The RS400 started their 2003 Fat Face Racing Circuit on 22-23 March, visiting the home of the largest RS400 fleet in the country, Leigh and Lowton SC.

Clear blue skies and strong sun had the fleet putting on total bloc in the very smart new changing rooms. This weather produced a fickle wind on Saturday with some large holes, which went home early before the final race. A fairly stable wind built slowly on Sunday, with the final races held in Force 3-4. Four races were fitted into less than four hours. With the wind refusing to come straight down the lake, the start lines were action packed, pushed against a shore necessarily short.

Class acts of the weekend were Nick Craig and Keith Bedborough who counted three first places and two seconds, plus a magnificent double disqualification in the same race. They put in a fantastic display of boat handling to dominate. Not far behind was Mark and Sam Littlejohn in their first year in 400s, constantly pushing the leaders hard. Craig/Littlejohn had a very close match race at the front in the final race. In third overall was home club sailors Dave Exley/Nigel Hall who were very consistent, despite a misunderstanding in Race 1 when they thought the race had been finished early. Mat Jenkins/Emma from Sheffield Viking in the oldest boat in the fleet scored a convincing win in race two to produce a very credible seventh overall.

Home club sailors Mike Budd/Greebo and Dave Shiel/Paul Heath would have fared better overall had they not ended up with two black flags each. Tony Woods/Arline Couch, unable to sail on Saturday, managed to collect three black flags in four starts on Sunday. A close second in the cock-up league were Chris and Matt Bailey, who on Sunday were black flagged in race one, had the kite on sideways in race two and were black flagged in race three; they did not risk joining in race four.

Overall Results

1st 1038 Nick Craig/Keith Bedborough 7pts (Frensham Pond SC)

2nd 1174 Mark Littlejohn/Sam Littlejohn 11pts (Lancing SC)

3rd 1186 Dave Exley/Nigel Hall 15pts (Leigh and Lowton SC)

4th 1175 Greg O Brien/Colin Staite 26pts (Sutton SC)

5th 1053 Mike Sharples/Amanda Pierpoint 30pts (Leigh and Lowton SC)