East Sussex Coastal Sailing Federation Trophy

Sarah Whitmore presents the East Sussex Coastal Sailing Federation Trophy to the Pevensey Bay team © Mark Fryer

Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club hosted the annual East Sussex Coastal Sailing Federation Trophy event on Sunday and over 45 boats were welcomed by Eastbourne's famous South Westerly breeze and some great waves!

An annual, inter-club event, the hosting of which rotates along the sailing clubs situated along the East Sussex coast, it is split into four handicap fleets – Catamaran, Fast Handicap, Medium Handicap and Slow Handicap. The main ethos of the event is to have lots of boats taking part, using the opportunity to sail at a different venue and to catch up with old friends. In terms of the racing, each club's top two results in each fleet count towards the overall total and then their worst performing fleet's results are discarded in their overall total. With boats from Newhaven & Seaford, Eastbourne Sovereign, Pevensey Bay, Bexhill and Hastings & St Leonards taking part, the event had a real team feel to it.

For Race 1, Race Officer Clare Day set two trapezoid courses – a large one for the Catamaran and Fast Handicap fleets and a slightly smaller inner course for the Medium and Slow Handicap fleets.

With strong gusts and big waves, it was an exciting race and most crews took a swim at one time or another! Eastbourne Sovereign cleaned up in the Catamaran and Fast Handicap Fleets, but Pevensey Bay did the same in the Medium and Slow Fleets and it became clear that it was going to be a close run thing between these two clubs!

After a welcome lunch and warming cup of tea in the clubhouse, the fleets returned to the water for a second race in the afternoon. By this time, the tide had turned and it had taken some of the wind with it. There was still the odd strong gust, but this time interspersed with some big holes which found quite a few people out!

Pevensey Bay took the first two places in the Medium Fleet and also, crucially, took a second place in the Slow Fleet. Eastbourne Sovereign took the podium places in the Catamaran and Fast fleets, but with their top two places being further down in the Medium and Slow fleets, Pevensey Bay had accumulated enough points to emerge on top.

At the prizegiving, Eastbourne Vice-Commodore Mick Whitmore congratulated Pevensey Bay on their win, thanked everyone for coming (including one competitor who had actually sailed his boat round from Newhaven!) and said how much we were all looking forward to next year's event, which moves along in an easterly direction to Pevensey Bay. No doubt the other teams in the Federation will already be planning how to win the Federation Trophy back!

Overall Results: