Chichester Harbour Race Week 2023

 

Four days of magnificent racing - and one thwarted by unannounced Storm Betty. That was the story of Chichester Harbour Race Week 2023, the biggest dinghy regatta on the South Coast.

Craft of all kinds, from classics such as Ospreys and Flying Fifteens to the latest asymmetric designs and the increasingly popular RS Aero single-handers, raced in 19 separate fleets, started on the water from four committee boats. As ever, it was very much a family event as well as a highly competitive one, spanning generations from under-10s to seniors.

Entries hit 400, up on last year, and sailors came from all through the harbour and way beyond. Twenty-four dinghies arrived from Bowmoor SC in Gloucestershire, whose members also towed the club's sole Elite keelboat all the way to Hayling Island SC, host for the Chichester Harbour Federation event. In all, there were competitors from 45 clubs, from Fort William in Scotland to Pontypool in South Wales, Merseyside to Dorset, as well as from all along the South Coast.

Racing was tight in many of the fleets and while HISC sailors dominated both entry and prize lists there were good results for entrants from other harbour clubs.

With so many boats on the water it was a tribute to the safety organisation - part of the overall effort from some 100 volunteers from harbour clubs belonging to the federation - that bumps and bruises were minor.

For full results, see :-  chichesterharbourraceweek.sailevent.net

Dates for the 2024 event, which will be the 60th edition of the event and will also mark the centenary of the Chichester Harbour Federation, are August 19-23.