Following on from the large turnout of over 20 boats at the Northern Championship, it may seem a bit disappointing that there were only 7 entries for the 2023 Noble Marine Insurance Lightning 368 Sea Championship on 12th & 13th August at Lymington.
The expectant sailors who showed up had to wait around on the Saturday morning whilst the Race Committee were checking the anemometer to see if it really was gusting 35 knots!
They wisely decided that gusts of over 30 knots in the middle of the Solent would lead to scenes of absolute devastation, and wisely cancelled all racing for the day as the wind howled in the rigging!
Sunday's forecast was hardly much better, but after a wild night the wind appeared to have moderated somewhat by early morning, and was certainly under 20 knots when the assorted dinghy fleets left the slipway and headed the mile or two downriver to the start area.
A huge thank you must go to the safety boat crews from the host clubs for getting all the boats and competitors back to shore safely, and as for the Race Officer and assistants riding out the big waves on the Committee Boat they get our utmost respect.
Overall, Maria Claridge was declared Sea Champion, with John Butler in second and Andrew Yuille third.
Meanwhile Simon has vowed to read and absorb the sailing instructions fully for the Lightning 368 Inland Championship next weekend at Oxford SC, having also missed out on the Northern Championship Trophy a few weeks back by missing the "gate" on that occasion too!
Overall Results:
Pos Sail No Helm R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts
1st 427 Maria Claridge ‑3 1 1 1 3
2nd 433 John Butler 1 DNF (DNS) DNS 18
3rd 446 Andrew Yuille 2 DNF (DNS) DNS 19
4th 428 Simon Hopkins DNF DNF (DNS) DNS 25
5th 447 John Claridge (DNS) DNS DNS DNS 27
5th 325 Paul Beven (DNS) DNS DNS DNS 27
5th 438 Carloline Hollier (DNS) DNS DNS DNS 27
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