Results / Open Starcross SC - 07/06/2014

RS100s at Starcross – 7^th June 2014

Six travellers joined the nine RS100s on the banks of the River Exe at Starcross SC on a grey, rainy windless morning for a one day open meeting.

As the covers came off the sun came out and the breeze filled in from the South to a very welcome Force 3-4. The fleet consisted of thirteen 8.4s and two 10.2s which meant a local handicap system was in play with the 10.2s sailing off 988 and the 8.4s off 1000.

Race one was rather strangely started amongst the moorings on a tiny start line. Al Hall (8.4) won the start at the committee boat end (decided to sell the pin end David) and led at the windward mark pursued by Mark Harrison (8.4) and Paul Jacobs (10.2). Hall was overhauled on the second beat by Harrison and Jacobs as the breeze increased, and the first three stayed that way with Jacobs taking line honours but with Harrison close enough to take a victory on corrected time.

The course was moved away from the moorings for race two as the breeze swung to a more WSW direction with gusts into F4 and lulls down to a F3. Race two was a class chairman masterclass as Harrison won very convincingly with local sailor Simon Greenslade (8.4) showing a good turn of speed upwind for second and Hall pipping Jacobs to third on corrected time.

Harrison won again in race three and therefore had the event won with a race to spare. Holes in the wind meant there were some snakes and ladders with former class Chairman Chris Cunningham (8.4) suffering an “unexpected” capsize when well-placed allowing Greenslade and Jacobs to take the minor positions.

With the tide turned and ebbing strongly Hall took advantage at the committee boat end in Race four and sailed away with Cunningham in close attendance. The downwind gate proved to be the major gain or loss for this race with Hall and Cunningham rounding at the same time via different marks only for Cunningham to find he had lost out. Hall held on for the win with Cunningham second and Mike Adams (8.4) third showing that if you found the gusts you could beat the class chairman who finished by his standards a lowly fourth.

Once the results had been calculated Harrison was 1^st, Hall 2^nd and Jacobs just squeezing into 3^rd from Greenslade.