There's wind but no snow for Chichester sailors

The first races in the Chichester Yacht Club's 2019 Snowflake series took place on an overcast day with winds hovering between five and ten knots.
Snowflake action at Chichester YCSnowflake action at Chichester YC
Snowflake action at Chichester YC

Even so 53 boats arrived at the club to kick off the 2019 racing calendar.

Race officer Peter Harrison set a trapezium course with an outer loop for the fast and medium fleets and a shorter trapezium course for the slow fleet.

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In light wind the benefits of clean air are even more important so the start line was very congested with so many boats trying hard to get away smartly.

In race one, the fast fleet got away cleanly, but the medium fleet needed a general recall.

The 21-boat fast fleet had a good mix of Merlins, RS400s and Blazes plus a couple of visiting International 14s from Itchenor.

The enormous kite on the 14s made an interesting contrast to the other boats. The first two places were shared between Steve and Sarah Cockerill’s RS400 and Ben and Ros McGrane’s Merlin, with a win each.

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Celebrating a century of sailingHigh winds more of a worry than FrostbiteThe 25-boat medium fleet was made up of Solos, Lasers, and Aeros with a small group of double-handed 2000s and a GP14.

In race one, Alex Butler’s Solo took first followed by Nigel Thomas, also in a Solo. In race two, the Aeros took the top two places, with Mark Riddington winning and Toby Schofield taking second.

After the two results were combined Mark Riddington was top of the table, with the two Solos close behind.

The seven-boat slow fleet saw CYC’s Thomas Machell take the first race in a Topper. The second race was won by Samuel Atherton in an RS Tera Pro, followed by Charlie Gran and Zac Smith.

The next Snowflake races are on Sunday, January 20. The series is sponsored by Aqualiving.