Dell Quay Sailing Club

(Published in the Chichester Observer on Thursday 28th June 2018)

A trio of boats braved the wind and waves in the final day of Dell Quay Sailing Club’s Pursuit Race series. Conditions were good for windsurfers, not so for dinghies: winds speeds around 20 mph with gusts of 25 mph discouraged many contestants and only 3 boats took the start.

Stephen Holcroft's Pico went off to a flying start, followed 6 minutes later by Fred Hilgers in a Solo and Bob Marshall in a Streaker. The frequent gusts and shifts in the wind direction made it unlikely that all contestants would finish the race dry. As it was, Marshall and Holcroft both capsized with less than 15 minutes to go, allowing Hilgers to ease up and take an easy win in the first race, leaving Holcroft to finish second and Marshall third.

Race Officer Roy Dyton offered the competitors a second race, but with the scheduled time reduced to a modest 30 minutes: an offer accepted with alacrity! Once again Stephen Holcroft set off confidently towards the windward mark and once again he capsized in the same spot where he came to grief in the first race!

However, this second race saw a different progression of events as each competitor in turn enjoyed stomach churning, exhilarating reaches followed by the near inevitable ducking as gusts took their toll. In this last race, it was the Streaker of Bob Marshall that would prevail finishing a long way ahead of the Pico and Solo, both of which were upside down as the finish gun sounded! leaving Hilgers to pick up second place and Holcroft third.

Two wins and two second places make Hilgers the series winner and recipient of the Market Cross Salver, with Sue Manning (Laser Radial) second and Richard Bridgmont (Solo) third. In total 16 participants took part in the series.