Chichester Yacht Club Snowflake Series 2025 - Day 3
by Mark Green 5 Mar 2025 07:37 GMT
2 March 2025
Race Officer Ian Brookes, supported by members of the CYC Hadron Fleet aboard Cyclone, oversaw a stunning day's racing for Week 3 of the Snowflake Series. Bright blue skies and spring-like conditions greeted the competitors, with a light easterly breeze of 5 to 8 knots creating a pleasant, if occasionally challenging, sailing environment.
The Fast and Medium Fleets were set a trapezoid course, with the windward mark positioned near the entrance to Birdham Pool, providing an excellent spectacle for spectators watching from CYC's garden. Meanwhile, the Slow Fleet sailed a triangle course carefully placed to avoid the marina channel, ensuring smooth racing without interfering with traffic on the water.
In Race 5, all fleets got away cleanly on the first start. The race officer had deliberately biased the start line to encourage a spread across the line, with savvy sailors aiming for the pin end to gain a slight advantage. In the Fast Fleet, the positioning of the second mark combined with some awkward headers made life difficult for the front runners, forcing them to drop spinnakers and claw their way back upwind to round the mark. Later boats, however, found themselves on a more favourable angle and managed to round cleanly.
The Merlin Rockets once again asserted their dominance, placing four boats inside the top eight. The Phantom fleet also held their own, securing second and seventh places, while Terry Hunt's Blaze broke into the top ten, showing strong competitiveness from the higher-handicap boats.
The Medium Fleet saw an incredibly close finish, with the top three boats separated by less than 30 seconds on corrected time. Rob and Gemma Burridge in their 2000 took the win with a corrected time of 40:36, just ahead of Thomas Knight and Sam Machell in the RS Feva XL, who finished in 40:52. Alex Butler, sailing a Solo, was hot on their heels, finishing in 40:55.
For Race 6, the race officer made an adjustment, moving the second mark to create a broader reach. This allowed the spinnaker boats to comfortably fly their kites, and the change was well received. In the Fast Fleet, the leading Merlin Rockets were inseparable, rounding the marks together and demonstrating just how evenly matched they are. The Merlin Rockets swept the top four places, further underlining their dominance in the conditions. Tim Blackmore, sailing his Devoti D-One, also had a strong race, finishing in fifth place.
In the Medium Fleet, Nicholas and Biddy Colbourne, sailing their GP14, took the win with a corrected time of 29:34. John Derbyshire, racing in his RS Aero 7, claimed second with a corrected time of 31:31, while Rob and Gemma Burridge followed closely in third with a time of 31:45. The RS Aero 7 fleet performed particularly well, with John Derbyshire and Mark Riddington finishing second and fourth respectively.
The Slow Fleet was dominated by Ted and Ian Dobson in their Mirror D/H, winning both races with impressive performances. Charlie Hunt, sailing an RS Tera Pro, showed excellent consistency with two second-place finishes.
After six races, the overall picture is starting to take shape. In the Fast Fleet, the Merlin Rockets are firmly in control, occupying the top four spots. Chris Gould and Sophie Mackle (Occasionally Livvy Bell) lead the series with three first places and a solid set of results, giving them a comfortable lead. Tim Saxton and Holly McArthur are also sailing consistently, with two second places and a third keeping them in a strong second overall. The top ten in the Fast Fleet features a healthy mix of boats, including Finns, Phantoms, RS400s, and RS300s, reflecting the variety of competitive classes on the water.
The Medium Fleet is shaping up to be a close battle between Rob and Gemma Burridge, Nicholas and Biddy Colbourne, and Alex Butler. Despite missing two races, Rob and Gemma Burridge have had a near-perfect series so far, with three first places from the four races they have sailed, leaving them holding a strong first overall. The 2000 class is particularly well represented, with three boats inside the top seven. Across the fleet, a diverse range of classes including Solos, RS Aeros, Supernovas, and GP14s are all competing well and keeping the competition wide open.
Week 3 of the Snowflake Series delivered all the elements of great racing - bright skies, light but steady winds, and fiercely competitive fleets.
More photos can be found at www.yogile.com/sflake25#21t
The Final Snowflake is on Sunday 16th March with a 11am start time.
Full results at www.sailwave.com/results/chichesteryc/cyc-2025-snowflake.htm