RS700s at the Stokes Bay Skiff Open

 Eleven RS700s gathered at Stokes Bay as is tradition for the first event of the year on our RS700 Rooster National Tour.

Race one saw Tom Porter show great speed both up and downwind which he kept up for the whole weekend. Tom was pressed hard by local Richard Wadsworth and Matt Conner but held them both off for three laps to take the first race win.

By the third race the fleet were regretting wearing the Summer wetsuits and were shivering hard while waiting for the final gun. We set off with the wind moderating slightly. Tom showed great pace again but couldn't get past Nathan Steffenoni who disappeared over the horizon to take his first ever win on the Rooster Tour. Tom came in second consolidated a great first day, followed by Matt Carter.

On Sunday the fleet woke to a gentle 8 knot SE breeze and milky sky. We set off to the start line aching from the day before. The tactics for the start changed with a E to W tide making hitting the shore a priority.

With the first start Phil Highfield showed his light wind pace and battled with Richard Thurlby up the first beat. Richard could not be caught and took his first win of the event. Another local, John Booth proved how quick he is in the lighter stuff to go past Phil for second, and Phil stayed ahead of the pack for third.

The second race saw John continuing to show excellent speed and tactics to work through the Musto traffic. John was chased by Matt Carter and Phil but neither could close the gap. John won with Matt second and Phil third.

The racing all weekend was extremely close and exciting. John took a very well-deserved win with Tom second and Matt Carter third. Racing within the Musto fleet added to the tactical challenge and pressure on mark-roundjng (not additional comments required). A massive thank you to Stokes Bay for holding such a fantastic event and to Rooster for the continued support of our National Tour. Our next tour event is the Salcombe Gin RS Summer Regatta at HISC 24-25 June. 

Info here: https://www.rs700.org/championships/index.asp?eid=2371

Overall Results:

Pos Sail No Helm Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts

1st 1058 John Booth SBSC 4 ‑9 4 2 1 1 12

2nd 1055 Tom Porter HISC 1 2 2 4 ‑5 4 13

3rd 1062 Matt Matt Carter Lancing SC (DNF) 1 3 5 2 3 14

4th 762 Richie Thurlby Hill Head /Stokes Bay 9 4 (DNF) 1 6 5 25

5th 710 Nathan Steffenoni Weston Sailing Club 7 5 1 6 ‑9 6 25

6th 970 Phillip Highfield Gt Yarmouth & Gorleston SC 5 ‑8 7 3 3 8 26

7th 1042 Pete Purkiss Brightlingsea (UFD) 6 5 10 4 2 27

8th 1060 Matt Conner Queen Mary SC 3 7 6 8 ‑10 10 34

9th 720 Richard Wadsworth Stokes Bay 2 3 8 (DNF) DNC DNC 37

10th 798 Guy Boullenger CVLSC 6 (DNF) 9 9 7 9 40

11th 991 Chris Saunders SBSC 8 ‑10 10 7 8 7 40