Welcome!
Welcome to the Itchenor RS200 website...
Hi All
The time has come to get excited about the prospect of the next RS200 sailing season down at Itchenor. I know this is quite early being only January, but I am about to send through the full sailing schedule that will be also sent through as the handbook, so please put ALL 200 dates in the diary, especially those listed below. Reminder emails will be flying all year too, fear not! Please note when looking through that there is not RS200 sailing every weekend. This is to encourage more boats to turn up on focus weekends so we can have better racing and beat the average of 2.2 boats per weekend last year. Having proved that 17 boats can turn out in November, I am expecting a minimum of that over the summer, especially dinghy days, dinghy fest and hopefully training! If anyone can get a group of boats together on a weekend that no racing is scheduled and wish to have a race, please do get in touch and I will liase with the club. Please also note that I have agreed that if there are only a few 420s about, they can join in with our starts to give them a better start, and also better practice with more boats on the line
IMPORTANT RS200 DATES FOR THE DIARY so you don't have to trawl through the whole thing:
First race of the season:
· Sunday 25th March
Training:
This year, after lots of feedback from the fleet, Vin and I are really keen to push training to boost confidence and increase the overall standard of racing at the club (not that it isn't sky high already!). More details will follow very shortly but the aim is to focus each session differently according to what people want to do and where we are through the season. If anyone has any ideas or views on what they would want, please do send them all through.
· 31st March/1st April (Start of Season training weekend)· Sunday 22nd April
· Sunday 13th May (Pre ISC Open race training)
· Sunday 5th August
· Sunday 12th August (Pre Nationals race training)
Important sailing days/weekends:
I know this list looks quite long, but it is only a couple of days/weekends a month really. Please note dinghy fest which is new this year and we are really really going to push – aiming to make it THE weekend of racing and parties of the summer for 200s, 800s, 14s etc (think junior fortnight/cowes week/points week of asymmetrics). Also, where I have put down dinghy days below, there are always back to backs or something on the other day of the weekend. Please look through the actual program for full details.
· Easter weekend (6th-9th April) – 4 days back to backs· Sunday 5th May – Dinghy Day 1 (back to backs for the Sunday and bank holiday Monday)
· Sat 19th May – RS200 ISC Open Meeting, plus dinner
· Sun 20th May – ISC open day, back to back racing all day, boats likely to be allowed to stay on from the open meeting (tbc)
· Bank Holiday Monday 4th June – Dinghy Day 2 (back to backs Sat, Sun)
· Sun 17th June – Dinghy Day 3
· 7th/8th July – DINGHY FEST
· Sat 28th July ISC Olympics Celebration (pursuit), back to backs sunday
· Sat 25th August ISC Regatta (back to backs sun, bank hol Monday)
· Sat 1st September – RS200 team racing – turn up with a boat, random pairs 2 boat team racing – details to follow nearer the time
· Sunday 2nd September Dinghy Day 4
· 15th/16th September – RS200 Wigmore Trophy including class AGM and dinner
· Sunday 30th September – Dinghy Day 5
· 20th/21st October – back to backs weekend
· 3rd/4th November Firecracker
National events
· RS200 EuroCup Garda 23-27 July· RS200 Nationals - Exe SC 19-23 Aug
Also an important note from the club:
Please launch from the Small tender slipway until further notice. The Main Dinghy Slipway is closed for the winter; planks at the bottom are no longer suitable for use and need to be replaced.
If you are available to assist on any of the working parties on the 3rd – 4th and the 17th and 18th March to help replace the planks please contact Louise in the office.
sailing@itchenorsailingclub.co.uk
I'm really excited about this season and hope that you are all too. Hearing from many of you has helped to boost the enthusiasm no end, so please do keep sending through questions, comments, ideas or general enthusiasm for sailing this year! Also, do get in touch if you are looking for someone to sail with or know of anyone who can be lured down to Itchenor to come 200 sailing, I am really keen to boost the fleet as much as possible this year. I hope everyone is on this list, but if you think someone has been left off then please do let me know.
Hopefully see you all at the end of March,
Eddie