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Zhik 2024 December

Zhik RS Elite Southern Area Championship at Hayling Island Sailing Club

by Debbie Jarvis 2 Jul 2024 07:53 BST 29-30 June 2024
Zhik RS Elite Southern Area Championship 2024 at HISC © Paul Hammett

The RS Elite fleet at HISC is a thriving, hugely competitive fleet. We can get 15 boats on the start line on Thursday evenings for nip & tuck racing, but the Southerns saw the quality of racing ramp up to another level. Just the slightest loss of concentration could see you slip from the front to the back in a matter of minutes.

The majority of the HISC fleet entered the event and were pleased to receive Zhik discounts at Sandy Point Chandlery as their entry gift.

The forecast for the weekend was for light, patchy wind and sunny spells. Hayling delivered the sunshine on Saturday, & the thermal wind arrived early, allowing the fleet to head out into Hayling Bay after a short postponement. The sea breeze kept us on our toes as it 'waxed and waned'. The race team headed up by RO Paul Hammett did an amazing job to run three 50 minute races in three hours. 10 degree shifts and pressure ranging from 5 to 8 knots meant his mark layers and pin end were as 'frazzled' as the sailors.

Day one was a triumph for team Soak Therapy as Tom, Jo and Colin gave a masterclass on how to sail an 'elite' fast & clever, securing three bullets. 8 points behind were Ossie, Mike & Tom tied with Nick, Tommy & Debbie. The talk on the balcony was all about how taxing on the brain the racing had been. Little did we know that it was going to get harder on day two.

The forecast for Sunday was a shifty light northerly-ish breeze, so the RO took us way out beyond 'the wreck' in Bracklesham Bay. The first race started in 8 knots & the fleet split as we all hoped to get in sync with the shifts. The wind, however, did a huge left as we got to the first mark making the run more of a reach. The race team seamlessly reset the windward mark and the course was back on track for our second beat & final run. The building breeze saw Ossie back up to speed, and he was able to hold off Tom to the finish. The second race was full of snakes and ladders, but it was Steve, Nigel & Emilia who held their nerve to take the win as the wind peaked at 12 knots. This left the final race open for Tom & team to lose, Ossie kept them covered but not enough to strip them of the title.

Now time to give the brain & body a rest before the Nationals at Royal Southern YC with racing starting on Thursday.

A huge thank-you to Zhik & Sandy Point Watersports for their support with amazing prizes. Also Simon Hooper for presenting the White Storm trophy to Paul, Gareth & Rob, in recognition of their impressive port tack start.

Overall Results:

PosSail NoHelmCrewClubR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1st100Tom HewitsonColin Smith / Jo HewitsonHISC1112‑1027
2nd67Ossie StewartMike Mcintyre / Tom StewartHisc22‑714110
3rd66Paul ChildsGareth Edwards / Rob AshmanHISC53‑1032518
4th15Nick PetersDebbie / TomHISC3537‑9321
5th20Russell PetersGreg Wells / Zeb ElliotHISC/RYS/RTYC/WKSC6‑11843425
6th92James YearsleyJohn Costard / Ian JubbHISC492‑118730
7th25Andrew ArchibaldPippa Archibald / Tom PayneHISC86‑17861038
8th61Matt AbbissAli Hall / Nick JonesHISC1346514(OCS)42
9th65Toby StraussAidan Mitchell / Rob CruickshankHISC10749‑121242
10th11Paul LewisRosie Lewis / Rebecca KentHISC7151265‑1645
11th44Elliot CaldwellFish / FarmHISC(OCS)12514111153
12th76Adrian WilliamsAndy Ramus / Tim PetersHISC(OCS)10141016656
13th69David NichollsDavid Watson / Nik WIlliamsHISC1413912‑15856
14th84Fraser ElmsPippa Jubb / Nev WatsonHISC111413‑1771358
15th6Adrian WardSarah / TomHISC1281116(OCS)1461
16th46Peter CopseyAndre / JezHISC9161513(OCS)962
17th89Steve HammondNigel Hammond / Emilia HoldenHISC / RORC(DNC)DNCDNC1811572
18th101Jonathan HenryDan Belton / Mark StokesHISC15‑171615131776

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