Alton Water 2023 Fox's Chandlery & Anglian Water Frostbite Series Week 1

 After a very windy, wet Saturday, sailors arriving for the first day of the 2023 Alton Water Frostbite Series on Sunday 8 January were surprised and pleased to be greeted by sun and a moderate but sailable breeze.

It was good to see some familiar faces but also to welcome several new sailors to the series and although a few were apprehensive about this first real post-Covid Frostbite series, they weren't disappointed and the jointly-run Anglian Water/Volunteer series started smoothly, as if none of us had ever been away. The series is once again generously sponsored by Fox's Chandlery.

Numbers were sufficient to allow for four starts for Fast, ILCA (Laser). Medium and Slow Fleets and two back-to-back races were sailed with a quick turnaround in-between. so sailors didn't get too cold. It was good to have a spread of ages and experience represented and the course was such that different fleets could sail a different number of laps, with the Cadets completing two and the Fast fleet sailing four. A few sailors were a little unpractised after a long break and the safety fleet was kept busy, but the good news is that some adventurous new gymnastic positions were invented.

This is a nine-week series with six discards from the eighteen races and, with water levels up from the summer, there is plenty of room for more boats, so come and join us. Entrants can pay for the series or per race. There is a sailors' briefing at 10.30am each Sunday, with the first race start at approx. 11 am. Parking is free for sailors and the café is open and selling hot snacks and sandwiches; the staff managed to produce the most bacony bacon sandwich we've ever had.

Full race results can be found on the Alton Water Frostbite Results facebook page.

Week 1 Results:

Helm/Crew Boat Club R1 R2

Fast

Alan Krailing/Charlotte Stewart RS200 Waldringfield SC 1 1

Adrian Pells Finn Harwich Town SC 3 2

Rob Ford RS300 Alton Water SC 2 3

ILCAs (Laser)

Edward Eeles ILCA 6/Radial Brightlingsea SC 2 1

Martin Hawkes ILCA 7/Standard Waldringfield SC 3 2

Imogen Palmer ILCA 6/Radial RSC 1 (DNF)

Medium

Harry Pynn/Gemma Cook Lark Waldringfield SC 1 2

Robert Deaves OK Waldringfield SC 3 1

Emily Mitchell/Becky Mitchell 420 Alton Water SC 2 3

Slow

Evan Harris/James Velacott Cadet Waldringfield SC 1 1

Rhona Enkel/Sophie Ringland Cadet Waldringfield SC 2 2

G Cox‑Olliff/G Letts Cadet Waldringfield SC 3 3