Sailors shine at Bosham, Itchenor and Dell Quay

Action from big events at Bosham, Itchenor and Dell Quay feature in this week’s sailing round-up.
Action at Itchenor's School Week  Picture by Nick Vine / Mind The Gap YearAction at Itchenor's School Week  Picture by Nick Vine / Mind The Gap Year
Action at Itchenor's School Week Picture by Nick Vine / Mind The Gap Year

BOSHAM

With a steady force four south-westerly wind, and the occasional gust, provided almost perfect conditions for 117 boats from more than 20 classes in the annual Bosham Sailing Club regatta.

The event was sponsored by Strutt &Parker and the start from Itchenor Reach was busy with 13 races featuring keelboats, classic dayboats and dinghies, and courses set across the harbour.

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The finish off Bosham Quay provided an amazing spectacle with the boats flying their multi-coloured spinnakers up the channel.

The Cover Trophy for the Swallow Class went to Mark Struckett and his crew from Itchenor SC while the Sunbeam Trophy and Bosham Brooch for Solent Sunbeams were won by Gayle Palmer (ISC).

In the Ogilvie Trophy for the XOD class, honours went to Michael Martell crewed by Frank Graham and Tim Copsey (ISC), and the Copley Clark Trophy for the classic dayboat fast division was won by Richard Stirrup crewed by Jono Prosser and Dave Hall from Bosham SC in their National 18.

The Rescue Vase Trophy for the classic dayboat medium division was taken by Mark and Shirley Stanton (BSC) in a Yachting World Dayboat; the Gem Trophy for classic dayboat slow division was claimed by Chris Welland (BSC) in his Tideway, and the Cobnor Plate for Chichester Scows was won by Izzie Lee (BSC).

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The Martell Trophy for Toppers was won by Robert Russell (BSC) and the Churches Challenge Cup for Mirror Dinghies went to Barnie and Jack Hartley from ISC.

Other winners – Eadie Trophy for Wanderers, Tim and Niamh Robertson, Sutton Bingham SC; Blue Gem trophy for full rig Lasers, Nigel Russell, BSC; Strutt and Parker Trophy for Laser Radials, Grace Radford, BSC; Anchor Trophy for the fast handicap race & Rhapsody Salver for RS200, Rob Struckett and Senem Cilingiroglo (ISC); First RS Feva, Charlie Elliott and William Knottenbelt, BSC; Canute Challenge for the fast handicap race & Witch Cup, Ben Davis, Emsworth SC; Polo Cup for Optimists, William Timberlake, BSC.

ITCHENOR

Itchenor Schools Week made another triumphant return, with 99 entries and another fantastic week of competitive youth sailing.

The Schools Championships at Itchenor SC started in 1953 and this was the 62nd running of the event.

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The championships ran over five days, starting with the RS Feva XL racing on Monday and Tuesday, featuring 39 boats from 16 schools. The Feva event was open to students from Years 8 to 10 and was won by Hayling College’s Henry Jameson and Ben Todd.

The Fireflies and 420s had an official training day on Wednesday, with racing on Thursday and Friday.

The Fireflies and 420s were open to all secondary school students, but focused on Years 10 and 11 and sixth-form students. There were 60 entries from 24 schools over both fleets.

The Firefly class was won by Ransom Everglades’ Shawn Harvey and Jax Malloy from Miami, Florida.

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Helm Harvey, 15, said: “It was really difficult as we are not used to sailing with tides and we only started sailing Fireflies three days ago.

“It was all about staying on top of everybody, catching every shift and staying in the right position with the current.”

Surbiton High School twins Kate and Izzy Davies won the 420s, winning seven out of 10 races.

Kate commented: “Although the results say differently, the rest of the fleet did sail really well but it is always nice to win, especially when you are racing against your friends.”

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This year there were separate courses for the 420s and Fireflies to allow each class to enjoy their racing without interfering with the other. Mike Wigmore ran the 420s and Alastair Shaw the Fireflies. The training day this year was run by world number-two ranked Nacra 17 sailor Ben Saxton from Team GB and fellow club members Izzy Fitzgerald and Arthur Henderson, funded by the National Firefly Class Association and the British International 420 Class Association.

The sponsor for the past seven years, Mind The Gap Year (MTGY), was the main sponsor for the event, with JDX Consultancy sponsoring the Feva XL class. 

DELL QUAY

Bright sunshine and a good northerly breeze welcomed visitors to Dell Quay Sailing Club for the annual 2000 open. A good turnout of visiting sailors and the favourable weather conditions made for lively and competitive racing.

The wind presented a challenge for race officer Chris Ede and his mark-laying team.

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With the tide flooding many of the sailors were shy at the start line, holding back to allow the leaders to get well clear. Racing at the windward mark was close with several boats arriving together with some interesting incidents, resulting in the mark being hit and most competitors completing their penalties.

Clumps of weed posed an additional challenge for the fleet.

Rob and Sarah Burridge from Weir Wood Sailing Club dominated the series with three first places and a clear lead. Further down the fleet there was very close racing with boats crossing the finish line within seconds of each other.

The final race saw home-club sailors Graham and Lucy Dalton cross in second place, closely followed by fellow DQSC members Anne and Jim Norfolk in third.

Final results – Winners Rob and Sarah Burridge (Weir Sailing Club), 2 Christopher and Gillian Jorden (Burghfield Sailing Club), 3 Graham and Lucy Dalton (Dell Quay Sailing Club).

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The winners were presented with mugs and bottles of wine by DQSC commodore Chris Sprules. The runners-up were presented with mugs. Rob Burridge thanked the commodore and his support team, on behalf of the visitors, for their efforts in putting on a successful and enjoyable competition.

The next DQSC open meeting is for Solos on September 27.

Weather conditions were also good for the first two races of the DQSC Pursuit series, held the day before the 2000 open.

A fresh force four to five south-westerly wind provided some exciting reaches and opportunities for planing, with one of the RS400 crews experiencing many capsizes in the strong gusts.

Series positions: 1 Sue Manning (Laser 4.7), 2 John Purdy (Solo), 3 Chris Wood (Streaker).

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