Dell Quay Sailing Club

(Published in the Chichester Observer on Thursday 25th June 2015 - Photos follow report)

With the forecast rain holding off and wind conditions ideal for racing, the 2015 Dell Quay Sailing Club Regatta got off to a good start for the seventy boats entered in the event.

Race Officer John Mortimer set a challenging course with a long beat down harbour to the windward mark at Westlands of almost a mile and a half. This was followed by a series of three runs, with gybes at each mark, and two very fast reaches across the harbour back up to Dell Quay.

Success for the home club was achieved with first places in our two adopted classes of Solo and 2000 and for junior sailor William Lynas who took first place in the slow handicap fleet. Other races were won by visiting clubs including the fast and medium handicap races and 3 keelboat races organised by Itchenor SC. Prizes were presented by the commodore Chris Sprules and everyone enjoyed the excellent teas served up by the house committee.

The 2000s made a clean start on the first of three laps. The long beat to Westlands gave plenty of opportunity for tactical sailing to get the optimum balance of wind and tide. A battle for first place ensued between Graham and Lucy Dalton (DQSC) and Jon Townsend & Barbara Langford (Emsworth Slipper SC) who took an early lead closely followed by the Daltons. The battle for the front spot continued until the Daltons picked a series of good wind shifts to draw clear and take first place from Townsend and Langford, followed by Paula and Michael Olliff (CYC).

In the Solo race, eleven boats jostled for the best place on the short start line. The majority of the fleet set off down the Crouchers side of the harbour, but a small group tacked off immediately to make for the Bosham side to avoid the strong incoming tide and gain some advantage in the clear air. Over 2 hours of hard racing ensued with Roger Puttock (DQSC) developing a clear lead to finish first, followed by Mark Harper (CYC) and Malcolm Buchanan (DQSC).

In the Fast Handicap Race the first boat to cross the line was Tony Purser (CYC) sailing his RS 600, 3.5 minutes ahead of Gideon Ewers (also CYC) in an RS 400, but first place on handicap and clear winners on corrected time went to Paddy Gamble and Abi Davies from HISC sailing their RS 200, 8 minutes ahead of second placed Purser with Ewers third.

In their GP 14 Nick and Biddy Colbourne (CYC) made a good start in the Medium Handicap Race to finish first followed by Sue Manning (DQSC) in her Laser 4.7. In their first race and only second time out with a new boat, Keith and Michaela Heppenstall (DQSC) sailed their way from last place to third in their Wanderer. The fluky force 4-5 wind made manoeuvring through the faster fleets, keel boats and cruisers the main challenge of the race. 

Regatta Results

Slow Handicap Race: 1^st William Lynas – Topper (DQSC), 2^nd Simon & Linda Bell – Miracle (DQSC), 3^rd Chris Lynas – Heron (DQSC)

Medium Handicap Race: 1^st Nick & Biddy Colbourne – GP14 (CYC), 2^nd Becky Manning - Laser 4.7 (DQSC), 3^rd Michaela & Keith Heppenstall – Wanderer (DQSC)

Fast Handicap Race: Paddy Gamble & Abby Davies – RS 200 (HISC), 2^nd Tony Purser – RS 600 (CYC), 3^rd Gideon Ellis – RS 400 (CYC)

2000 Race: 1^st Graham & Lucy Dalton (DQSC), 2^nd John Townsend & Barbara Langford (ESC), 3^rd Paula & Michael Olliff (CYC)

Solo: 1^st Roger Puttock (DQSC), 2^nd Mark Harper (CYC), 3^rd Malcolm Buchanan (DQSC)

Report prepared by Andrew Horne

Contributions from Peter King (Fast Handicap), David Swift (Solo), Graham Dalton (2000) and Michaela Heppenstall (Medium Handicap)

Photos by Becki Dicker

2000 Winners Graham and Lucy Dalton

Slow Handicap Winner William Lynas in Action

Solo Winner Roger Puttock (4561) Leads the Fleet

The 2000 Fleet Heads Down Harbour

The Start of the Solo Race