Results / Winter Warm Up Datchet Water SC - 12/02/2012

RS200 SW Ugly Tour hits Mounts Bay with glorious weather for a real game of two halves.

Seven boats from outside of Cornwall joined the West Cornwall RS200’s for round 4 of the SW Ugly Tour at Mounts Bay SC with the host providing glorious sunshine and blue skies all weekend. Is there a better setting in the country in such weather? Only slight snag the wind was generally northerly for the whole weekend which is not the best for the bay but hey I am being fussy now!

Saturday and the racing was held to the east of the Mount with race 1 starting in what proved to be a very unstable 4-8 knot easterly with large holes and more slants than could be imagined. Paul and Pat Teague (BCYC) seemed to have seen off daughter Liz crewed by magic Chris Bishop (BCYC) but the persistent Pete Vincent/Tessa Nicholls (BCYC) grabbed the win half way down the last run with Jeremy Stephens/Rebecca Knee (Penzance) third. Totally new wind arrived for race 2 with a fresh northerly bringing a fantastic 14-16 knots in total sunshine, does it get any better? Vincent/Nicholls and John Teague/Lynn Sawyer (BCYC) had a real match race throughout but Vincent/Nicholls were always in control to win with Teague parents third. Race 3 and the fleet reeled with the shock of Wes/Jo Kangurs (BCYC) leading but as the northerly became very soft Vincent/Nicholls and John Teague/Sawyer moved into 1.2 positions they held to finish as the wind went back to the east.

At start time on Sunday morning things were not looking to hopeful with a very light northerly only a third of a way across an otherwise flat calm bay. But an hour later the breeze was right across the bay and the race team called the fleet out this time to the west of the Mount. To everyone’s surprise the northerly slowly built all day from 5-6 knots for the first race to a lovely 12 knots for the final race and was very steady in direction. Penzance’s finest Jeremy Stephens, today crewed by daughter Rebecca, was on fire and walked the first two races leading from start to finish in both. Parent Teague’s pushed hard in race 4 and Liz Teague/Magic Bish gave Jeremy a good run in race 5 to claim second places. Vincent/Nicholls could not get first beats right and had to play big catch up gaining what proved to be an important third place in race 4. The Stephens family again led race 6 but this time Vincent/Nicholls were in the leading group and claimed second at the second leeward gate. These positions held to the finish giving Vincent/Nicholls overall victory by two points from the Stephens family with Parent Teague’s in third overall.

Liz Teague/Magic Bish were first in the silver division with Christian Humphrey/Mrs Bish (BCYC) making a welcome return to 200’s second. The Kangur’s were first in bronze division with Mounts Bay very own Gary Parks/Bernie Parks second.

The final round of the SW Ugly Tour is at Exe SC on Oct 3. Vincent/Nicholls have already won the tour but everything else is up for grabs with second place promising to be a family meltdown John Teague is second on 16pts, Parent Teague’s are third on 18pts and Liz Teague fourth on 19pts with Ian Pickard the wild card on 10pts but having to count his result at Exe. The bronze could also see a frenzy of tactics, the Chadborn’s still lead with the Parks only 2 points behind and the Kangur’s having the best two results have a real chance.

Pete Vincent