Itchenor 420 Christmas Regatta 2020
by Louise Davis 22 Dec 2020 11:23 GMT
19-20 December 2020
Despite all the restrictions surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic, we had one last chance to race in the run up to Christmas. Then the weather didn't cooperate and our planned two-day event became one day.
With the weather forecast for Saturday bringing winds above the recommended racing limit of 22 knots, an early decision was made to cancel the first day of racing on Friday evening to avoid too many sailors congregating at the club. However, many of us were able to make the most of the conditions. My crew Alicia and I managed to go sailing in a Feva with our friend Charlie, whilst a few of the other 420 helms and crews were out in Chichester harbour practising later in the afternoon.
Sunday began with an earlier start to ensure we had maximum time on the water. All of us were rigging in the dark and many sailors added Christmas decorations to their boats in an attempt to win the Most Christmassy prize. Ollie and Oscar wore Santa hats and twisted tinsel around their tiller, Amber & Bea attached an inflatable Santa to Bea's buoyancy aid, whilst Alicia and I had multi-coloured fairy lights wrapped up around the shrouds and across the spreaders! We were the winners!
Another challenge was the super slippery decking at the club, which gobbled up two sets of car keys, a spanner and a knife...
The race committee laid some great courses directly into the wind and tide. The wind strength varied a lot throughout the day, with crews flat-wiring and helms playing the main, to both helm and crew in the boat. The tide continued to flood all day, making it tricky to judge lay-lines and mark roundings. But by the end of the day, we managed to complete five races (including one discard). For us, the Christmas Regatta was only our second 420 class open meeting, where we finished mid-fleet but learnt and improved lots from the event.
Well done to all the sailors who competed and a massive thanks to Itchenor Sailing Club and the 420 class committee for making the Regatta happen! Congratulations to Julia and Bettine for winning overall.
Full results can be found here (PDF format)