A great turnout of 20 boats for the first of the non-circuit events this year.  Lymington welcomed the fleet with open arms, awarding us top berthing spots right outside the club!  After the initial downpours which ensured no sea breeze would be forming, racing got off to a choppy start.  Race 1 was run in the most wind of the day, with a difficult wind against tide chop.  Downer/Price stamped their sea sailing expertise on the fleet and sailed away with a fantastic lead. Locals Cooper/WigleY and Lee boat Bevington/Sheens took 2^nd and 3^rd proving that the solent clubs get good practice of these conditions.

Race 2 brought less breeze and flatter water as the tide was flowing slower.  It was all about the pin end start, with the Martins and Maples/Ludgate spotting the advantage, with the rest of the fleet reaching down the line to get there.  The Martins held onto the lead, with local boat Cooper/Wigley scoring another 2^nd and Downer/Price coming through the fleet to 3^rd.

Race 3 was sailed on a heavily tidal dieing breeze.  Those who thought that the tide changed as per the tide-tables learnt the hard way and got spat out the back! Nick Simmons and Lou Hosken stamped their authority on the race and led the fleet home.  Cooper/Wigley posted another 2^nd to make them overnight leaders, with the Martins in 3^rd. 

Sunday dawned with yet more rain, however a lot less – queue sea breeze formation for a fantastic afternoon of champagne sailing in the sun, with awesome waves.  Upwind was almost a pleasure with the strong tide carrying the boats up and over all the waves!  Sunday, with the big breeze was another chance for Downer/Price to lead the fleet around posting 3 first places and securing 1^st place overall.  On a building breeze and a massive tide, the race officers briefing the day before finally made sense – he had suggested changing the top mark rounding direction to starboard!!  The only way to go downwind was a gybe-set manouvere, and with the increasingly tight racing that the 400 fleet is seeing this year (blink and you lose a spot, tack well and you make one up) the chaos at the top mark added even more excitement than the lumpy sea!  Some swimming, lots of whoops of delight and general big grin racing.  Cooper/Wigley and Farbrother/Joyce both had good days to get 2^nd places on the board.

In the final reckoning, Downer/Price took first by only 3 points from the massively consistent Cooper/Wigleys! Simmons/Hoskens came home with a richly deserved 3^rd.  The silver fleet is getting ever more difficult to decide with the top notch competition we are seeing on the water this year, however Hughes/Wells, the Iles’ and Lewis’ all sailed consistent events to come 1-2-3 respectively.

A top weekend for everyone! Thanks for supporting a non-circuit event.  Top food at the club and a gorgeous weekend of weather.  See you at Hayling in two weeks and remember that coaching at Arun is coming up soon.

All to play for at the nationals with many boats in for a shout of a good result and guaranteed close racing across the fleet.  The early entry discount ends soon, so get your entries in!