Byte Inland Championships at Datchet Water Sailing Club

21 boats for the Byte Inlands at Datchet © Phil Kirk

21 boats for the Byte Inlands at Datchet © Phil Kirk

This year’s UK Byte Inland championships exhibited close, tactical racing. All 21 boats competing were using the new C2 rig. Datchet Water SC presented the sailors with light and shifty conditions. London had obviously been thirsty recently because the water level was low and some of the sailors likened it to sailing in a fish bowl. As Datchet Water is a big reservoir this caused no problem for the race officer who set long quadrilateral courses.

The fleet behaved well for the first start and set off up the long beat. Richard Whitehouse (Combes SC) led round the windward mark and held a comfortable lead to the finish. The fleet split into two groups but there was a lot of place changing within each group and the mark roundings were busy. Sarah Gregson (Frampton–on Severn) worked her way from 5th to take second at the finish ahead of Nick Miller (Marconi SC).

Races two and three were held back-to-back after lunch. Richard led from start to finish in race two followed by Tom Arnold (Pembrokeshire YC), and Sarah in third. The start of the third race saw several boats over the line. Some of the heavier sailors were cursing the shifty conditions and the dying wind but the lightweights were enjoying their advantag,e and were pulling away down the runs. Mary Stamp (Royal Harwich Y.C.) eventually took the gun being the first sailor to push Richard off the top spot.

Day 2 greeted the competitors with hot sunshine and a bit more wind. The fleet enthusiastically rigged and launched to make the first of three more races. Nick quickly showed his form taking the lead, closely followed by Sarah. The pair battled one another for most of the race but the fleet closed down on the leaders on the final run with a new breeze. Nick held off Sarah to take the gun but it was close within the top 6.

Race 5 saw several boats over the line. Sarah took advantage of the early starters and led at the windward mark. The second beat saw Mary gain on a windshift to overtake Sarah, who fought back on the final beat to win the race. A group of boats caught Mary up on the final run and it was Richard who took second in front of Nick.

There was all to play for in the final race and the close results meant 3 sailors could still win. Nick started at the pin end but was called over by the race officer. The sailors who went hard right were rewarded by a huge lift and more breeze along the shore. The rest of the fleet had to watch the leaders pull away. Hillary Ross (Bristol Corinthian YC) led from Nick at the windward mark. Nick worked hard to take the lead at the leeward mark but Alan Roberts (Midland) came through to take the gun from Nick and Hillary.

The Byte is a light and responsive boat for lighter weight sailors. With the modern C2 rig it is fun to sail in all conditions and looks great. It is sailed by a wide age range with an even mix of males/females. This event showed how close this growing fleet is. One mistake and you can easily loose several places. If you want to try the Byte contact the class association - myweb.tiscali.co.uk/byteclass.

Overall Results: