the chasing pack comprising of Bryson/Forester and Dom/Jenny Johnson. By lap 2 the breeze began to drop off but the competition remained fierce to the bitter end. For Baker/Hughes however, their victory proved almost effortless cruised across the finish line with a massive lead in hand ahead of King/Truman who consolidated their day with another 2^nd.

Over night Baker/Hughes lead the way with Deal/Marriott (Fat Face) in second.

Sunday morning and an eerily quiet start turned into a full-blown howler by the time everyone began to launch. This coupled with pouring rain and a temperature of about 5 degrees did very little for fleet motivation! However most of the fleet made it out over some seriously nasty waves and race one began. By the top mark Peter Barton lead the way with stand-in crew Jon Noonan. Sadly Pete was without Roz this weekend after she had a nasty run in on her motorbike the Wednesday before. Roz is said to be making great progress in Southampton General Hospital, and everyone in the 800 fleet looks forward to welcoming her back as soon as possible.

Once the kites were set the place changing began…. Boats were capsizing all over the place while others started to break… two rudders and a rig in race one – the latter putting a sharp end to Deal/Marriott’s (Fat Face) chances of victory. However Simon Coleridge and Tim Collins set the standard from a boat handling point of view – first across the line followed by Andy Jeffries and Aly Ody, Andrew Smith and Pippa Wheeler in 3^rd.

Final race of the day and by now the weather was truly miserable! At the top mark very few kites were being popped. But it was Charlie Roome and Steve Tozer’s decision to hoist theirs that gave them the win. Crossing the line in second just metres away was Tim Smyth and Fiona Lockwood, while Baker/Hughes’s 3^rd was enough to secure overall victory.

So a big congratulations to Neil Baker and James Hughes who took victory in the 5^th round of the RS 800 Fat Face racing circuit 2007. Andy Jeffries and Alyson Ody’s consistency was enough to reward them with a second while Jamie Reid and Ed Clay rounded off the podium with a 3^rd. A big Thank You to Fat Face for supplying the prize giving vouchers and to Hayling Island for a great weekend of racing.

Sarah Marriott

1054 – Fat Face