RS300 Rooster National Tour at Chase Sailing Club

RS300 Rooster National Tour at Chase © Chase Sailing Club

A very damp and windless morning greeted the nine keen sailors who had ventured out in an Autumnal October morning. A few new faces joined the regular attendees on the circuit. The weather was going to improve in both wind strength and brightness as the day progressed.

After a quick briefing and early start time off 1100hrs eight sailors launched wondering what the day might bring. We were second start behind the Blazes.

Race one got away in lightish breeze which settled. George Bender won the pin and made an excellent getaway from the rest of the fleet chased by Neal Gibson and Rich Adams around the first lap. Towards the end of the first lap the top three found themselves wings deep in the Blaze fleet. This led to crowded mark roundings and dirty air upwind. This allowed Neal to slip past George for a short moment before Rich utilised the same traffic to pass Neal on the final beat.

RS300 Rooster National Tour at Chase - photo © Chase Sailing Club

Race two saw a different course in an attempt to space the fleets. A more even breeze across the course with less snakes but a few ladders allowed Rich to lead from start to finish chased by Finley Watson and Rob Baker. Further back there were some multiple place changes at marks courtesy of the Blaze fleet.

As the wind continued to follow the forecast we retired ashore for lunch for a quick lunch from the club and confirmation of three more races in the afternoon.

Race three: The breeze had built to hiking with occasional very fruity gusts with direction changes. After an even start Rich and Neal rounded the windward mark first and sampled the perfect dead downwind to the next mark. Josh rounded third hot on the heels of the leading two but found himself on the wrong gybe as the gust hit. Some motivational words were muttered whilst righting the boat. The breeze increased as the race progressed leading to more capsizes and blasting reaches. By the end of the race Rich took the win with Rob second and Neal fresh from hull inspections third.

Race four: With the wind moderating a bit but still hiking straps in use we had yet another different course. A slightly depleted fleet started. Rob took the lead and sailed a strong race with Rich second and George third.

RS300 Rooster National Tour at Chase - photo © Chase Sailing Club

Race five: There was now a much depleted fleet because Rich had a BBQ to attend and Neal didn't want to risk a cold shower. I'm told George sailed a magnificent race with no luck involved to take the win, however the lack of light may have masked proceedings.

Under the cover of darkness the remaining fleet returned ashore to enjoy the Mexican night put on by the club with the rarest of chances of racing the next day based on forecast.

Race six: The wind decided to play ball for the day on Sunday and race six got under way after a short delay. It was a very tight and tactical way to end the event - the lead changed four times on the final Lap. Rich led the whole race until at the second to last mark was he rolled by Neal, who was then rolled by Josh. A very tense light run saw Josh lead at the bottom mark with Neal on his transom as Rich dropped behind on the run. On the final beat Neal tacked off to clear his air and Josh followed which led to some nice covering upwind, only for Rich to head far right with speed. As the line beckoned Rich looked to have sealed the win only for a header to strike which allowed Josh to head up and roll over the line millimetres ahead of Rich.

RS300 Rooster National Tour at Chase - photo © Chase Sailing Club

Thank you very much to Chase Sailing Club for hosting such a smashing open. Thank you to Rooster our National Tour sponsor.

Overall Results: