All photos © Isabelle Jackson

A fleet of 24 Standards, 7 Radials and one 4.7 took to the water on May 27th in a force 2 breeze that looked sketchy from the start.

Race Officer Barry Goacher got the Standard and Radial fleets under way in a shifty South Easterly, but after 1 lap of the course, a big swing to North East signalled the start of the gradient vs. sea breeze battle and all but saw the end of the wind. Fortunately, the tide was slack and the fleets were able to finish after 2 laps.

Oliver Bush (Weirwood) and Tobias Hamer (Langstone) were first and second across the line, but had incurred a 20% penalty at the start. Anatoly Krivelevich (Queen Mary) and David Binding (Weirwood) were third and fourth. First Radial was David Trout (Lancing), second was Mike Croker (Lancing), and third, Steve Lynch (Lancing).

The second race was abandoned and an early lunch taken.

The chances of afternoon racing seemed slight, but just as most were starting their sandwiches, a sudden huge shift to Westerly brought a force 3 and a call from the RO to get out there quick. 2 general recalls soaked up valuable time, and the wind was down to a 2 before the action finally started. Just as in the morning, the race ended after 2 laps in a feeble breeze.

In the Standard fleet, Orlando Gledhill (Queen Mary) returned to form with the win, followed by Richard Horn (Hill Head), Tobias Hamer and Alex Benbow (Stokes Bay). David Trout scored a second win in the Radial fleet, followed by Alex Geal and Mike Croker.

Overall, in the Standard Fleet, the win went to Alex Hamer (Langstone), followed by David Binding (Weirwood), Alex Benbow (Stokes Bay) and Orlando Gledhill (Queen Mary). In the Radial Fleet, David Trout (Lancing) was first, followed by Mike Croker (Lancing) and Alex Geal (Pevensey Bay).

Overall Results: