Results / RS Fat Fac Racing Circuit WPNSA - 02/07/2005

For the seventh round of the RS200 Fat Face Racing Circuit it was back to the south coast and the large marine lake that is Portland Harbour with the recently royal opened Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy on July 2/3. It may have been just passed the longest day but it felt more like April with the harbour walls lost in the misty, dank conditions. There was a very decent breeze though for the 49 boat fleet which became positively lively for race 2 and saw plenty of capsizes. The days racing was totally dominated by current National Champions Lee Sydenham/Anne Vaudrey with two wins plus a second and 2002 National Champions Tom/Jo Hewitson with two seconds and one win. The only other boats to score three top ten results and remotely live with this pace were Jon Lewis/Katy Nicholl with 3.7.4 and Ian Pickard/Sarah Taylor with 6.5.7. Special mention must be made of the leaders of the Belle Island Lark Circuit, Steve Cumley/Eluned Jones, making a guest appearance in 200�s who quickly learnt how to sail the boat with an improving score of 13.6.3. In breezy conditions form would suggest that Steve Dunn/Noelle Vidal would be right at the front but they had a day to rapidly forget featuring a capsize at the final leeward mark in race 1, a black flag dsq in race 2 and loosing a protest in race 3. Most racing disasters packed into one days racing! Sunday was very different with a very light westerly breeze at start time. As the day drew on the sunshine became stronger and the breeze slowly built so by the final race crews were sitting out hard upwind. Dave Derby crewed by daughter Emma dominated race 4; Steve Dunn/Noelle Vidal somehow did not have a disaster to finish second ahead of Sue Antonelli/Jo Lloyd. The family theme continued when Phil Sowden crewed by 11 year old son James got the better of early pace setters Cumley/Jones to win from the Derby�s. The Hewitsons had a poor 15th in race 4 but pulled through to 3rd in race 5. Sydenham/Vaudrey were 4th in race 4 and black flagged in race 5. This left the two leaders with the same points counting 4 races and a poor discard. The Hewitsons had the better first beat and were with the leading group with Sydenham/Vaudrey in the teens. The Hewitsons eventually got the better of Dunn/Vidal to win the race and the event. Remarkably they became the seventh different winner of the seven Fat Face Circuit events so far this season. Over the 11 major RS200 events that Sydenham/Vaudrey had taken part in over 2004/2005 they had finished first or second overall. After the shock of finishing only third at Eastbourne normal service was resumed with second overall at WPSA. Cumley/Jones won the silver division whilst Micky Wright/Howie Enkal scored what could prove an important second place in 15th overall. Joanna Wotton/Nigel Harniman just beat Alan Tarrent/Dale Phillips to win the bronze division in 24th overall. Class Rep Trudie Danbury/Karen Baker are now 2 points clear of Pete Vincent/Tessa Nicholls with Dunn/Vidal and Pickard/Taylor only 3 points further behind in the Fat Face Circuit overall. With two events left Sydenham/Vaudrey could take control with one more good result. Matt and Emma Jenkins are in the lead overall in the silver division but will have to watch Wright/Enkal coming up fast on the rails. The bronze is going to go right down to the wire. Pete Craggs/Phil Nelson are now 2 points clear of Paul Goodwin/Anna Row but could be caught if Wotton/Harniman score another top thirty result. Pete Vincent