RS400 Supercup at Tynemouth Sailing Club
by Neil Schofield 5 Apr 2022 23:50 NZST
2 April 2022
The RS400 fleet at Tynemouth started off the 2022 season in fine style with the now annual Supercup sailed on the first weekend in April. The Supercup format focuses upon multiple short course races with quick turn arounds aimed at giving crews plenty of practise in race situations - an ideal way to start the season.
Given the week prior had seen all manner of weather conditions it was not surprising to see numbers down on previous years; so along with a couple of Covid absences a fleet of seven headed out into a 11 knot Northerly breeze. On a positive note for both club and class, three of the seven boats were new pairings eager to have a go at some of the more established teams!
Six races were completed thanks to Howard Steavenson our PRO assisted but Tim Olin along with Graeme Lee and Joe Welsh on safety cover.
Racing was held on the south side of the fairway over an area known as Herd sands and on a rising tide. Race 1 saw a short windward-leeward course, Phil Murray and Neil Schofield leading from the off and never looking back, followed by Jacob Ainsworth and Kayleigh Grace, third spot going to Neal Piper and Mike Smith showing that the newly donated Tynemouth club RS400 was a competitive boat in the right hands.
Race 2 saw a slight change, marks to starboard - this kept the windward mark interesting! Phil and Neil lead the way again but with some tight manoeuvres at the top mark spicing things up a little. Second place went to Nathan Batchelor and Andrew Nel who was sailing a 400 for the first time, he must have done something right, coming from second last to second on the last run, pipping third place of Jacob and Kayleigh by 1 second.
Race 3 saw Phil and Neil along with Adam Ovington and Sophie Johnstone - first time in a 400 together - being squeezed over the line and playing catch up all race, Nath and Andrew taking the win followed by Neal and Mike in the club 400 with third place going to Adam and Sophie having gybed early on the final run making up several places to recover well from their OCS.
Races 4 & 5 followed although as was likely with sailing six short races back to back over the same course no one can really remember what happened - a large ship did come through at some point to provide a dramatic backdrop to Tim Olin's excellent photos!
Race 6 and the final race of the day saw Philip Cowans and Jo Baker taking an early lead and holding on for a well deserved win, Phil and Neil passed Adam and Sophie down the last run to take second place with Nathan and Andrew in fourth.
With racing done for the day we headed back to the club to swap stories of what might have been, near misses and a certain pole being launched into the back of Nathan's boat! The club was showing some recent America's Cup on replay in the bar along with a few beers and fish and chips the fleet enjoyed a great evening.
Tynemouth now have 17 RS400s which I am reliably informed is the second biggest active fleet in the country, lets hope we can most of them on the water for the RS400 Open at Tynemouth on the 11th and 12th June
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 1398 | Philip Murray | Neil Schofield | 1 | 1 | ‑6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | TSC | Neal Piper | Mike Smith | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ‑6 | 14 |
| 3 | 1410 | Jacob Ainsworth | Kayleigh Roberts | 2 | 3 | 5 | ‑6 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| 4 | 1427 | Nathan Batchelor | Andrew Nel | 4 | 2 | 1 | ‑5 | 5 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | 1197 | Adam Ovington | Sophie Johnstone | ‑7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| 6 | 1136 | Melanie Landamore | Sarah Kincaid | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ‑7 | 25 |
| 7 | 614 | Philip Cowans | Jo Baker | 6 | ‑7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 28 |