West Country Boat Repairs 2000 class Millennium Series round 4 at Chichester Yacht Club

West Country Boat Repairs 2000 class Millennium Series round 4 at Chichester © CYC

Round 4 of the West Country Boat Repairs Millenium series was held at Chichester YC, a venue that has become a firm favourite with the 2K class. 19 boats entered the event despite the previous week's very vague forecast of wind anywhere from 7 - 20 knots.

During the briefing, the RO warned of weed in the water. Pete Vincent and Sophie Bentley were the first to launch and their trolley returned to the beach, festooned in weed, looking like it had spent several years in the rainforest - we were duly warned!

Racing on Saturday took place in south/south westerly breezes of force 2/3. Race one was won by Rob and Gemma Burridge who took the lead and clear wind at the start. They were followed by Iain and Sarah Yardley in second who showed great pace during the event and Matt Sargent and Ross Southwell in 3rd, who consistently posted results in the top three all weekend. Rob and Gemma won the next two races on Saturday with a battle going on behind them which included Pete and Sophie and Jonathan and Lizzie Bailey.

The weed added an extra layer of task management and tactical decision-making for all the crews who needed to have eyes out of the boat spotting islands of weed to avoid, centreboards raised and lowered after every tack and a regular arm over the stern to clear the rudder. Tactical decisions regarding tide, wind shifts and gusts also now included the need for several extra tacks or gybes on each leg just to avoid weed!

West Country Boat Repairs 2000 class Millennium Series round 4 at Chichester - photo © CYC

On Sunday, crews arrived to find that any wind there was died away as they rigged and they launched in a north-westerly breeze that flitted between force 0-3 all day. Rob and Gemma won race 4 with Jonathan, now sailing with son Matthew, second and the ever-consistent Matt and Ross third.

Race 5 started with a heavily biased port line and a tightly packed fleet. RO, Pete Harrison, decided that the vast majority of boats were over at the start, but only raised the individual recall flag as he could see four boats behind the line. Six boats returned to recross the line and so at the finish only half the fleet collected a finishing signal. This was hard luck for Iain and Sarah, who crossed the line first but fantastic for newcomers, Henry and Susannah Bright, who won the race at their first 2K open meeting.

Rob and Gemma won race 6 to give them the overall win, Matt and Ross in overall second and Jonathan/Lizzie/Matthew in third. Henry and Susannah won the Silver fleet, Helen Green and Isabella Mapstone were first CYC boat and Joe and Tabitha Goyder won the Family Junior Prize.

It was great to see a number of new faces joining the fleet and welcome back some old friends, we hope you enjoyed the weekend and look forward to seeing you at future events. As ever, CYC did a fabulous job, both on and off the water, our thanks go to them.

Prize-winners at the West Country Boat Repairs 2000 class Millennium Series round 4 at Chichester - photo © Chris Brown

Overall Results: