Latest RS400 News Feedhttp://www.rs-association.comhttp://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/161136/Nick-Craig-wins Well done Nick! Well deserved indeed.The RS400 calendar for 2012 is now available at http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?fleet=RS400 and selection=events http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?fleet=RS400 and selection=events and gt; Details of each event will be added to the website over the next few weeks. The NoR for 2012 will also be on the website under Documents by the end of the month. Nick Craig and Fiona Clark won the RS400 National Championships with 8 points. Nick Craig and Fiona Clark win their 6th race this morning in light and shifty conditions. Father and son Hugh and Martin Styles took 2nd with husband and wife Wayne and Debbie Fletcher in 3rd. Two more races to come today. Light and fickle winds resulted in a delayed start and only one race for the RS400 fleet Nick Craig and Fiona Clarke took the win to extend their overall lead. Three races for the RS400 fleet and Nick Craig and Fiona Clarke still lead with Jim Downer and Jon Price in 2nd and Lee Sydenham and Gerard Barron in 3rd. For full results click above. !--if gte mso 9xml w:worddocument w:viewNormal/w:view w:zoom0/w:zoom w:compatibility w:breakwrappedtables/ w:snaptogridincell/ w:applybreakingrules/ w:wraptextwithpunct/ w:useasianbreakrules/ w:usefelayout/ /w:compatibility w:browserlevelMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/w:browserlevel /w:worddocument /xml!endif--!--if !mso !endif--!--if gte mso 10 !endif-- Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy welcomed a bumper turnout of 82 RS400s for their national championships held this year with the rest of the RS family as part of the RS Games. Early rain cleared to leave 12-18 knots of great breeze out in Weymouth bay with a sizable swell. Those starting early out of the gate start benefited the most and it was Colin and Tony Prince who rolled back the years to lead around the first mark from James Downer/Jon Price. Downer/Price scorched down the first run to take a sizable lead but ominously past champions Nick Craig/Fiona Clark pulled into second place. The second run saw Craig/Clark take the lead which they held to the finish. Lee Sydenham/Gerrard Barron won a tight tussle for third place that went all the way to the wire. Peter Snowden/James Plenty won the Silver fleet with Father and Son team Nick and Nick Zammit taking the bronze fleet. After a couple of aborted starts while major shifts passed through the second race of the day got underway. Paul Hilliar/Sam Parker led before temporary gear failure saw Downer/Price and Craig/Clark pull through with Paul Bowen/Shaun Kellett. The leading group pulled clear in the shifty and wavy conditions and Craig/Clark secured another win with Hilliar/Parker holding off Downer/Price. Martin Cooper/Nick Hunt won the silver fleet with Ivan and Chris taking the bronze fleet prizes. Three more days of racing await the RS400s happily sharing sailing (and drinking) facilities with hundreds and hundreds of other RS sailors. The RS400s are arriving in their droves ready for the start of their National Championships tomorrow. Will we make 80 entries? Registration has just started and he eager ones are getting in a quick practice.One of the biggest fleets taking part in this summers unique RS Games will be the RS400. Already 7O entries have been taken but with not long to go until the start of the National Championships there are still more to come. Racing for the RS400s will take place from 18-21st August at st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;Weymouth/st1:city and st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Portland/st1:placename st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;National/st1:placename st1:placename w:st= and quot;on and quot;Sailing/st1:placename st1:placetype w:st= and quot;on and quot;Academy/st1:placetype/st1:place alongside eight other RS classes which are hosting an assortment of national European and World Championships over a 12 day period. This unique event will bring together sailors from all the different classes and with a combined social programme complimenting the on the water action it promises to be a great event for all involved. Together with the RS600 the double-handed RS400 was the first of the RS family to be launched way back in 1994 and yet the class remains a highly popular boat today attracting plwenty of top names. Observers will agree that the championship favourite is Nick Craig (Frensham Pond Sailing Club) who was RS400 National Champion in 2008 and 2010. Nicks dinghy racing pedigree is undisputed being current OK World Champion former Enterprise National Champion and past Endeavour Trophy winner. Nick will be joined at the RS Games by the wonder-crew Fiona Clark (Wier Wood Sailing Club) who won the RS400 Nationals with Nick in 2008 and who has also previously won the RS200 Nationals twice crewing for David Giles and Craig Burlton. The other wonder about Fiona is why she puts up with Nicks vocal encouragement! Hot on his again will be Isle Of Wights finest 2nd at last years Nationals Jim Downer and Jon Price.The current form horses include the top teams from the three Gul Grand Prix events held so far this year: James George/Izzy Mitchell (Queen Mary SailingClub); Howard Farbrother/Dan Martin (Queen Mary Sailing Club); and Wayne/Deddie Fletcher (Scaling Dam). With each pairing having walked away with a Grand Prix victory each the Fletchers additionally claimed victory at the prestigious Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy at Ullswater in July. Swelling this talent base will be some leading sailors who are making a welcome return to RS400 sailing. Olympian Hugh Styles who represented st1:country-region w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Great Britain/st1:place/st1:country-region in the Tornado class at the Sydney Olympics has teamed up with his father Martyn Styles who is a class stalwart. Stewart Robertson (st1:city w:st= and quot;on and quot;st1:place w:st= and quot;on and quot;Edinburgh/st1:place/st1:city) who came close to winning RS400 Nationals over ten years ago is planning a comeback ably crewed by wife Sarah. Former RS400 front of fleet contender and past RS200 National Champion Lee Sydenham is also making an appearance having teamed up with top RS400 crew Gerard Barron. With such a huge range of talent here these returners look set to score some top results and make a lot of noise. !--if !mso !endif--!--if gte mso 9xml w:WordDocument w:ViewNormal/w:View w:Zoom0/w:Zoom w:Compatibility w:BreakWrappedTables/ w:SnapToGridInCell/ w:ApplyBreakingRules/ w:WrapTextWithPunct/ w:UseAsianBreakRules/ w:UseFELayout/ /w:Compatibility /w:WordDocument /xml!endif--!--if !mso !endif--!--if gte mso 10 !endif--!--if gte mso 9xml o:shapedefaults v:ext= and quot;edit and quot; spidmax= and quot;1028 and quot;/ /xml!endif--!--if gte mso 9xml o:shapelayout v:ext= and quot;edit and quot; o:idmap v:ext= and quot;edit and quot; data= and quot;1 and quot;/ /o:shapelayout/xml!endif-- PRESS RELEASE RS500 Magic Marine World Championship hits 50 entries RS Games – 15-26th August 2011 – Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy May 2011 – A record-breaking 50 entries have now been received for the RS500 World Championship. The competition forms part of the RS Games one of the biggest dinghy racing events ever held which is set to take place this August at the 2012 Olympic sailing venue in Weymouth. The 50th entry came from Netherlands sailors Barend Hilterman and Max Blom who were last year’s bronze medallists and who recently won the RS500 Easter Garda Cup event in Italy. With nearly every team from the top ten places in the 2010 RS500 World Championship now signed up to compete in this year’s event the battle for the podium places is going to be tough. The current UK National and World Champions Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin Norwich will be looking to defend their titles. Competition is expected to be fierce throughout the fleet with a number of titles up for grabs in particular that of Women’s Champion; some seven all-female teams are set to compete including a double Olympian Debbie Darling and her daughter Charlie. The title of Youth Champion will also be hotly contested with at least seven eligible teams under the age of 19 when the event starts. Quite a few will fancy their chances but they will all have to reckon with the hot favourite last year’s RS Feva Worlds bronze medalist from Italy Matteo Pilati and his brother Flavio Pilati. Competition will also come from a number of sailors from Abingdon Schools whilst a team from Hong Kong has also entered. The RS500 World Championship competitors will be joined by around 700 competitors in eight other RS classes with each fleet competing for their own separate championship series. With the multi-class extravaganza expected to attract several hundred spectators there’s no doubt that the RS500 World Championships will be one of the highlight events and the racing is predicted to be nail-biting to the finish. Whilst on the water competition will be fierce the friendliness and fun of this sporting event will be the real measure of success. Last year’s winning RS500 crew made it their business to help every boat out of the water and give advice to all! Whether expecting silverware or not the organisers are promising an enjoyable event for everyone involved. Add in the spice of a superb programme being put together for the whole RS Games and this will be a fleet to be part of. Further information and details of how to enter the RS Games can be found under individual class pages at www.rs-association.com. ENDS A fabulous weekend at Gurnard SC last weekend for the 2nd RS400 Gul Grand Prix for 2011. Report with thanks to James French and results at http://tinyurl.com/6eg53ug More fabulous photos at http://www.rick-tomlinson.com/ Next stop Carnac YC for Zhik Eurocup and East Lothian YC for next Gul Grand Prix. AllYour committee is a-changing .Paul Hilliar has had to stand down as RS400 Fleet Rep due to change of job and family commitments. Were sorry to see you go Paul but thanks for your help and good luck with all the travelling!Howard Farbrother has stepped up to the mark with only a tiny bit of arm-twisting. Welcome to the new role Howard! This leaves us short of a Deputy Rep.If you might be interested in taking the role of Deputy Rep Nationals Rep or just being involved in the RS400 committee in several not-too-challenging or time-consuming but extremely important roles please do call me on 01590 610273. The more people we have in the committee the more representative the decisions made will be .RegardsHeather The first Gul RS400 Grand Prix event for 2011 was hosted by Royal Windermere YC last weekend in the sunshine. Results and report with thanks to James George are at http://tinyurl.com/3qmhvql Next stop Gurnard SC for the 2nd GGP event on 7/8 May. Gurnard Cowes Isle of Wight is a real RS400 stronghold and are looking forward to seeing loads of you there - they have sorted out a great ferry deal with Wightlink. First start is 1300hrs Saturday 1100hrs Sunday with a briefing at 1200hrs on Saturday. Entry fee will be GBP25/boat and there will be a meal at the club on Saturday night then James Downer will take the party-goers into Cowes. Camping is once again available in local gardens. For more accommodation ideas the ferry deal directions and other details are at http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?selection=Event and uid=29 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1 http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?selection=Event and uid=29 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1 and gt; Some of you have already found the entry form and information on the 2011 Zhik RS Eurocup and we have 20 entries to date over the 6 invited fleets. As we have our RS Games taking up lots of August we have moved the 2011 Eurocup to the late May Bank Holiday - 28-31 May - so you only need to take one day off work. We are returning to the popular venue of YC Carnac Brittany who hosted such a great Regatta for us in July 2009. Pre-entry is essential for this event and there is a early entry discount for those entering before 1 May. Loads of information and entry forms are at - RS200 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=36 RS400 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=37 RS500 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=38 RS600 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=39 RS700 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=237 RS800 - http://www.rs-association.com/champs/index.asp?eid=40 The link gives details of the Tourist Information office who have details of loads of local accommodation. I also have these in document form - if youd like to received contact heatherc@rs-association.com The club have also told me about a local flat for 4 - Residence Maeva contact 0033 (0)2 97 52 22 68 or cko@maeva.com Any queries do heatherc@rs-association.comGreat turnout of RS400s for last weekends RS400 Winter Champs at Leigh and Lowton SC together with the 300s and Vareos. A report and full results are available at http://tinyurl.com/48jaka5 More photos at http://leighandlowton.wordpress.com/ This weekends event was also the start of the new-for-2011 RS400 Northern Tour which comprises 8 events. See details at http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?fleet=RS400 and selection=events or in paper calendars from RS Office. 5 of these events will count and the overall prizes are vouchers from RS Sailing to the tune of - 1st overall - GBP75 2nd overall - GBP50 3rd overall - GBP25 1st Family Team - GBP25 Last boat afloat (last placed qualifying boat) - GBP25 2 x raffle prizes (must qualify to be eligible) - GBP25 each The next event for the RS400s is the first Gul RS400 Grand Prix event of 2011 at Royal Windermere YC on 16/17 April. The overall prizes for the Gul Grand Prix are very generous vouchers from Gul. The Windermere event also qualifies for the Northern Tour. Lots of RS400 coaching has been organised in Scotland for 2011. The first of these events is Race Coaching at Loch of Skene SC hosted by Aberdeen and Stonehaven SC on 19/20 March. The coach is Mark Barron. A great event for people new to the fleet or those needing dust off the winter cobwebs. GBP50/boat for the weekend or GBP25/boat for one day. Pre-booking is essential. To pay either send a cheque to RS Association at East Hayes Grove Road Lymington SO41 3RN or pay on-line a http://rs-association.com/index.asp?selection=Shop and fleet=RS400http: rs-association.com= and quot; and quot; index.asp?selection= and quot;Shop and fleet=RS400 and quot;See more details including accommodation options at http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?selection=Event and uid=241 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1/http:http: rs-association.com= and quot; and quot; index.asp?selection= and quot;Shop and fleet=RS400 and quot;http: www.rs-association.com= and quot; and quot; index.asp?selection= and quot;Event and uid=241 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1 and quot;/http:/http:http: rs-association.com= and quot; and quot; index.asp?selection= and quot;Shop and fleet=RS400 and quot;http: www.rs-association.com= and quot; and quot; index.asp?selection= and quot;Event and uid=241 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1 and quot;For more information contact Oli Webster at OWebster@Petrowell.co.uk/http:/http: Roll up roll up for the 1st official RS300/400/Vareo event for 2011! As usual for the 400s and a new venue for the 300s and Vareos we are kicking off at Leigh and Lowton SC on 12/13 March. For the RS400s this is also the first event of their Northern Tour.The race briefing will be at 1230hrs on Saturday and racing will start at 1300hrs on Saturday 1100hrs Sunday - 3 races/day. There will be a meal at the club on Saturday evening included in entry fee. Further details including directions and local accommodation options are at http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?selection=Event and uid=12 and fleet=RS400 and detailevent=1 RS400 Proposed Changes - Outcome of Vote The vote on the proposed changes to the RS400 has closed. 49 members voted - many thanks - and the outcome of the vote is as follows -1. Hull Construction to utilise Vinylester resin. 49 votes 78 percent for. Vote carried. 2. Mainsail Plan - Copy existing mainsail shape and profile in radial cut and modern laminate. 49 votes 69 percent for. Vote carried. 3. Sail plan - Jib - as set out in voting document. 49 votes 76 percent for. Vote carried. 5. Change bowsprit construction to tapered glass/carbon. 49 votes 63 percent for. Vote carried. 7. Higher trim cut to the thwart fore and aft. 49 votes 94 percent for. Vote carried. 8. Carbon foredeck. 49 votes 65 percent for. Vote carried.LDC have confirmed that they will have all product details available before 31 March 2011.If you would like to see the voting details again please see http://www.rs-association.com/index.asp?fleet=RS400 and selection=Latest percent20Fleet percent20News or contact the RS Office. Following the consultation period the vote on the proposed changes to the RS400 went to all RS400 members by Fast News or post earlier today. Pictures to accompany this vote are below. If you are not a member and would like to have a voice on this important development in the RS400 history you can join now and have your vote. You can join by e-mailing heatherc@rs-association.com or via the home page at http://www.rs-association.com/ Anyone joining now will of course be a member until 31/12/11. RS400 New sails RS400 New thwart arrangement RS400 New pole RS400 Adjustable deck control We have finalised the RS400 Calendar for 2011. Details are below.12/13 March - Winter Championships Leigh and Lowton SC16/17 April - Royal Windermere YC Gul Grand Prix7/8 May - Gurnard SC Gul Grand Prix28-31 May - Zhik Eurocup Carnac Brittany4/5 June - East Lothian YC Gul Grand Prix11/12 June - Sprint Championships and Gul Grand Prix Rutland SC9/10 July - Arun YC Gul Grand Prix23/24 July - Aldeburgh YC Gul Grand Prix18-21 August - National Championships WPNSA24/25 September - Notts County SC Gul Grand Prix8/9 October - Inland Championships Grafham Water SC12/13 November - Last Shout Championships venue t.b.c.- 7 Gul Grand Prix events for 2011 4 to count.There has been masses of interest in sorting out Regional Circuits for the RS400s in 2011. This has been led by -Keith Bedborough and Robbie Wilson for Scottish Series andPeter Snowdon and Stu Halman for Northern TourThe Northern Tour will consist of 8 events with 5 to count including 4 Gul Grand Prix events or Championships.The Scottish Tour will consist of 5 or 6 events with 4 to count including one Gul Grand Prix event.Details of all events will be on the website before the end of the year. The lads will sort out a prize-giving and overall prizes for these new Tours. Hope lots of you support and enjoy them! I am sure you would all like to join me in thanking Mike Sims for acting as RS400 Fleet Rep for more than a year. Many thanks Mike! Mike is standing down as he is leaving the fleet to sail a single-hander that I wont mention. Hell be back .Paul Hilliar who many of you will know has just returned to the fleet after sailing another single-hander that I wont mention. Paul has offered to stand as Fleet Rep and I have gladly accepted. I know he will be voted in at the AGM. We hoped to have the 2010 AGM at the recent Inland Championships but as Mike Simms the 400 committee and I were all unavailable to chair the meeting it could not be held. My suggestion with Pauls agreement would be to have a short class meeting at the Rutland event on 13/14 November and hold the official AGM at an early event in 2011 possibly the Winters. An agenda will be sent out in due course. All fleets take a lot if organisation. If you would like to volunteer in the running of your fleet in any way please do contact me - heatherc@rs-association.com / 01590 610273. The more people who help the better the outcome and the less everyone has to do. Heather Chipperfield