There's more than just messing about in boats going on at Bognor

Dinghies and catamarans were available for those who wanted to have a go at sailing and club members were on hand to take them out.

For those who felt confident there was a chance to ‘fly a hull’ in a catamaran. Some had a go at windsurfing, some paddled a kayak while others enjoyed the thrill of a ride in the club’s safety boat.

Sunday was family day and in addition to action on the water, the children did some pottery, had a treasure hunt, made sandcastles and took part in other creative activities, culminating in a pirate-themed tea party for children and a barbecue for the adults.

The club is a recognised RYA training establishment and offers sailing courses in dinghies and catamarans to youths and adults plus powerboat and safety boat courses. Informal coaching is available for windsurfing.

Racing takes place on Sundays from April until the middle of October.

BOSHAM

Conditions were perfect for Bosham Sailing Club’s Nab Tower race, with 25 cruisers participating in the tenth anniversary of the event.

An easterly breeze, modest visibility and sunshine blessed the 11-mile course from Chichester Harbour entrance to the Nab Tower and back, a fairly straightforward course – straight being the operative word. Unusually for this race there was no necessity to tack.

The fleet was split into three starts. Some over-enthusiastic helms made the start resemble that of a dinghy race, resulting in a number of yachts being over the line before the gun.

The fleet settled and rounding the Nab involved a jibe, the only technical manoeuvre of the day apart from the complication of allowing for the strong westerly tide.

A perfect start and shake-down to the season resulted in a number of personal bests.

The race was won by Sundancer (John Nelson) by 60 seconds on corrected time ahead of Flying Cloud (J Barker). Third was Sequel (P Moffat) and fourth Bootlegger (A Seaton).

ITCHENOR

A stunning evening with a good breeze greeted competitors for Sunbeam racing at Itchenor.

The O’Kellys and Mary Ross were in charge of the nine boats who gathered, including some guest helms and crews.

Betty V61, helmed by Nick Leach and crewed by Becky Wickens and Susie Barker, got the pin-end start and shot off from the Park buoy area up the Stakes Island shore along with four others. The fleet split between the two shores.

There was lots of changing places as different sides of the course were tried – some won, some lost – but it was close racing, except for Betty.

On the run home from Dunes with spinnakers up, Little Lady had the fabulous spectacle of having four or five harbour seals jumping out of the water like porpoises around East Head buoy.

In the meantime, Honey V43, who had been second last, had been busy doing some overtaking – and to her credit came second.

Want to find out more? Call Gayle on 07769 746113 or go to the website, www.solentsunbeam.co.uk.

DELL QUAY

Fifteen boats lined up for an early start for the first of the popular Longmore series sailed over a longer course, which this time used every racing mark between Dell Quay and Longmore Point.

The gusty wind caused several boats to capsize. The two RS 400s, sailed by Malcolm and Jean Buchanan and Bob Marshall and Neil Bryant, had some close racing and sailed away from the fleet on the fast planing reach back from Birdham.

However, their lead was not enough and a steady performance by Richard Wilde and David Wakefield resulted in a comfortable lead on corrected time for the Wayfarer.

Second were Anne and Jim Norfolk, who had also made good use of the planing leg to improve their position, crossing the line just behind the Wayfarer.

Third went to Chris Ede who just held off Chris Wood in his Streaker. Sunday and an increase in wind strength reduced the entry for the third race in the Pursuit series.

First off were the Solos, and Chris Ede conveniently cut a path through the weed round the windward mark for the following boats.

Ede maintained his head start for the first round and looked like he would hold it through the race until a shift in the wind on the second round allowed the Norfolks to hoist their gennaker and plane past downwind.

Ede came back up the beat but couldn’t close the gap. Third place went to Roger Francis and Ranjit Verghese who kept their Buzz upright in the tricky conditions.

CHICHESTER

The first two races of the popular Chichester Yacht Club Lady Todd series brought a good turnout. Race officer Ian Payne set a triangle/sausage course. The first race was a little long for some, especially those taking to the water for their first race of the season.

In the fast fleet in race one, John Miles and Tony Mobbs put in an excellent race in the 505, well ahead on the water.

Their speed on the water was insufficient when converted to handicap. First were Will King and Richard Kershaw (Merlin Rocket), second Chris Hodge and Louise Varley (Laser 2000), third Ben Godwin (RS600).

In race two, Al and Manu Jenkin had a good race in their Xenon to take first. Hodge and Varley were second and Andy Conway third in his Blaze.

In the medium fleet, only the faster Lasers got away from the chasing Solo fleet. Jimmy Carter kept well ahead of Luke South and Charlie Porter.

The Lasers for once proved too quick for the Solos, even on handicap, taking the first three places. First was Carter, second South, third Porter. In race two the Solos got into their stride with Ian Lissamore taking first, Peter Hughes second and John Crawley (Laser) third.

In the slow fleet, the Toppers and Feva got off to a good start in race one, chased by Charlie Elliott in an Optimist.

Ross Watkins was first, Harriet Culver second, both in Toppers, and Elliott third. In race two, Jessica Carter got a good lead but lost out by briefly going the wrong way, allowing Ben Thompson (Topper) to take first, Elliot again taking second on handicap with Jessica Carter (Topper) third.