Hayling Island Sailing Club Whitsun Regatta, sponsored by GJW Direct - Day 1
by Nikki Eaves 25 May 2019 21:07 BST
18-19 May 2019
Well the sun came out and shone and the wind blew on the record entry of 205 boats at the HISC Whitsun Regatta, sponsored by GJW Direct. There were 5 race courses and 60+ volunteers on the water supported by an expert team from Search and Rescue Charity Serve On. It was a "Splendid day's sailing, enjoyed by all" said Greg Lamb, Race Officer for Bravo Course.
Joint overnight leaders in the RS700 fleet are Theo Galyer and Dan Vincent, with Ian Nolan hot on their heels. National Champion Tom Morris sailing with Elliott Wells, and Luke and Emma McEwen are joint overnight leaders with newlyweds Frances and Tom Partington hot foot back from their honeymoon in third. Leading contenders for the "Hayling Hull" in the International 14 fleet are Neale Jones and Ed Fitzgerald with two first places chased hard by World Champion Andrew Partington, sailing with James Hughes in 2nd.
PRO Tim Hancock and RO for the Tasar Nationals, 29ers and Fast Handicap said "Nice sunny day in Hayling Bay. Started with 10-11 knots and veering 30 degrees west during the day. Great day's sailing, close racing." The National 18s are dominating the Fast Handicap fleet with Ollie Houseman & Jeremy Vines leading Jessica & Hugo Berney sailing with Stephen Peritti from Blackwater SC in Essex, with Mark Goodchild in his International Canoe in third place. Carboteck boys Henry Jameson and Louis Johnson are dominating the 29er fleet with two 1st places.
Paul & Bronwyn Ridgeway from Leigh and Lowton SC have shown the Tasar Fleet the way to go with three first places on Day 1 of the Tasar National Championship. Very consistent in 2nd place, are Willem & Luna Schutte from the Netherlands with three 2nd places. Local HISC sailor Judith Massey sailing with Sophie Mackley are in 3rd place overnight. With two days to go anything could yet happen.
David Nicholls - Echo Course RO "Keelboats enjoyed champagne sailing. It was a battle of the top sailors in both fleets with very close racing." Overnight leader is RS Elite - The Doctor, Pete Copsey, Mark Nicholson and Trevor Sylvester with 1st in race one and a third in race two. Close behind is Riff Raff - Russell Peters, sailing with wife and son, Vicky and Freddie - with Colin Smith in Shaken Not Stirred (Paul Smith, Anna Wells) third overall. With 2 points separating first and fourth everything is to play for tomorrow. Some spectacular racing in the Flying Fifteen "Bulwark Trophy" sees Andy McKee and Richard Jones as overnight leader, closely followed by Hamish Mackay & Andrew Lawson in second and Richard Lovering & Matt Alvarado in third.
The RS200, Solo and Slow Handicap RO Damon Roberts "Perfect sailing conditions with the fleets having good sailing, the RS200 were a little over anxious to start with." Leading the RS200 fleet are Matt Mee and Emma Norris from Burghfield SC with two 1st places followed by HISC local brother and sister pairing Tom & Charlie Darling, with husband and wife team Tom and Jo Hewitson in third. The Solo fleet saw Stuart Godwin win both races with Nick Rawlings and Richie Bailey battling for second and third. Dominic Hall in his Laser is winning the Slow Handicap, with Jason Hardman (RS Aero 7) in second and Paul Childs sailing an OK in third.
Guy Lewington was overheard during happy hour sponsored by GJW Direct as saying "I've enjoyed dinghy sailing for the first time in 20 years."
Not to be outdone by the adults, the Youth Fleet sees the RS Teras led by Oliver Thompson with three firsts, followed by Max Sydenham with three 2nds. Benjamin Ripley is close behind in third place. Ben Stokes and Alex Baker have been enjoying some match racing in the RS Tera Pro Fleet with Ben coming out on top overnight.
After three races Ben Tuttle & Will Balch have a comfortable lead over Mark Jenkins-Jauma and Freddie Covell. Ben's younger sister Esther sailing with Maya Bergmann-Smith are working hard in third place. Anna Elms is leading the 5 boat Optimist Fleet with Ned Coles from Emsworth Slipper SC in second place.
Happy hour got under way with the Smiley Face starting flag flying at 4.15. Dinner will be served from 7pm and we are expecting live music from Wonderboy to take the roof off and ensure all competitors party into the night, ready for what Day 2 brings at the GJW Direct HISC Whitsun Regatta.
All results at www.hisc.co.uk/sailing/open-event-results-2019/whitsun-regatta-results