Fat Face RS400 Open at Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club

The 2008 Fat Face RS400 Irish Nationals and last Fat Face Eurocup event of the year took place in exceptionally friendly Wexford Harbour Boating and Tennis Club, in rather testing conditions from 10 - 12 October. Contestants arrived by various means from many corners of many lands.

The forecast proved largely accurate, and sailors were greeted on Friday morning by a nice little F5-6 and lots of lovely rain, which had veterans of the previous weekend’s Grafham outing reaching for drysuits and second best sails.

The PRO wisely decided to keep the fleet in the flat water of the inner harbour, where the potential for carnage was at least contained by the shore and limited depth. From the shore, looking downwind, conditions looked relatively benign, an illusion that was promptly shattered once away from the shelter of the shore.

Most of the entrants made it safely to the start area, with the notable exception of 1275, staffed by Sam Parker and Stu Sagger, whose mast decided after the first gybe that enough was enough and blew into three mutually exclusive parts. Josh Metcalfe/ Iwan Basten (645) and Howard Farbrother/ Nathan Pinch (1251), were first out of the gate, followed closely by Chris and Jane Bailey, and the pursuing Irish hordes. The first beat was a matter of surviving the gusts, and spotting any workable shifts that the upwind land was providing. Farbrother/Pinch got to the windward mark just ahead of Metcalfe/Basten, and the Baileys. Strong gusts made the hoisting on the spreader leg problematic, but really quite rewarding thereafter. These positions were maintained to the leeward mark, which was made easier to see by the presence of a few upturned RS200s kindly marking the spot. On the drop a thiefing wave sucked 1251’s kite back out into the water, letting 645 through briefly before their own kite induced capsize let Farbrother/Pinch back through who extended through the second lap to take the shortened race from 645 in 2nd and 1308 Gerry Cannon/Roger Britton in 3rd. The tough conditions had taken their toll, and only 1276 with Fiachra Etchingham and James Gargan survived to take 4th place.

A quick snapshot of the course revealed more upturned hulls than upright ones, and the PRO decided to halt racing for the day before his overstretched safety teams mutinied.

After enjoying the local hospitality, day two dawned slowly, with competitors stunned to find a mirror-like Wexford harbour. The options were – open the bar, go sightseeing, or (in one case) drive up and down the country looking for a mast to borrow. The fleet were equally split and some zigzagging between the main options continued into the night, notable for the strategic use of Mount Gay as a rocket fuel by some desperate characters.

Day three, and yet another windless start. It was not looking good for those who wanted a regatta attached to their extended social. Bar-talk centred how this might impact the Eurocup rankings, there were unconfirmed reports of staccato chuckling emanating from North Wales and the current leader Dave Jones. It was simple equation, no race and no change to the rankings. A similar quandary affected the Irish National Championship – with only one race completed, and no wind on the last day – who would be the 2008 National Champion? Discussions focused on various ways to resolve this, and flipped between pool, tennis and pub golf, before settling on “nearest the bull”.

Fortunately, the wind eventually slouched in, and a very relieved fleet drifted downwind and downtide to resume racing. With an initially strong incoming tide, and patchy wind the PRO did a superb job in getting two races in before the wind died completely.

Race two took place in variable light winds with big shifts in both direction and pressure. The reborn combo of Parker/Stagger took a great port end flyer at the pin to clear the pack. The first beat was a tricky shifty affair, with Farbrother/Pinch taking some big gains in the top end of the beat to arrive some 50 metres clear of Parker/Jagger, followed once more by the Baileys, and Simon Herriott/Brian MacCarthy in 1349. The effect of the tide tripled upwind gaps once they turned the corner and it looked like an unassailable lead for 1251. However some quick work by the pursuing boats and a failure to cover in the shifty conditions resulted in 1275 and 1313 shooting ahead by the windward mark. Positions were maintained on the downwind, to finish Parker/Jagger 1st, Bailey/Bailey 2nd, 1251 3rd, and Herriott/MacCarthy 4th.

A long agonising pause for a late lunch followed, while the fleet waited to see if the wind would hold and if the tail-end RS200s were ever going to complete the course. With the afternoon and wind ticking by a rib was despatched to gather in the rogue 200s, the course was reset and the fleet were into sequence once more. Unfortunately the wait was too much for some, and 1275's crew was removed by water-taxi, leaving Sam Parker to sail solo - there is no truth in the rumour that he was heard muttering that he’d FINALLY found the ideal crew set-up.

With no discards and a plague of snakes and ladders on the course everything was still very much up in the air with Farbrother/Pinch currently leading, Etchingham/Gargan lying 2nd and Cannon/Britton just behind them in 3rd . The Baileys were first away, but an over-zealous start forced them to return to the line, and ruined their chances. Herriott/MacCarthy pulled off a great legal start and were off and running, a lead which they led to the windward mark, followed by Cannon/Britton, Michael McAllister/Michael Patton, and Arthur Mehigan/Laura Walsh. Games continued on the downwind leg, and Farbrother/Pinch found some breeze to sneak through ahead by the leeward mark. The fading wind swung to provide a one-side last lap, and it was with some relief that Farbrother/Pinch crossed the finish line to take the gun, Herriott/MacCarthy held onto 2nd throughout the race, and Cannon/Britton drifting hard on their heels to secure 3rd.

Overall, the 2008 Fat Face Irish National Champion was thus Gerry Cannon and Roger Britton of Greystones SC, with Fiachra Etchingham and James Gargan, also of Greystone, runner-up. Howard Farbrother and Nathan Pinch of Queen Mary SC took the event, and with it the coveted title of 2008 Fat Face Eurocup winners. Phew.

Overall Results: