International 14 Walker Trophy at Itchenor Sailing Club

So the weekend arrived for the 14 super cup racing; crews new and old took to the water in Chichester harbour. Short course racing in glorious sunshine and a building sea breeze, a weekend of glamorous sailing lay ahead.

With a spring tide filling the harbour and the breeze building, the racing was set up for tackling up the shore line, only leaving for the lay lines of the marks. The first start got under way well with an alternative crew combination of Julian Pearson and Dan Holman making it over the extreme tide to the windward mark first.

Andy Penman and Hugh Maclean almost would have got round on their heels, had they not underestimated the tidal strength, taking 3 attempts to get round while collecting some of the harbour's race-destroying seaweed. This allowed Saturday's combination of Charlie Duchesne and Archie Massey to round in second, with the father/son Partington team chasing them down, fast.

The Partington's speed and knowledge of the harbour saw them take the first win with Julian and Dan getting 2nd.

Race 2 saw a great start from Katie Nurton and Nigel Ash, but they didn't seem to be able to find their usual pace. Massey and Duchesne had switched roles for the second race and took the lead, but they couldn't hold on to it as the Partingtons got through to take their second bullet of the day. Whilst the race officer was kind enough to run the racing closer to the shore than usual to avoid a busy summer channel, there were still the numerous other DinghyFest sailors to avoid, which meant that tactics shifted to collision avoidance over perfect lay lines at times.

Further down the pack saw some close racing between the Pascal brothers and Penman/Maclean, with Penman/Maclean taking the race to make it 1/1.

Race 3 saw the wind steady but as the tide eased, the boat speed upwind accelerated and made for the start of some lively chop for the downwind legs. The Partingtons managed to complete the hat trick of bullets despite Duchesne/Massey trying to gain every advantage by taking the rig tension to new levels, although apparently not quite enough to take the win. Penman/Maclean managed to take advantage of problems on board with Nurton/Ash to take 3rd. With many crews now having difficulty moving their arms, the fleet decided that was enough for the day and the majority headed home ending the racing for the day.

An evening BBQ at Itchenor together with a notable band kept the fleet busy and with a brightening forecast slowly appearing, there were high hopes for more of the same racing on Sunday.

The wind gods had been taking note and the fleet were greeted with more of the same, even mimicking the less common direction of the sea breeze. The fleet even managed to make an effort to not be too late for the start, with Katie showing them the way having swapped the might of Nige for the power of Chris Rodway. A few other changes saw Archie take to the water in his own vessel with Douglas Pattison joining him for musical chairs around the boat. The challenge had been set on who could get the best result stick in hand to claim the honour of helming the last race.

Andy Fitzgerald and Ed Dyer joined the fleet after some boat issues the previous day along with Phil MacDanell sailing with Luke Boughton and the Italians having chosen to stump their rig after issues on the Saturday. The first race saw Pattison helming to break the Partington's winning streak, but they were chasing hard. Nurton/Rodway managed to hold 3rd with Fitzgerald/Dyer not far behind. The experience of the Pascal brothers won out over Penman/Maclean who had issues with their last drop, causing them to join MacDanell/Boughton at the last leeward mark for some 'winner takes all' drag racing to the finish. Penman/Maclean tried to find their speed to recover but ran out of race track, allowing MacDanell/Boughton to take 6th.

The second start of the day saw the fleet come together for some proximity sailing at the committee boat. Some got a little too close resulting in some vessels being forced to head home early. Luckily the rest managed to get away cleanly and by the end of the first lap the Partingtons and Massey/Pattison broke clear of the rest of the pack, proceeding to match race each other for the win. The Partingtons managed to come out on top.

Fitzgerald/Dyer had issues at the first windward mark. Luckily they then spent the rest of the race getting faster and faster, making their way back through the pack. Penman/Maclean were unable to hold their speed for the whole race, meaning all they could do was watch as the pack hunted them down before the line. By the end it turned out that the race officer had set the perfect length race, allowing Penman/Macleanto hold on to 3rd, Fitzgerald/Dyer made it to 4th ahead of the Pascals and MacDanell/Boughton.

The final race of a weekend of many hoists and even more gybes left the fleet diminished, but the last 4 standing made for a start with a nice lane each and a drag race in to the shore. The Partington and Massey/Pattison final race off saw 14 match racing at its finest. The speed was no match for Penman/Maclean and the Pascal brothers. Matched tacks and a reluctance to split saw the lead boats fight it out to the death one last time.

The Partingtons took the final bullet and secured a score counting all 1sts and discarding a 2nd. A strong performance from the Hayling Island pair.

Big thanks go to the race officer and team for getting so many races in and for Itchenor Sailing Club for hosting the event.

Overall Results: