Foxer Nationals at Hamble River Sailing Club

A keen fleet of 18 finely tuned Foxers turned up for the 2005 Foxer Nationals held on the Hamble River under the burgee of Hamble River Sailing Club over the weekend of 11th-12th June.

We were greeted by a chilly wind due to the North Westerly wind direction of about 10-15 Knots.

The race officer Dick Thompson and his merry band of helpers on board Avocet the committee boat were able to set the course and get everyone away by 2pm

Race one on Saturday was won by Chris Hamel – Sparky the defending champion.

However Ian Southworth – Southy was able to come back over the next four races with some awesome downwind speed overtaking Chris Hamel on three occasions to take four wins in a row.

On Sunday five more races were scheduled and with the wind in a similar direction this meant we were going to have some exciting sailing again. With the hangovers not gone due to the Royal Southern Ball.

Race 6 got under way this was won by Alan Dovey who was on the right side of a very large windshift this made the first beat more like a reach.

Race 7 was won by Chris Hamel so the contest was hotting up with Ian Southworth’s over night lead disappearing and it was now a two horse race between Southy and Sparky.

Going in to the last race Ian Southworth had to be no worse than 3rd to win and Chris Hamel had to win the last race to retain his title. Sparky won race 10 but Southy showed his cool and managed 2nd after a poor first beat and that was enough for him to win the 2005 Foxer Nationals by 2 points

After the sailing we all headed back to the club where Sylvie Duff the class captains wife had prepared the most delicious BBQ. We were all able to sit out on the terrace and enjoy some good food and few drinks so a perfect ending to a lovely weekend.

We would like to thank Dick and John Thompson, Malcolm, Ken, Lin and Katie for helping out over the two days and look forward to seeing you all next year.

Overall Results: (10 races, 1 discard)