Fate is not on the side of the 9ers when it comes to wind and weekends. The three 9er fleets were greeted with 20 knots last weekend at Datchet Water SC which increased through the Saturday with gusts of over 25. Sunday did not provide any less challenging conditions with the only difference being that the sun came out some of the time.

In the 49er class it was class veterans Jonny Coates and Charlie Muir who kept a steady hand and ended up overnight leaders on the Saturday with a 2,3,2. It was a case of racing with caution in the tough conditions. Dave Evans and Rick Peacock had a shaky first race leaving them a bit to do to catch up. Richard Bone and Chris Rodway took a first but only completed two of the three races. Fred and Hugh Shone had a moment of brilliance winning the first race but were unable to complete any more races that day.

With the wind blowing just as hard on Sunday morning a somewhat depleted and nervous fleet set out for three more races in what can only be described as very lively conditions. Coates and Muir kept their cool and put in a 2,1,1 to take their first major open. Evans and Peacock did enough to hang on to second but could not match the steady Coates / Muir team.

49er results

1st 801 Jonny Coates and Charlie Muir

2nd 672 David Evans and Rick Peacock

3rd 340 Richard Bone and Chris Rodway

4th 442 Roger Gilbert and Adam Brushett

5th 491 Fred Shone and Hugh Shone

6th 702 Lester Noble and Lee Noble

For the 29ers it was the last major event before the RYA Youth Championships over Easter. It was a great test of skill and the class certainly showed the other classes racing how to do it. It was very close between the top four boats with only 4 points in it – all four winning races. Ben Burns and Guy Filmore eventually just took it from the 2 boats on equal points – Jon White and Alex Cruttenden and Roger Phillips and Will Crocker. Justin Vissar and Simon Wheeler were always on the tails of the front three and won one race but could not quite match the heavy air speed of the top three on the Sunday. Sophie Jones and Ben McVeigh sailed a very steady series finishing every race in the top 6 to finish 5th overall.

29er results

1st 934 Ben Burns and Guy Filmore

2nd 873 Jon White and Alex Cruttenden

3rd 7 Roger Phillips and Will Crocker

4th 900 Justin Vissar and Simon Wheeler

5th 168 Sophie Jones and Ben McVie

6th 480 Edward Redfearn and Steven Mann

The 59ers had a tough time and it became a match between Steve and Charlotte Birbeck and Rob Dulson and Dave Hall. With the Birbecks taking the open on the last downwind leg sailing past a capsized Dulson and Hall.