RS 10th Anniversary Regatta at Hayling Island Sailing Club

Over 250 boats for the RS Anniversary regatta at Hayling © Ingrid Abery / www.hotcapers.com

Over 250 boats for the RS Anniversary regatta at Hayling © Nick Kirk / N-D-K Watersports Photography

It's hard to believe that RS400 was launched over 10 years ago, and what promised to be the biggest sailing birthday bash was timed to coincide with the first RS ever open meeting in 1994. Over 250 boats made the trip to Hayling Island for a three-day 10th anniversary weekend packed full of racing and socialising in true RS style.

Visions of chaos at the influx of all the RS classes at one venue came to nothing, as Hayling Island SC's organisation of boats, cars and competitiors ran like clockwork. Even the weather gods looked kindly on the event. Saturday saw promising blue skies at 0800hrs for those of us who arrived early, but misty conditions ensued and the fleets were kept ashore until a light breeze materialised.

A rolling release system which allowed the classes to launch in stages meant getting onto the water was pretty straightforward, and the first race was underway by around 1330hrs.

The first race was part of the four race series, with the other three races planned for Sunday. Saturday afternoon was reserved for a record mass start with all the boats starting on one huge line in Hayling Bay for an all-in handicap race, finishing on a line outside the sailing club. With a wide line, split into two with committee boats at either end and one in the centre, and the classes divided into two, the mass start was remarkable civilised and incident free. A time penalty system ensured a clean start, however a slight bias did favour the faster boats at the port end of the line, and as the wind steadily dropped, the slower boats were left to drift up to the finish with the tide. The winner was Andy White's RS700, with Neil Robinson also in the 700 second and Steve Irish and Martin Gotrel third in the RS800. Top 400 was David Lenz and Victoria Symmers who finished 21st overall. With a helicopter in the air to secure some stunning shots, it was great that the sun put in an appearance in the afternoon, making the drift to the finish less painful than it might have been.

Saturday night's barbeque and prizegiving was followed by an evening of dancing, drinking and catching up with RS faces old and new.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, although it took a while for the breeze to fill in. A late start meant that not all the classes got their planned three races in, but the HISC race officers did a grand job, witnessed particularly on the 200/400 course where they squeezed the third start for the 200s in between the 400s rounding their windward mark and finishing.

Sunday night saw a huge turn out of some of the big names associated with the RS brand over the years, with suppliers, sailors, class designers et al enjoying a black tie dinner, followed by speeches and special awards for those who had bought the most boats over the years, through to 'duckhams of the decade'. A live band provided the entertainment, and the party went on well into Monday morning.

Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of sore heads a rather broken people for Monday's rather grey pursuit race. With rain and breeze kicking in for the final stages of the race, there were predictably a lot of DNFs. Again the top places were dominated by 800s and 700s, with RS800s finishing first, second and third (Chips Haworth/Stuart Aston winning from Barrie Edgington/Ian Lovering, with Steve Irish/Martin Gotrel third).

All in all it was a fantastic weekend, with Hayling Island proving an ideal venue for a one-off event that is sure to be talked about for years to come.

10th Anniverary Record Race Results: