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E'Tu wins Cowes week 2010
At the end of seven tough races in the RS Elite class, the first five places overall were separated by just two points which shows the strength of the competition.
Steve Powell's E'Tu from Lymington, with Alastair (Buzz) Keck on the helm and David (Bottie) Botteril forward, won the event on countback ahead of the 2010 National champions, Kandoo 3.
Day after day, there have been just seconds between the leading boats, with place changing right to the finish. Early in the week the banter was that the one place you did not want to be was in the lead around the last mark, because defending while picking the right route seemed almost impossible. Five different winners of the seven races tells its own story.
"Cowes Week gives a really different kind of racing which is great for our class," said Martin Wadhams of RS Sailing, and skipper of Joyce. "The changing breeze and tidal strategy throws in many more variables than typical windward-leeward races and it can lead to a different kind of pressure and tension with the crews. But I think that variation is fantastic and adds to a season's mix of exciting competition."
Local Team Win 2010 Nationals
RS Eiites were used at this year's 'Varsity' team racing event at the Royal Lymington YC over the weekend of 3rd/4th July
The annual informal Class Association meeting at the London boat show will be held on Friday 15th January, in the RYA lounge starting at 3pm. All association members are welcome. The agenda has been sent out by Lyn our hard working secretary. See you there!
Open Events for 2010 - also in the calendar
29th/31st May Burnham-on-Crouch - Whitsun Regatta
28th/31st May Scottish Series Lake Tarbert – Grand Slam Event
12th/13th June Sea Bangor/Irish Nationals
22nd/25th July RS ELITE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Royal Lymington YC – Christchurch Bay – Grand Slam Event
31st July/7th August Cowes Week – Grand Slam Event
9th/13th August Chichester Harbour Federation Week
21st/22nd August East Coast Championship – Burnham-on-Crouch
28th August/4th September Burnham Week
4th/5th September Keel Boat Weekend RNIYC
Chairman's report for 2009/10
Another year passes by - the RS Elite is now over five years old (1st production boat launched in June 2004) and it's success continues. It has been great to see the newer fleets growing, especially in Northern Ireland and Lymington. Highlights of 2009 for me have been the Nationals in Northern Ireland - great event, although we didn't get Ciao Bella going until about the 6th race - we had a great time socially though, as expected. Thanks to all those at both the clubs for all the preparation, organisation and hospitality. Congratulations to Sean McClean and his boys for showing us all the way on t he racecourse!
Cowes week, as ever was different but enjoyable, especially as Mike Richard and I won! (see separate report). What was especially good was the growth in numbers due to the new boats from Lymington and the travellers from Burnham. Great to see you all. Slightly disappointing was the turn out for the social events as the Lymington teams go home after racing in their high powered Ribs. It would be nice to see a few more at the Island SC after racing even if you have to 'nominate' a driver to see you safely home. The Hayling Island RS Elite charter scheme started this year and has been reasonably successful - especially as marketing was very limited due to a a latish start. Next year we will develop the concept and see if it is really viable in the longer term. The main idea of the scheme is to bring extra visitors and therefore more revenues into the club during the quieter midweek periods in the season. It has started to do this and could be a real money earner in these difficult times. Looking forward to 2010 the main (and grand slam) events are the Scottish series at Tarbert, the nationals at Lymington and Cowes week. The Lymington nationals has been set firstly to suit the tides but also it is just a week before Cowes and we are therefore hoping to attract good numbers to both events building on the growing Cowes and nationals numbers. The Class Association and especially the Lymington nationals team will help anyone who wants to attend either or both events in whatever way possible. There are plans for berthing, launching and accomodation for both events with a view to making them easy to attend and reasonably priced as well as thoroughly enjoyable. We will organise feeder races between Lymington to Cowes between the events and after Cowes.
So - class captains - now is the time to encourage your fleet members to travel to the biggest RS Elite events yet. The gauntlet has been thrown down already by Martin Wadhams representing the Lymington fleet and I look forward to a great turnout with boats from Hayling, Burnham, Lymington, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Falmouth - you can make it happen!!
On the subject of class captains - a big thank you. You are the people who make things happen at a club level. The club racing, special events and club social activities which all go toward the overall success of the class.Finally a big thank you to the association team, especially to Lyn, (as ever) and to Anthony P who has now discharged his last financial responsibilities and handed over to Adrian Olsen. Welcome on board Adrian. PW
Ciao Bella Wins Cowes week on the last day by one point.
Christened the '3 wily old men' earlier in the week the Ciao Bella team
studied the positions after Thursday's racing and went to the start
line on Friday thinking they would need to work hard to consolidate our
second place. Cowes 2009 was a week when anything could happen and
having fought through into first place after the second mark in the
final race the team were amazed to see how far back the black spinnaker
of Aeolus was. The rest of the race was nerve wracking. A major
decision to sail backwards to clear weed was made after we lost the
lead to Duel (Mike Dawe, Paul Carpenter and Greg Lamb) about two thirds
through the race and to our relief Mike reported the vibration on the
helm had gone and we were able to hold position to finish second. We
then saw the Black spinnaker apparently picking up places and we turned
round after the finish to confirm that there were two boats between
ourselves and Aeolus which gave us the title by 1 point! It was that
sort of week. Mainly light, a lot of tidal work and thinking and some
pretty close calls. Laid mark 'G' 's changed position featured in an
earlier race and a very large container ship featured in another.
Funnily enough although we saw the name from about 100 yards away I
can't remember what it was. During the week we had the usual mix of
West and East going starts and courses in areas which we were familiar
with and some new ones. I know overall Cowes numbers were down but that
wasn't obvious both on and off the water.
How brilliant to see 13 RS Elites on the water and to have our own
start. Thanks to the Lymington fleet - we are looking forward to the
2010 nationals there and to good turnouts at Cowes in future years.
Seven races and six race winners - that can't be bad! 12 points
separating the first 5 boats, boats from five clubs. Thanks to the
Burnham boats for travelling to Cowes. Bad luck to the Brown's who had
their share of misfortune (and some Fortune!) during the week. Maybe it
was a week for wily old men.......!!
Off the water events were excellent (thanks to June for the bookings)
and nominating the Island SC for the 'apres sail' seemed to work. Just
a pity not all the teams were able to make the Island SC or the other
events. I know some of the teams travel daily by Rib but we should try
to get a bit more going on in future years. PW
2009 Nationals - RNIYC - July 2009
Brewin Dolphin Scottish Series 2009
The RS Elite Class only competed at the Scottish Series in Tarbert, Loch Fyne for the first time in any numbers in 2008. This year, due to the commitment of seven Belfast Lough boats and Steve Powell’s E’ Tu travelling from way down south of the border, Shaun MacLean persuaded the Clyde Cruising Club to not only give us our own class but also our own start - great! This was the first leg of the 2009 Grand Slam Series for the Class with the Nationals and Cowes Week to follow in June and August.
The boats travelling from Belfast Lough were Mark Brien’s Full Marks, Jeff Ralston, Gavin Brown and Simon Robinson’s Upfront, Brian Shaw’s Swallow, John McDowell’s Sea Breezes, Mark and Ian Hunter’s B’have and Barney Isherwood’s Murphy all from Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club plus Fiona Hicks’s all girl crew on No Angel from Royal Ulster Yacht Club.
Donald and Shaun’s Elixir had national support from James Pearson’s recently acquired Bacchanalia and of course Steve, Charlie and Buzz had driven the whole hike north no doubt to get the low down on the competition for the Nationals later in the year. There was of course a bit of excitement in the fleet when we heard that Shirley Robertson would be competing with us on board Bacchanalia and there is no doubt this kind of exposure can do the class no harm.
The rigours of the ‘feeder race’ from Stranraer proved a bit too much for one crew who insisted in throwing his high tech toys out of the pram on Thursday night but others weren’t far behind him. So there we were on the Friday morning, a bit hung over, chilly and a bit damp but the veteran Scottish Series hands sailed out to the racecourse with the Tarbert ‘virgins’ fully expecting some interesting racing. We had our own start but the fleet included classes of Sigma 33s, large and smaller sportsboats and Sonatas so there was inevitably a bit of complicated tactics trying to avoid bigger boats on different legs of the course.
Steve and the boys in E’ Tu certainly showed us their intentions with two wins on the first day with Mark Brien’s Full Marks taking the third race. Shaun and Donald’s Elixir was right in there with a couple of second places as was No Angel with two thirds and Upfront also with a third place.
Saturday was quite a different day. The breeze was strong enough to start with that Fiona warned the crew that it wasn’t going to be their weather. Well that proved to be a mis-forecast as they won the first race just piping Elixir over the line. B’Have sailed a great race to take third with Full Marks and E’ Tu next in fourth and fifth. Well the wind didn’t drop much, quite the opposite; the squalls that were blowing through while we waited an hour and a half for the second race combined into one stiff breeze of over 30 knots. The second race. when it finally did take place was a stormer. Only two boats flew spinnakers and Elixir came out in front with a win followed by Full Marks, E’ Tu and No Angel. The class voted with their feet and sailed back into Tarbert so there was no third race that day.
Sunday was a lot better but still might chilly at times. We got three races in with Full Marks, Upfront and Elixir taking the line honours. With double Olympic medal winner Shirley Robertson on board Bacchanalia again and a few more tweaks to their tuning the latest boat to the fleet held on to a second and third place. Seven races sailed and five winners - well we wanted close competition and we got it. E’ Tu had a consistent day to hang onto third pace overall after three days but the rigours of Saturday were obviously too much for No Angel’s girls and they had a poor set of results.
Sunday night was the Class dinner held at the Stonefield Castle Hotel. We had a full turnout and the meal was excellent crack. Mark Brien even made a fairly comprehensible speech and John McDowell had a special birthday cake presented and then informed us that his combined crew age was 204 years. There was even talk of coming back next year!
Monday and it was all to sail for for the top three places between Elixir, Full Marks and E’ Tu. No Angel and Upfront were only one point apart in fourth and fifth. The first race was very Tarbert, wind all over the place and major holes in the light airs that wafted across the racecourse. Full Marks looked to have lost their chance at overall honours as they slipped right down the fleet in a windless patch. They do get the prize however for jammiest recovery as they sailed round the entire fleet as the wind filled in from the right and took line honours ahead of Elixir in second and Sea Breezes in third. The final race of the series was going to be a nail biter given the variable winds and in the end it was Steve and the boys who finished first with Elixir in second and Full Marks down in fourth behind Swallow in third.
After the mad rush to get into the pontoons and masts down for lifting out there wasn’t much time for some guys to get to the ferry home but several crews did stay for the prize giving. First overall and collecting the glassware and the special half model Elite trophy he had presented was Shaun in Elixir. Full Marks was second overall with E’ Tu third and No Angel fourth.
I think overall it was not the best Scottish Series I have been to weather wise - last year was actually better in that respect and there have been a few windless scorchers - but it was certainly the closest racing. We had good fun ashore with two guys from the same crew earning additional awards for DME (drunkest man ever) and the Prize Giving Sprint (you know who you are). The dinner was a great evening with all the crews there and all mixed up with each other in the glorious setting of the Stonefield. No Angel was one point ahead of Upfront going into the last race and Jeff accused the girls of kidnapping one of the crew who apparently didn’t appear back until the wee small hours - we were innocent - honest!
One outcome of the series will hopefully be raised interest in the boats both in Scotland and Belfast Lough. James certainly was hopeful of attracting a few customers and with the Nationals in Belfast Lough there will be raised interest there too. We will certainly be back in Tarbert next year.
ED - Thanks to Fiona Hicks for supplying the write up and images.
Boat Show meeting 2009
The 2009 Class Association boat show meeting will be held at 4pm in the RYA members lounge at the Excel London boat show starting at 4pm. See you there!!
Nationals at Burnham (RBYC) Sponsored by Eleco, RS Racing, Gul and Hyde Sails.
17 boats from Ireland, Lymington, Hayling Island and Burnham competed in one of this year's happiest sailing events. Socially the mix of ages and regions would have put the UN to shame, although the cabaret artist was a bit close to the bone!
£14,000 was raised for MacMillan Nurses at a lively auction prompted by the fleet's generous sponsors, ELECO, and the final dinner/dance went on into the early hours to the sound of Men Behaving Sadly – guitar and vocalist provided from within the fleet. Race management was well run by Mike Pearson and his team who have perfected the art of keeping participants in the picture –train operators please note! The racing was held over four days in 10 knots plus of breeze and the competitive standard of the fleet produced tight and exciting racing with different winners each day and six individual teams producing first place results.
Day 1 saw birthday boy Dave Wood and team racing Oink Squeal produce consistent results to leave them leading the fleet after three races and winners of the day's trophy.
Day 2 allowed three more races to be completed and following a disappointment during race one of the event when Aeolus and the Brown family missed an upwind gate, they finished the day in third place overall behind RS Sailing and ET'U, but winners of day two.
Day 3 and a further three races were scheduled and after some 8 hours on the race area the fleet finally completed 9 out of a planned 10 races for the event. This also allowed both discards to kick in and although RS Sailing won the day they were left in overall second place behind Aeolus with all to race for on the final day. Sadly there was no wind on
Day 4 so the competitors slugged it out (literally) on the local golf course while the Championship results were calculated over the nine races. The safety inspection disqualified two competitors after race seven but they took it in good heart and finished the series in the bar.
Jonathan Brown crewed by parents Lyn and David in Aeolus (RBYC) won the event closely followed by RS's very own Martin Wadhams with Amanda and local guru Paul Fisk. Third should have been the team from Lymington, ET'U (Steve Powell) helmed by Buzz Keck with Charlie Merchant and Alex Mathieson; but when the results were reworked overnight eliminating the two 'health and safety' defaulters, local boat Outlaw (RBYC) sailed by Ant Law, wife Sue and Jeremy Tolhurst sneaked into third place. Next year the party moves to Belfast Lough (and it really will be a party) for the Nationals in June.
Scottish Series at Tarbert, Loch Fyne, Scotland - 2008
The Scottish Series is the "big one" in the north when some 200 yachts converge on Loch Fyne racing in a multitude of different classes. The single Scottish based RS Elite and five boats from the newly formed Belfast Loch fleet made it there and raced in the highly competitive Sportsboat 2 Class competing against 6 Sonars, Two each of the Beneteau 25, 707 and Artemis classes making up the field of eighteen. With sunshine all the way and shifty easterly winds ranging between 12 and 25 knots, the sailing conditions would best be described as "just sublime" and racing was always close. Line honours in each of the ten races was taken by one or other of the Elites but the favourable rating of the Sonars was too much to overcome and the top Elite, "Elixir", could only finish in fifth overall, narrowly ahead of Brian Shaw's "Swallow" and Fiona Hicks' "No Angel". No disgrace however as we should remember that the Elite was not designed as a sports boat but more as a "Gentleman's Carriage" that goes disconcertingly fast. It was said that the organisers, the CCC, required ten boats to offer a separate Class start and after making our presence felt in the Regatta this year I am sure we can make that number in season 2009. No guarantee that the sailing conditions will repeat but if they do
there can be no better place to be!
HISC Open won by Steve Powell and team sailing 'Et'u'
Steve Powell and team won the Hayling open over the weekend of June 8th and 9th - Eight boats took part in ideal sailing conditions - F3/4 both days with interesting windshifts on both days as the sea breeze came in. There was close racing as always with 4 different winners in the five races.
Bailey Bowl Win for Gerry Reid and team from the Royal North YC
The first Grand Slam event of 2008 was held in Dublin over the weekend of May 16th/17th. Six boats travelled from Belfast and two from England. Racing was close throughout and place swapping quite a feature in the force 3-4 North Easterlies. The event was part of the Baiiey Bowl hosted by the Royal Alfred Yacht club and sailed out of the National and Royal George clubs in Dun Laoghaire. Results have been posted.
Irish Fleet growing and Elite fleet building at Lymington - posted April 2008
More boats have been ordered for delivery to Ireland this Spring, taking the combined fleet from the Royal Ulster Y C and the Royal North YC into double figures. Enthusiasm for the Elite is growing there all the time and we're looking forward to racing the Irish at the Bailey Bowl and when some of them visit England for Cowes Week and the Nationals.
The Royal Lymington YC have selected the RS Elite as an ideal new fleet for their club. It's exciting performance and modern style, coupled with seaworthy design and low maintenance make it an appealing keelboat option for the Western Solent. Trial sailing is taking place currently and if you would like to test sail an Elite at Lymington, or are interested in discussing the fleet, please contact Martin Wadhams at RS - martin@RSsailing.com - 023 8024 6330. There are already three Elites now based in Lymington, with numbers set to grow through this season.
June 25th to 28th 2009