West Country Boat Repairs RS200 SW Ugly Tour, Bowmoor Sailing Club, 29th June 2024

Bowmoor was delighted to welcome visitors and the home fleet for the club's first RS200 Open Meeting in over twenty years!  The event formed part of the RS200 South West Ugly Tour 2024, sponsored by West Country Boat Repairs.

A beautifully warm and sunny Cotswolds summer day greeted the sailors on arrival ... with one key element missing!  A fickle and inconsistent breeze led to a delay to the start of racing, while OOD David Nunn and his team tried to set a course.  Despite the breeze not settling either in direction or strength, the decision was taken to get racing underway after a short delay.

Race one saw plenty of place changes as the wind swung and changed in strength.  Duncan and Lorna Glen from Parkstone managed to stay on top of the conditions to win, followed by Dave and Darcy Lynall from Bowmoor.  The wind continued to play games during race two, with at one stage boats beating into and out of the leeward mark, but at other times enough breeze to get helms and crews hiking!  Duncan and Lorna once again mastered the tricky conditions to win, with Alex Smallwood and Callum Farnden from OCSS taking second.

The original plan was for five races back-to-back, but "Plan B" was to break for lunch after race two, to allow the race team to re-lay the course and to see if the wind would settle down.  After being fed and watered by Bowmoor's caterers Hacketts, and another layer of much-needed sun cream, racing resumed.

Race three proved to be another tricky one, with some big windshifts and huge holes to catch you out but, again, short periods with enough wind for hiking.  Duncan and Lorna continued to work their magic, winning from Alex and Callum again.  The fickle wind continued into race four, with boats pointing in the same direction but on opposite tacks during the first beat!  Alex and Callum convincingly won the fourth race, from Dave and Darcy.

The race team decided to call it a day after successfully running four races - a fantastic effort in very challenging conditions.  While it was a day of snakes and ladders, three teams seemed to master the conditions.  Duncan and Lorna won, counting three first places - a fantastic achievement in such tricky conditions.  Alex and Callum were second overall, with the podium completed by Dave and Darcy.  First youths were Rupert Balmain and Nestor Montagu from Sutton Bingham.

It was great to see the building Bowmoor fleet joined by a number of visitors for this return to the RS200 regional circuit.  We look forward to welcoming the fleet back in 2025 🙂

Next event is the Summer Champs at Parkstone - Saturday 13th only to count for the Ugly Tour, both days to count for the Rooster National Tour and Sailing Chandlery EaSEA Tour. All the details and link to online entry here.

Ian Pickard

Photos thanksn to David Fewings