Results / Exe Open Exe SC - 22/05/2006

Exe Sailing Club hosted an open event for the RS200 dinghy over the weekend of 20/21 May. The RS200, designed by Exmouth-based Phil Morrison, is a fast, modern two-handed dinghy, popular with lighter weight crews. Over 100 boats turned out for last year�s national championships. For the Exe SC event team, this was an important rehearsal for this year�s national championships which they will be running from 20-25 August. Unfortunately, many of the expected visitors must have been put off by the atrocious weather forecast for the weekend, as the entry was a disappointing 6 boats. On Saturday morning, with the westerly breeze gusting up to 30 knots (force 6), race officer Phil Morrison set a course about a mile offshore. Lead in the first race was soon established by visitors Nick Charles and Juliet Kingsnorth of Bristol Corinthian Yacht Club. They are well known as the team to beat in light conditions but showed here that they can cope with the heavy stuff too. The very long windward leg was hard work, with the short, steep waves adding to the challenge. The first swim was taken by top team Ian Pickard and Lucy Mathews, who opted to fly their spinnaker on the short and very tight �spreader� leg of the course. By the start of the second race the wind had dropped to a very shifty force 2 to 4, although the seas remained disturbed. The visitors again showed how to cope with the conditions, with the local teams Rick Newcombe and Rosie Sands and Martin Lilley and Mike Fisher finding it difficult to match their pace. The Exe SC contingent managed to restore some local pride by thrashing the visitors at table football during the evening social event at the clubhouse. Sunday morning dawned grey, wet, and �windy again. The competitors voted to send the race officer to sea to test the conditions. He returned quickly and, much to the relief of all, decided that offshore racing was not a good idea in the rapidly building wind and sea. A race course was set in the river off Starcross, but the hair-raising run in 30 knots of breeze and driving rain proved too much for some, who prudently turned round and headed for home, but not before day visitors Trudie Danbury and Karen Baker had broken their mast. Racing was sensibly abandoned.