RS300 Rooster National Tour event 5 at Beaver Sailing Club

RS300 Rooster National Tour event 5 at Beaver © BSC

At the 2023 nationals, there were two boats vying for victory in a generally light, shifty and very warm event. 2024's Rooster National Tour event at Beaver SC had plenty of similarities.

The first novelty of the day was watching the water visibly rise after a quick phone call to the relevant authorities, ensuring we had plenty to go racing. You don't get service that good anywhere else! The second, was jetty launching an RS300; something local hero Richard Hanby swore was the future, selling the benefits of never getting one's feet wet (it's actually easier than it looks).

With the start line just off the clubhouse, the grandstands were filled with eager spectators (seriously). A nice clean start saw the pack sticking close at the top mark, with Pete Mackin rounding just ahead of Hanby and Harry McVicar. Hanby already had a reputation for being a wizard inland, compounded by his local knowledge of the quirky venue. It didn't take long for him to overhaul Mackin and take the first blood of the event. McVicar finished third with a plethora of new friendly faces following closely behind, including Oliver Scrimshaw who travelled up from Exeter for his RS300 circuit induction. What a hero.

RS300 Rooster National Tour event 5 at Beaver - photo © BSC

The heroism didn't stop there though. Beaver SC is home also to Archie Burton and Giles Therkelson-Smith, both experiencing their first RS300 event and the former showing more than a little promise on the world stage in the ILCA. They finished fifth and sixth respectively. Neil Gibson was a hero of an entirely different sort. After gear failure saw him retire two laps into the race, he gracefully suffered his lengthy stay on the M1 back home to Dover (ouch).

Three more races were completed on Saturday. Hanby continued as expected with a masterclass of inland sailing, securing three bullets and only succumbing to Draycote's McVicar in the final race of the day. The day ended with Hanby leading McVicar, Mackin, Burton, Scrimshaw and Therkelson-Smith.

RS300 Rooster National Tour event 5 at Beaver - photo © BSC

Sunday delivered more wind and a much less favourable direction. The top mark of the inverted P course proved tricky for all. Tucked in a tricky corner it certainly kept the racing very close. Oliver Groves had substituted for Giles Therkelston-Smith, who had clearly been scarred by the previous day's racing. Oliver is pretty handy with an RS400, but how would he fair with less sails and no crew to talk to?

Unsurprisingly, pretty well. Oliver slotted neatly into the day's top three race finishers where Mackin, Scrimshaw and Burton just fell short. That left McVicar alone to challenge Hanby for the event he had all but won already.

I can't end this report without mentioning the weekend's final act of heroism. In one of Sunday's races (I can't remember which - it all blurred into a sweary mess inside my boat), Harry approached the top mark in last place, fully planing on a 30+ degree left shift and promptly took the lead. All while Hanby and Groves crept their way around it. Scrimshaw and Burton also snuck through whilst Mackin was left drifting just a few boat lengths to leeward.

RS300 Rooster National Tour event 5 at Beaver - photo © BSC

Needless to say some of us (me) needed to decompress after such a day's sailing. Hanby took on the role of fleet sensei and willingly offered his inland sailing advice back ashore.

And so Mr Miyagi took another Rooster National Tour event win with McVicar trailing in second. The racing was close all weekend and spectacular fun. Beaver SC were great hosts. A special thanks to all who coordinated the event which was a resounding success.

Thanks also to generous sponsors Rooster Sailing for their continued support of the RS300 circuit. I'm looking forward to next year already!

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