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Exciting endings as summer of sailing comes to an end
Peak sailing season may be behind us, but they're still making waves at Itchenor, Dell Quay and Bosham.
ITCHENOR
Over the past couple of weekends, the season has come to an exciting climax for the XOD class at Itchenor SC.
The Beadle Bowl is awarded to the top XOD in the Saturday series which runs from mid-summer.
Of the 27 boats which competed, seven had a chance of taking the trophy as the last race started.
As the fleet set off down-harbour in a strong wind, it became apparent only one of three contenders would be victorious.
Ted Roose was sailing Thora superbly upwind to edge out Wenda, not a contender, at the windward mark. Wenda's superior downwind speed enabled her to overtake Thora at the leeward mark.
It was the same story at the next two marks.
All the time, the two other contenders, Peter Taylor's Felix and the Lawrence brothers' Catherine, were not far behind the leaders.
At the final mark, it could hardly have been closer with the leading four boats rounded within a few seconds of each other and well clear of the rest of the fleet.
At the gun, Wenda took the race, but the trophy was to be decided by the positions of the next three boats.
Thora was second, Catherine third and Felix fourth, resulting in all three having the same series points, so it came to a countback with Catherine emerging as the victor.
During October, the Autumn Trophy is competed for by more than 20 XODs.
As the final race arrived, it was clear one of three would be the winner.
The consistent Thora (Ted Roose, Chris Blevins and David Priscott) was again in the mix, this time with Damian Ash, successfully deploying Wenda's possibilities, and the dark horse Ilex, sailed by Stu Haill.
These three set the pace from the start in light airs. A decisive moment came when Ilex went hard aground near the Chalkdock beacon.
This left Thora and Wenda to fight it out.
Although Wenda established a significant lead she held to the finish, the crew on Thora were content in the knowledge their second place was sufficient to take the Autumn Trophy.
Results: Beadle Bowl: 1 Catherine (Peter and Stephen Lawrence) 15pts, 2 Felix (Peter and Anne Taylor) 15, 3 Thora (Ted Roose, Chris Blevins, David Priscott). Autumn Trophy: 1 Thora (Ted Roose, Chris Blevins, David Priscott), 2 Wenda (Damian Ash),
3 Harmony (John and Linda Tattersall).
DELL QUAY
A bad start didn't mean a bad finishing position at Dell Quay SC.
Competitors in the first of the Autumn mini-series races were faced with a fickle breeze and those who got away well at the start found it had little effect on their finishing position.
On a course stretching down to Birdham mark, with beats, reaches and a run back to the club, there was plenty of opportunity to catch up.
That is what Simon and Linda Bell (RS200) and Bill Dawber (Solo), slow off the starting line, did.
The Bells finished second on the water, five minutes behind the RS400 of Bob Marshall and Mike Savage and seconds ahead of the Iso of Roger Francis and Ranjit Verghese after 90 minutes' racing.
Dawber was fourth to cross the line four minutes behind, but with the Solo's higher handicap, he emerged a comfortable winner when results were calculated.
The Bells were second, and Solos sailed by Chris Turner and Bill Munnery were third and fourth, while the low-handicap RS400 and Iso dropped back, the former fifth and the Iso eighth.
Sunday would have seen the continuation of the mini series but with Thorney Island recording gusts of over 45 mph, racing was cancelled.
The series will be completed with two more races next Saturday, while Sunday sees the completion of the main season racing programme with the Noyce Memorial Trophy for helms who have won a race this year and the Herbert Ward Trophy, for those who have not won a race.
The Frostbite series will start on November 21 and the club welcomes visitors. There is no entry fee.
BOSHAM
Saturday saw 21 cadets competing in two races for the annual end-of-season Bitter Sweet Trophy at Bosham.
Wind conditions were light and variable, but increased to force three just before the start.
The high tide allowed racing to take place around buoys in Bosham Channel and Chidham Pool, and meant spectators on the Quay at Bosham were able to watch exciting mass starts and keenly-fought races as the cadets sailed in five different classes of dinghies.
The first race saw two laser Radial sailors, Henry Reynolds and Oli MacFarlane, finish first and second, just beating Ben Stirrup and Katie Hall in a Mirror into third place on handicap.
Despite much lighter winds in the second race, Oli Macfarlane managed to get far enough ahead of Sophie Hempsall (Optimist) to win the race and finish first overall.
Henry Reynolds managed a third to secure second overall and Ben Duncan-Duggal in an Optimist sailed consistently, finishing fourth in both races and third overall.
Results: 1 Oli MacFarlane (Laser Radial), 2 Henry Reynolds (Laser Radial), 3 Ben Duncan-Duggal (Optimist), 4 Ben Stirrup & Katie Hall (Mirror).
The same day saw the fast handicap fleet sail one race for the Bitter End Trophy.
Race officer Tony Smith sent the 13 competitors on a race all over Chichester Harbour and as far as Hayling.
The lighter airs appeared to favour the RS300s who finished first and second ahead of a Finn and a Laser.
Results: 1 Simon Hempsell (RS 300), 2 Luke South (RS 300), 3 Richard Lewis (Finn), 4 Nigel Russell (Laser).
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Weather for Chichester
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
