Volvo Noble Marine RS200 National Championships at Royal Torbay Yacht Club - Overall

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay day 1 © Rudder Stock Photos

Day 1, by Jo Hewitson

The RS200 Nationals has had a massive start and we are only one day in! Registration was followed by a hugely well attended beach and quayside clean. Such enthusiasm from this young fleet to rid our shores of plastic.

Champagne sailing greeted the 104 boats with sunshine and 15-20 knot. Bill Butcher, PRO, set 2 excellent races. The very exciting gates starts went ahead without mishap. Both races were a games of snakes and ladders with massive gusts and shifts ensuring no-one could relax. Multiple National Champion James Peters, with super crew Maddy Andersen, showed the way to win both races.

208 exhausted crews found the energy to have a fabulous night. A Q&A session from out top sailors and Judge helped spread excellent tips thought out the fleet. The delightful Duckhams Dress was awarded to Tommy Darling who despite capsizing whilst leading second race went on to stand on his sister Charlie whilst righting the boat! Syd Mclean and Morgan Peach hosted the buddy quiz which had a distinct maritime theme. Aptly names Buddy Team Morecambe and Wise took first place. Royal Torbay Yacht Club were on fine form with an excellent curry and happy hour.

All in all a fabulous start.

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay - photo © Rudder Stock Photos

Day 2, by Will Taylor

Following on from the buddy quiz at the club last night, a few teams decided they needed more fun so made the short walk to town to go for a few more drinks and dance the night away. Unsurprisingly, there were a few sore heads this morning and a few pairs took a while to find their boats in the morning. Those that were at their boats were looking at the race course and nearly everyone choose to drop their rigs back.

On the water, everyone experienced the full enjoyment of RS200 heavy wind sailing. Downwind was full on with both helm and crew sitting right at the back over the waves. It wasn't uncommon to see centreboards as boats hurtled downwind. Race 1 of the day saw Matt Mee and Emma Norris start as the pathfinder and keep the lead until the end. We are also loving Emma's daily weather update as she has the perfect view of the course. Race 2 saw a huge squall hit the fleet as we went down the first run, causing a large amount of carnage. It was great to see 76 boats finish the race which was full on. The result of the race went the way of James Peters and Maddie Anderson who managed to recover from a poor first beat.

Everyone was happy to be back ashore especially if they didn't have any breakages. it is fair to say Stevie from RS was very busy sorting out lots of boats. Hopefully all will be sorted for racing tomorrow.

The fleet is now getting ready for the Masters Meal, BBQ and Karaoke which will no doubt see some fabulous singing. But before that everyone has headed to their accommodation to rest from the hard work on the water.

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay day 1 - photo © Rudder Stock Photos

Day 3, by Tommy Darling

The idea of a 3 race thriller on the 3rd day of the RS200 Nationals was met with trepidation by the weary legs of the fleet. Another strong south-westerly over the cliffs made for similar conditions to the previous days.

The McGoverns were quick out the blocks, rolling me before I realised they were there. They went on to lead at every mark and took their first race win of the Championship.

The 2nd race started on a 20 degree right shift with the gate boat almost pointing back towards the marina. The early starters took the lift first, when it came 40 degrees back left were already crossing the boats waiting to start. Arthur, Sophie, Charlie and I tried to keep James and Maddy at bay for the first downwind but he got in front at the gate and led from there.

Another dramatic start to the 3rd race saw boats stuck on the guard boat. After being caught in the carnage the start before, Matt Mee and Emma Norris were determined to turn it around and took the lead early kept it for the whole race. James showed more downwind dominance to take another 2nd (it's like he does asymmetric planing for a living).

James and Maddy lead going into tomorrow. Owen and Will top youth (5th). Chris and Nicola are front runners in the bronze fleet (35th).

Southampton are currently dominating the Uni prize.

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay day 1 - photo © Rudder Stock Photos

Day 4, by Matt Mee

After a busy evening in the protest room, the scene was set for 3 races on Thursday with lighter winds and a change of direction forecast. A Dutch cruise ship has also parked itself in the bay to add to the drama.

The day started with 8knots from the south east with building waves. In the re-run of race 7 the Darlings rounded first hotly pursued by David Jessop and Sophie Mears. Matt Mee and Emma Norris pulled through to take the win with James and Maddy 2nd and Tommy and Charlie in 3rd. Some of the lighter teams who have been in top form this year also hit the front with Andy Brown and Alex Sutcliffe and Alistair Norris and Helen Summersgill in the top 10.

Team McGovern were gate boat for race 8 and sailed a commanding first beat. The mist was closing in and by the top of the second upwind the leading group lost sight of the leeward marks. Jonny and Sarah in the lead deployed their fog strategy of sail for 2 minutes on starboard, gybe and hope to see the marks emerge. The group behind gybed inside and made some good gains with the right shift. Jonny and Sarah held out to take their 2nd win, Matt and Emma finished 2nd with Hamish Walker and Emma Clarke making good gains to finish in 3rd.

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay - photo © Rudder Stock Photos

The PRO made a call to abandon for the day due to the worsening fog which proved to be the right call.

Day 5, by Jonny McGovern

Big Friday arrived and the met office were spot on. The fleet woke up to a strong SW wind with rain and 40 knots forecast for the start time. The Race committee made a early call to bring the championship to a close - a wise decision as just dropping the mast was hard work!

This meant that Maddy Anderson and James Peters were crowned the 2019 RS200 National Champions. With the event reaching its entry limit of 104 boats the fleet has enjoyed some awesome conditions in Torbay and it was such a pleasure to race in a fleet littered with a mix of seasoned 200 goers, ex national & world champions, youth sailors, siblings, masters, Australians, first timers in the class and some people who have never sailed before... just goes to show how diverse this class has become and why it's the number one class in the UK!

Volvo Noble Marine RS200 Nationals at Torbay - photo © Rudder Stock Photos

The fleet enjoyed an excellent social programme throughout the week and with the show-piece being the black tie dinner, which was fantastically hosted by the UK's 2019 Club of the year, Royal Torbay Yacht Club. The sailors did a good job of drinking the bar dry which included replacing glasses for a shoe on a number of occasions. With the DJ opening his set with the Baywatch song the fleet was quickly into its stride!

With so many new faces in the class, attentions have already turned to next year nationals which will be hosted by Filey Sailing club, there is talk of no limit on entry so next year could be the biggest Nationals ever!

There was a huge amount of people involved in putting on this year's edition and many thanks given through the prize giving to all who contributed in making this years nationals such a success!

Well done to all the competitors!

Overall Results: