The 2015 RS200 Open Meeting 27 Sep 2015
The RCYC, with dinghy fleet captain Carl Anderson, hosted this event just two weeks before the Endeavour Trophy in RS200s.
The in-house team were out in force. Would Jamie Mears sort out child care to be able to compete? (Answer: yes, sail with Will, get Tommy and Ollie to crew in other boats.) Would rivalry surface between Otter Commodore, Scarlett and Commodore-elect, Kathryn? (Answer: no, Scarlett was sailing in light airs with her dad, Carl.) How would former RS200 circuit sailor Micky Wright stand-up? (Answer: better than his back!)
Nick Craig, winner of many Endeavour Trophies, scraped his rudder leaving the pontoon and mentioned he hadn't sailed an RS200 before, was he getting his excuses in early?
Under the management and professionalism of Edwin and Team Phoebe, race one saw Micky Wright get the start right at the committee boat end and dive for the Foulness shore. James Mears returned to start properly. As the fleet followed Micky, a lone visitor took the deep water tidal route to oblivion. However, disappointingly it was not a visitor but a local, five times Cowes Week winning crew from the RCYC. It was the turning tide that was the undoing of Micky Wright, who went high at the final windward mark to let others slip by to leeward, including Nick Craig, who won.
Race 2 saw Scarlett Anderson set the fleet alight with a port tack, pin-end flyer which gave her the lead at the windward mark only to let visitors John and Jamie Clementson and locals Jonathon Lewis with Jo Tribe get clear away, then it was neck and neck all the way round with the Burnham SC pinching the win and Nick Craig back in third.
The final race on Saturday and all three races on Sunday became a Nick Craig master-class with wins every time. In the stronger winds on Sunday the finishing orders were more settled with Lewis/Tribe just outpacing the Brightlingsea visitors. Kathryn Hutton-Penman turned in creditable performances to be lead RCYC boat and well ahead of dad.
The best was saved for the final race when a strong wind over a big ebb tide gave perfect conditions for planing long distances downwind. There were big grins and sore thighs at the prize giving where Nick Craig with crew Holly Scott received the prize from Otter Commodore, Scarlett Anderson.