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RS400 Inland Championship 2024 at Grafham Water Sailing Club

by Paul Hilliar 7 Oct 23:07 NZDT 5-6 October 2024
RS400 Inland Championship at Grafham day 2 © Hilary Talbot

Grafham laid on a fantastic forecast of 12 knots and glorious sunshine for day 1 of the RS400 Inland Championships, sponsored by Rooster Sailing. The RS400s shared the lake with the RS200s and RS500s, who also contested their inland championships.

Race one saw defending champions Nick Craig/Toby Lewis take an early lead in the rapidly shifting breeze. They extended downwind in the gusts to win from Tom Halhead/Paul Hilliar, with Sam Knight/Chris Bownes winning a tight scrap for third.

Sizeable gusts up to 18 knots were coming down the racecourse and Craig/Lewis again took an early lead but with Ollie Groves/Esther Parkhurst nipping at their heels. A big shift on the second upwind launched Halhead/Hilliar into the lead. The top two battled for a lap before Craig/Lewis showed their experience to win the race but Groves/Parkhurst launched into a massive gust on the final downwind to take the runners-up spot.

The wind stayed shifty but with increasingly punchy gusts for the final race. The same top three pulled away from the fleet and had some super tight racing with lots of lead changes. At the finish, only two seconds separated the top three, with Craig/Lewis somehow coming out ahead of Halhead/Hilliar and Groves/Parkhurst. Knight/Bownes came fast on a late charge but just ran out of racecourse and finished only a few seconds further back.

Sunday morning racing got under way in 10-12 knots. Significant shifts regularly rolled through and kept everyone on their feet but without the whopping gusts of the previous day. Groves/Parkhurst were super-fast out of the blocks for the first race, battling for the lead with Knight/Bownes and Chris/Nikki Webber. However, the wind gods had other ideas for the chasers, and Craig/Lewis pulled through to take the runners-up spot ahead of Halhead/Hilliar.

Knight/Bownes scorched into the first mark from the left in the next race and quickly built a sizeable lead but unfortunately, they forgot to mention to Craig/Lewis that it was their turn to win a race. Sure enough, the Jaws music started playing, and Craig/Lewis couldn't be denied the race win and the event win with a race to spare.

The wind softened a little to 8-10 knots for the final race and Craig/Lewis squeaked around the first mark in front of Halhead/Hilliar and the Webbers. Craig/Lewis gybed early with Groves/Parkhurst to launch off into the lead. It turned out that both corners of the first run paid heavily and as the leading two came into the downwind gate, Stuart Halman/Anna Walsh were hot on the heels of the leaders. As the large shifts continued to roll through, the leading pair were duelling so hard that they were joined by Knight/Bownes.

Overall, the results said that Craig/Lewis won at a canter, but the detail showed that the racing was tight all through the weekend. Runners-up Groves/Parkhurst really took it to the event winners on day 2, but Craig/Lewis showed their class to consistently pull through to the front of the fleet.

Halhead/Hilliar were rewarded with third overall for a consistent series, finishing ahead of Knight/Bownes.

Many thanks to the club for putting on an excellent event. The race team did an outstanding job of cranking out the races at an amazing pace.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1st1500Nick CraigToby LewisBurghfield/Frensham SC111‑2115
2nd1526Ollie GrovesEsther ParkhurstBeaver SC‑52313211
3rd1535Tom HalheadPaul HilliarLlandegfedd SC2323‑4414
4th1504Sam KnightChris BownesLyme Regis SC3‑6442316
5th1479Chris WebberNicki WebberPaignton SC/Pevensey Bay SC4‑9578529
6th1463Stewart RobertsonSarah RobertsonRoyal Forth YC65765‑929
7th1367Joshua MetcalfPatrick MetcalfY Felinheli7(RTD)6561034
8th1454Jacob AinsworthKayleigh RobertsTynemouth SC81010‑127843
9th1398Philip MurrayNeil SchofieldTynemouth SC98‑15891145
10th1488Ian WaltersHarry LucasGrafham Water SC12781013‑1750
11th1189Steve RestallChris StubbsDowns/Rutland11119‑14101253
12th1455Garry KnottJohn TailbyNotts County SC101211911‑1653
13th1981Howard FarbrotherLouise HoskenLymington Town SC134‑1615121357
14th1524Stuart HalmanAnna WalshLeigh & Lowton SC‑2113141114759
15th1513Neil ParkhurstIan ParkhurstBeaver SC‑16161213161572
16th1376Tim Le CouilliardJames Le CouilliardKing George SC14(DNC)DNC1715677
17th1450Nick EavesGreg PaceBartley SC1714‑1816171882
18th1548Mick WhitmoreSarah WhitmoreEastbourne Sovereign SC151513(DNC)DNCDNC93
19th1359Stuart PhilbeyJack SlaterKing George SC‑20172019201995
20th438Alastair RimmerJack TelfordBassenthwaite SC22(RTD)DNC18181497
21st630Peter CraggsPhil NelsonYork SC192017‑21212198
22nd687Will RussellNatalie SmithGrafham Water SC181821‑22222099
23rd517Max BurrowsAmy BurrowsRutland SC‑23191920192299
24th1382Andrew HuntMatt HuntEastbourne Sovereign SC(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNC125

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