Luke and Emma McEwen secured victory in the second leg of the RS800 Rooster National Tour at Stokes Bay SC, counting four wins from the five races.
Hugh Shone and Hannah Tattersall were five points back in second, and in third were Cameron Moss and Jake Stow, nine points off the leaders after claiming the race 4 win.
Despite winter returning for the weekend, a mighty fleet of 22 RS800s braved the cold south easterly wind and headed out into the angry jaws of the Solent for the first race on Saturday.
Three races were completed on the first day, with the McEwen’s stacking up a hat-trick of wins ahead of Shone and Tattersall, and Moss and Stow, with Ralph and Sophie Singleton taking a third place finish in race 2 and Steve and Sarah Cockerill snatching a second place in the other to add to the mix.
The winners . . .
Day 2 had similar conditions to that of Saturday, with a decent force 4 breeze and a slightly more friendly tide.
The first race (R4) saw the only real mix up of the event, the McEwen’s leading around the top mark closely followed by Tim Gratton and Fiona Hampshire with Moss and Stow snapping at both of their heels.
On the final top mark, Moss and Stow slipped past, and after an extremely stressful downwind leg managed to hold off the McEwen’s, giving them their only blemish on an otherwise perfect score sheet.
In race 5, the McEwen’s finished ahead of Shone and Tattersall, with Chris Dodd and Bryony Meakins putting on a great performance in the big wind to take third.
With the wounds of battle starting to show amongst the fleet, the race committee decided to abandon race 6 and let the worn out sailors return to shore to indulge in some changing room banter on “whose pitch pole was the biggest?”
Cameron Moss
RS800 – Rooster National Tour at Stokes Bay SC – Final positions after 5 races
1st 1220 Luke McEwen and Emma McEwen – – 4 pts
2nd 1231 Hugh Shone and Hannah Tattersall – – 9 pts
3rd 1232 Cameron Moss and Jake Stow – – 13 pts
4th 1225 Steve Cockerill and Sarah Cockerill – – 16 pts
5th 1166 Ralph Singleton and Sophie Singleton – – 22 pts
6th 1203 Tim Gratton and Fiona Hampshire – – 23 pts
7th 1043 Chris Dodd and Bryony Meakins – – 28 pts
8th 1188 Daniel Goodman and Debbie Clark – – 31 pts
9th 11 Robert Gullan and Calum Healey – – 32 pts
10th 1195 Graham Williamson and Jeremy Williamson – – 34 pts
11th 1196 Andy Smith and Chris Saunders – – 52 pts
12th 1200 Richard Smith and Ellie Smith – – 52 pts
13th 1224 Fred Lord and Louise Gale – – 53 pts
14th 1198 Alex Benfield and Nick Ireland – – 53 pts
15th 1215 Stephen Brown and Phil Bairstow – – 54 pts
16th 1216 Richard Clampett and Grace Clark – – 56 pts
17th 1138 Honor Fell and Robbie Gilmore – – 59 pts
18th 1126 George Smith and Alice Crick – – 59 pts
19th 1128 Ciaran Hurney and Mel Kwan – – 68 pts
20th 968 Gavin Page and Luke Whyburd – – 70 pts
21st 913 Adrian Howe and Fenella Williams – – 86 pts
22nd 1186 Paul Blackburn and Phil Burchell – – 92 pts
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