Results / Open Itchenor SC - 08/07/2017

The 45 RS200s that descended on Itchenor Sailing Club on 8/9 July couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend, or a more stunning setting, for a weekend's racing. The usual laid-back RS vibe was clear to see on Saturday morning as nobody was particularly keen to make the 12pm start. Instead, sailors crowded into the clubhouse to watch the rugby, safe in the knowledge that the day's breeze was dependant on a sea breeze that wasn't due until the afternoon. But the race committee was out there early, seeing a steady breeze from the south-west that would build throughout the afternoon. After a bit of encouragement, the fleet made its way round the corner and were treated to one of the days of the season out in Chichester Harbour.

Race 1 started in a nice 10-knot building sea breeze with the tide already ebbing and pushing boats over the line, which rather inevitably led to a general recall. True to his word the PRO Chris Darling brought out the black flag for the next race putting pressure back on the fleet to behave. Merlin cross-code sailor Olly Turner, and Rheanna Pavey, led the way with Alan Roberts & Emma Best in hot pursuit breaking out from the mass scramble at the pin end. But had they made it out safe? Matt Mee & Emma Norris worked their way up through the fleet to finish 3rd on the water and, after 7 black flags were handed out, they took the first bullet of the event, with George Yeoman & Sophie Ormsby in 2nd after finishing 6th on the water and Dicken Maclean & Hannah Young 3rd.

The fleet were much better behaved for the start of Race 2 even though the tide was starting to run stronger. The wind had picked up as well which led to a tough choice downwind between going high and trying to plane or pushing low. It was Maria Stanley & Rob Henderson who took the initiative on the first lap taking the lead down the first run and not looking back. George/Sophie and Dicken/Hannah made the most of the new breeze coming down and jumped the rest of the chasing pack to take 2nd & 3rd again.

Race 3 was Itchenor in full swing. 15 knots with wind against tide made the beats hard work but worth it for the blast downwind. George/Sophie got a jump on the fleet from a mid-line start to allow them to tack for the tide and lead at the top mark. Arthur & Mary Henderson rounded next closely followed by Dicken/Hannah and Ben Palmer & Claire Walsh. These 3 boats battled it out for 2 laps until Dicken/Hannah finally broke free and screamed down the last run hunting down George/Sophie but not quite having enough runway. Ben/Claire came through to take 3rd.

The final race of the day saw a couple of fresh faces lead the charge. Andy Shaw & Pippa Horne and Stewart & Jack Bowen got the best starts and along with Dicken/Hannah led the fleet around the top mark. Dicken/Hannah took off in a ball of spray and were not seen again whilst Andy/Pippa took a solid grip of 2nd place. On the last lap George/Sophie managed to get a jump down the run to finish behind Andy/Pippa. Unfortunately for Dicken/Hannah their start had been a bit too good as they crossed the line to silence, meaning Andy/Pippa took their first race win of the weekend with George/Sophie 2nd and Maria/Rob 3rd. This left George/Sophie leading from Dicken/Hannah and, with big scores already on the board, anything could happen going in to day 2.

The jugs of Pimm's were flowing on the Itchenor lawn after racing and the club was buzzing with stories from the day's racing and comparisons of sunburn. Fish and chips was next on the agenda, with what must have been the largest pieces of cod available on the south coast, washed down with more drinks and music in the bar afterwards.

Another lovely summer's day on Sunday started for many with a full cooked breakfast as teams prepared for another big day of sea breeze hiking. But this time the sea breeze failed to supplement a south westerly gradient of about 6-7 knots that swung round to the south-east through the day.

In the first race of the day, a shifty first beat allowed five boats to separate themselves from the pack, with Rob Struckett and Kate Robinson leading at the first mark. Left was the only way out of the flooding tide on the beats but it was a tough call whether to take the shifts or get further out of the tide. In the end, a mixture of the two paid off as Maria Stanley and Rob Henderson took the race on the line from Owain Mathews and Rosie Sibthorp.

The committee boat and windward mark moved further out into the channel in Race 6, which led to a split fleet up the first beat. Those that escaped from the pile-up at the committee boat end were rewarded, though, as the right hand side paid more and more with each leg of the course. Arthur/Mary took the win from Andy/Pippa and Jack Holden & Alex Warren.

Race 7 was completely different again as the tide started to flow up the course. Suddenly, boats were struggling to stay down-tide of the line and the leaders could come from all sides of the beat. George and Sophie regained the form that had won them day 1 to take the bullet, with Maria/Rob and Matt/Emma in hot pursuit.

The last race brought further challenges as the breeze dropped and tracked round to the left. Owain/Rosie took advantage of the light conditions to finish off with a win. It was all to play for at the top of the leaderboard too, with three boats still in with a chance of victory. Matt/Emma and George/Sophie fought back from tough first beats, but it wasn't enough as Maria and Rob held their nerve to take second, and the win overall.

A very proud home fleet took 1st, 2nd and 4th on the leaderboard but particular congratulations to winners Maria Stanley and Rob Henderson for taking home the Itchenor Burgee trophy. Thank you to the race committee and Itchenor Sailing Club for a fabulous weekend and see everyone next year!

Rob Struckett