West Sussex Schools and Youth Sailing Association Regatta
by CYC Dinghy Section 5 Oct 2016 15:46 BST
1-2 October 2016
West Sussex Schools and Youth Sailing Association Regatta at Chichester Yacht Club © CYC
The WSSYSA Regatta is one of the biggest events CYC has hosted, so an air of bustling activity was everywhere. The 120 competitors were distributed throughout the dinghy park and the club, every room was pressed into action for coaching, race briefings and safety boat briefings. We even had an extended Tea Bar setup to deal with the increased demand for cakes and chocolate!
The Fleets were divided in Two with the faster fleet going to a course off copperas point, and the more novice racers going to a course by Birdham.
Day 1
In the rooky course Derek Jackman and his assistants on the committee boat "Maurice" set a trapezoid course. Some of the sailors taking part were relatively new to racing and as the wind dropped needed some help getting to the start in time.
Races 1 and 2 were in relatively calm wind and beautiful blue skies. After the first lap the young racers started to get the hang of the event. The Oppie fleet was particularly competitive with some close racing all the way around the course.
The WSSYSA regatta is aimed at encouraging kids to sail, the focus is on Fun, coaching on the water is positively encouraged to help children enjoy this intro to racing. It was great to see the way that a few choice words from a coach boat had the kids sailing smoothly around the course.
During Race 3, the wind whipped up, The Rescue boats had to wake from their slumber and had plenty of entertainment helping the children to right capsized boats. The stronger winds led to a few early retirements, but almost everyone managed to sail home under their own steam.
At the end of Day 1:
- The white fleet (Fast Handicap) was led by Alex Maygar from Felpham with two first places and a second. Chichesters Susannah Olliff and Beth Albone were in a creditable 10th place.
- The purple fleet (Medium handicap) was led by CYC's Charlie Elliott and Christopher Clark in the Feva XL with three first places out of three races.
- The Green Fleet (Oppies) were led by the two Sargent's Gwen and Johnny, with Gwen narrowly in the lead winning two of the three races.
- The Yellow Fleet was led by Felpham's Fin Swanton who won all three races.
- The Pink Fleet was led by Ollie Sommer and Will Greaves of SFC.
Day 2
Day 2 brought a return to beautiful late summer weather with bright sunshine and less fortunately, lighter winds. The Main fleet Race Officer Nick Colbourne set a trapezoidal course which took the fleet north toward the woods opposite copperas point. The light wind took some time to settle, a 30 degree wind shift just before the first race caused the the course to be re-laid.
Race 4, got off cleanly with an even split between those that chose to go deep into the rising tide and those that chose to sail up the middle. During Race 5 the wind fell further, and the young sailors had to demonstrate their light airs technique, with everyone sitting as far forward as they possibly could.
As Race 5 finished the wind died entirely and the race officer was forced to raise the postponement flag, everyone waited to see if the wind would fill in again. The competitors rafted up to one another and seemed to enjoy the break as a chance to chat and joke. Eventually a little wind arrived and Race 6 was started, with a much shortened course and reduced to a single lap. In Race 6 Susannah Olliff and Beth Albone of CYC led the race by a considerable margin, and must have wondered what their earlier results might have been if they'd had the bung in their boat.
The final results were:
- White Fleet (Fast Handicap) was won by Alex Mayger (Felpham SC) in his Laser radial, who won 3 out of the 6 races. Second place went to Daniel Gibson (CMYC) in his RS Aero 7. Third place went to James Turner (Arun Yacht Club) in his Laser.
- The Purple Fleet (Medium Handicap) was won by CYC's Charlie Elliott and Christopher Clarke in their RS Feva XL having been 1st or 2nd in every race. Second place went to DQSC's Lizzie Kies in her Pico, and Third went to AYAC's Jamie Dadswell in his Laser 4.7.
- The Green Fleet (Optimist Class) was won by Emsworth SC's Gwen Sargent, with her brother Johnny Sargent finishing Second. In Third place was CYC's Thomas Dempsey who had the pleasure of collecting his medal from his proud mum, Sarah Ayton, at the prize giving later in the day.
- The Yellow Fleet (Topper Class) was won by Felpham SC's Fin Swanton who had consistently good results over the two days. Second Place went to SFC's Tom Lawson and Third place went to Alice Serna also from Felpham SC.
- The Rookie Fleet for competitors that are new to racing was won by CYC's Katie Merryfield-Day, who had a storming day 2 winning the last two races to come out on top of the leader board. Second place went to CYC's Lily Speed. Third place went to SFC's Ollie Sommers and Will Greaves in their Feva XL.
More photos can be found at www.yogile.com/cycwssysa2016#21m and full results can be found at cyc.co.uk/on-the-water/dinghies/openraceresults