2007 RS200 Open
46 boats turned up for the RS200 open meeting over the weekend of 8/9 September. They came from all over the country with the winner, Hamish Calder, coming from Glasgow.The weather was ideal for getting a sun tan, but not very exciting for sailing unless you enjoy the tactical challenge of shifty winds. The first race took place in a light northerly and everybody, including the race officer, expected a change as the sea breeze came in. But it did not happen. The northerly just veered and backed a few times but remained basically the same. The second race was similar, but the third race ended with hardly a zephyr. This turned out to be the discard for many of the leading boats.
The RS200 sailors are a friendly bunch. They meet most weekends in one location or another, so Saturday night saw much good-natured partying in the club house, ending with a round of the local night spots and a few sore heads in the morning. The race officer saw several very bleary looking heads emerge from camper vans in Barrack Road in the morning. The wind on Sunday was very similar to Saturday. The first race of the day got off in a reasonable northerly, but half way through it died to nothing. The leaders managed to drift over the finishing line just within the time limit. We waited around for a sea breeze, but nothing reliable arrived, so at 1330 the race officer called it a day and the safety boats towed everybody ashore for an early prize giving. All in all an enjoyable weekend, but not an exciting one from the sailors’ point of view. The results are available at http://www.halsraceresults.com/crs/crs.aspx?DSKey=251&ClassKey=1249165526
Photograph thanks to Viv Bailey
