A large CUCrC contingent made their way down to the English Riviera for the 2019 RS200 Nationals. These were held at the Royal Torbay Yacht Club 5-9 August 2019. Current CUCrC members were represented in 10 boats of the 103 strong fleet. Alumni further increased the spread of light blue across the racecourse.
Monday at the 2019 RS200 Nationals
Cambridge sailors started very strongly in the high winds on Monday, leading the pack in the Top University trophy and having three boats in the top 12. Too well indeed for Alex Smallwood and Tom Kosteletos! Their 12thposition overnight had them swiftly promoted out of the bronze fleet, but not until they had collected their daily prize.
Tuesday
The fleet sailed two races on Tuesday in testing conditions. With the wind regularly hitting 20 knots, downwind speed was key. Robbie King and Jamie Webb showed plenty of it, blasting past other boats on every run. A few of the CUCrC contingent struggled with gear failure. Many of the RS200s had recently been borrowed or bought second hand, and so weren’t quite as well prepared as our smart Grafham Fireflies. Bethan Matthew, sailing with James Scott and in 34thbefore the day began, was grateful of a well located rescue boat on re-entry to the harbour that helped their temporarily waterlogged boat limp home.
Wednesday
Dried out and ready to go for three races on Wednesday, Alex Baxter, sailing with Ella Vincent, made the highlights reel by deciding to fraternise with the guard boat. After a lengthy protest in the evening, the results from race 7 were deemed unfair and the race was to be resailed.
Thursday
The fleet sailed a further two races on Thursday, past a cruise ship which had conveniently located itself in the middle of the bay. As the fog rolled in towards the end of the second, the race officer made the sensible decision to call things off for the day. There was no racing on Friday due to high winds, and so the results from then stood. James Peters and Maddy Anderson were crowned national champions with a convincing scoreline, discarding a 3rd– something to aim for!
Overall Results at the 2019 RS200 Nationals
Cambridge finished second to Southampton in the top university trophy. The top three consisted of Arthur Henderson, sailing with Sophie Heritage, Robbie King and Jamie Webb, and Alex Smallwood and Tom Kosteletos. Now that a number of sailors have acquired boats, the 2020 nationals are in Filey. Taking back that Top University prize is the next goal!
5th– Arthur Henderson (& Sophie Heritage)
11th– Robbie King & Jamie Webb
30th– Alex Smallwood & Tom Kosteletos
59th– Bethan Matthew (& James Scott)
60th– Henry Morely & David Robertson
64th– Alex Baxter (& Ella Vincent)
66th– (Charlie Whitaker &) Lucy Gates
72nd– Paris Thomas (& Jon Jones)
86th– Callum Farnden & Michael Smith
102nd– Oliver Jagger & Hugh Tomkins
(non-CUCrC in brackets)