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Close competition at Papercourt’s RS200 Open

rs200 open 1

Paul & Suzie Hammett narrowly lead from Jon Paton & Sue Michelmore

Paul & Suzie Hammett came through as the overall winners at Papercourt’s RS200 Open, on 24th October, in the closest competition possible, kindly sponsored by Guildford Marine.  Evenly scoring on points with Jon Paton & Sue Michelmore after 4 races, they had steadily improved through the day and took the bullet in the last race to clinch the competition.  Worthy mention also goes to David & John Beaney coming in 3rd place, one point overall ahead of Sam Tozer & Kirsty Corcoran in 4th. 

The day started very cold and very calm, but with a 10 knot breeze forecast, the fleet of 12 boats, including 4 visitors, remained hopeful and sure enough, we were on the water for the first start shortly after 11am.

Race 1 started with a number of boats keen to make an early impression although perhaps a little over-keen, Andrew Boyce & Clare Michelmore found themselves judged over the line just before the starting gun and had to go around.  A reduced course to make the best of the still gentle breeze provided visitors David & John Beaney with an opening win, ahead of Jon Paton & Sue Michelmore.  Paul & Suzie Hammett, in a borrowed boat came third after their first sail in a 200 for a number of years – quite an achievement!

The strengthening wind meant the course could be extended for the second race and as the wind veered from westerly to northerly, the ability to adapt to the shifts started to favour some of the ‘home’ boats and their local knowledge.  Jon and Sue were back on top, Sam Tozer & Kirsty Corcoran ran second to Andrew Boyce & Clare Michelmore’s third.

The third race, after lunch, saw the closest competition on the start line with Paul & Suzie Hammett making the most of some clear air at the pin-end.  The wind by now was around the expected 10 knots, and while remaining shifty, it meant the whole lake came into play for the afternoon racing, providing a great windward-leeward course.  There was good racing on the downwind legs with well-judged gybes leading to a number of gains for some boats.  Paul & Suzie had now found their feet in a 200 again and narrowly beat Jon & Sue into first place, with Andrew & Clare third.  

By the start of the last race, places in the top 3 were still very much up for grabs, with 4 boats having the chance of an overall win.  Chancing too much however, unfortunately left Andrew Boyce & Clare Michelmore and Sam Tozer & Kirsty Corcoran OCS, while Jon & Sue rounded the first mark in only 8th place.  This time however, they managed to play the shifts superbly downwind and sailed their way into second place.  The Hammetts were able to hang on for top spot though, taking their second win of the day.  David & John Beaney were able to build on their earlier win with a 3rd place in this race and ensure a place in the top 3 overall.

Overall results, then, were really tight, with the Hammetts tied on points with Jon Paton & Sue Michelmore, but by virtue of winning the last race, the Hammetts came out as overall winners.  Jon and Sue finished as runners-up with the last race securing David & John Beaney a well deserved 3rd place.

The day itself was hugely enjoyable.  The broad skill levels present left everyone with someone to race against, even at the back of the fleet and generous sponsorship from Guildford Marine led to some great prizes throughout the fleet (including for one team who had that sinking feeling, having failed to put the bung back in their boat after lunch – at least this time it wasn’t me!)

With club volunteers providing an excellent lunch and tea as well as great camaraderie both on the water and in the bar, this year’s RS200 Open was a fitting and successful end to Papercourt’s summer sailing season. 

Results are shown below, and further photographs are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/55136457@N03/   Please get in touch if you’d like copies.

Finally, we will be holding some winter training sessions for the RS200 fleet and I’ll be sending dates out shortly – if you’d like to know more, or want to be included on Papercourt’s RS200 email updates, please do get in touch.

Papercourt RS200 Open, 24th Oct 2010  Final Results (4 races, 3 to count):

Boat No

Helm

Crew

Club

Place

976

Paul Hammett

Suzie Hammett

PSC

1

849

Jon Paton

Sue Michelmore

PSC

2

1150

David Beaney

John Beaney

Castaways SC

3

487

Sam Tozer

Kirsty Corcoran

PSC

4

1293

Andrew Boyce

Clare Michelmore

PSC

5

681

Phil White

Oli White

PSC

6

1343

Tim Lewis

Elliot Lewis

Littleton SC

7

639

Stefan Bennet

Phil Kahane

Frensham Pond SC

8

953

Juliet Charles

Alice Kingsnorth

9

332

Peter Entwistle

Stephanie Billington

PSC

10

1340

John Preston

Tony Boyle

PSC

11

483

Tom Key

Seth Johnson

PSC

12

For full results including each race click here

Tom Key

RS200  483 “RamShackle” – 12th but back next year!

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