Rooster Sailing 4000 Nationals at Babbacombe Corinthian Sailing Club

Rooster Sailing 4000 Nationals at Babbacombe © Jean Border / www.borderphotos2010.com

Rooster Sailing 4000 Nationals at Babbacombe © Jean Border / www.borderphotos2010.com

One of the friendliest clubs in the UK played host to the '4000' National Championships sponsored by 'Rooster Sailing' over the recent bank holiday from 23rd to 26th August - and a big thank you to Babbacombe Corinthian Sailing Club must be mentioned for excellent hospitality.

This was the first Nationals to be run following the adoption of the new square top mainsail design and the involvement of 'Rooster Sailing' in helping to re-energise the class as the new licence holder for the boat and thus reflected in the largest turn-out for a few years with 14 boats.

Day 1 saw a mixed bag of conditions with the wind doing 180 degrees every 10 mins the only constant was the cold, but we did at least get to enjoy the Red Arrows display overhead. Dave Homer and his team did very well to get 2 races in when the wind did finally stabilise. 4532 'Allspars' sailed by Jason Kirk and Scott Dawson won both races with 4190 'Rooster Sailing' sailed by Steve and Sarah Cockerill posting a 2 and 3 for the day. Drama unfolded in race 1 when 4682 John Reynolds and Fran Howell had a mishap with the toe strap causing an unexpected dismount!

Day 2 saw a total change in conditions. The sun came out and the wind did what it was meant to (ish). Proving that the weight equalisation concept of the '4000' really does mean a level playing field for any helm/weight/gender combination, the racing was kept incredibly tight between the smaller and the larger crews and 1 mistake could lose 5 places - this is why it is always exciting racing these boats. Jason Kirk and Scott Dawson finished the day with a 1,1,2,5 but 4579 sailed by Callum Terry and Tom Evill now had a bullet and looked like they were getting to grips with the boat and one to watch.

The end of day 2 saw the fleet meet for the first AGM as the '4000' fleet. It was well attended and there were many good discussions of ways in which to move the fleet forwards both through new activities and boat development. The meeting was rounded out and followed by a BBQ and Bingo Quiz run by the club with the 4000 fleet providing the largest attendance.

Day 3 was windy! And shifty!! Bank holiday Monday saw all the '4000's' do what they do best - go downwind very quickly! A good test of crew work saw 4266 Geoff and Bernice Holden from Locks SC post a string of top 3 results for the day, while 4600 Alex Cramp and Bob Reed had their best result of the week. A swim in the first race for Steve and Sarah Cockerill meant that they were grateful for a discard holding onto second place in the series.

Day 4 dawned with very little breeze, and the PRO decided to keep everyone on the beach until any wind the materialised was stable enough to race in. This allowed the crews to pour over the results and try to work out what positions they needed to get themselves up the leader board. 'Allspars' needed to finish in the top 4 in only 1 race to claim the title but managed to get tangled with 'Rooster Sailing' in the first start resulting in penalty turns and a 7th. Not a good way to start the day! 4572 sailed by Richard and Jo de Fleury had their best day of the series and it seemed that 4546 Tim Litt and Harry Litt had done something radical as they posted all top 3 results for the day.

The start of race 2 saw everyone cleanly get away, and the marginal trapezing conditions meant that the racing was tight and 'Jam' with Chris Gould and Jo Morrison hit the warp button out of the blocks, and as the top 5 rounded the windward mark it was 'Allspars' holding onto a slender lead who had it to lose followed by 'Jam' and 'Rooster Sailing' with 4546 in hot pursuit. Up the second beat, with 5 boats in close contention and vying for the lead, Tim Litt and Harry Litt found some height and took the lead on the last beat gaining the lead near the windward mark, but 'Allspars' managed to just get ahead of the top banana by soaking low enough downwind to gain the tactical advantage and to win the race and the overall championship.

A big thank you to 'Rooster Sailing' for sponsoring the event and providing some fantastic 4000 rash vests as well as prizes and to Babbacombe Corinthian Sailing Club for hosting the event.

Rooster Sailing 4000 Nationals at Babbacombe - photo © Richard de Fleury

Whoever you are - if you want to sail a boat with your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, or best friend – and want to be competitive in any helm / crew weight combination that does not penalise you then get yourself a '4000' – cheap boat / epic close racing / good socials – and supported by an active class association and 'Rooster Sailing'. What other reasons do you need?

More photos available at babbacombe-sc.com/wp/gallery and at www.facebook.com/UK4000Association.

Overall Results:

Next event: Grafham Water Sailing Club – 13th-14th September