DESPITE the 'light' sailing conditions and a disappointing number of entries, last weekend's Squib South Coast Championships still produced plenty of excitement on The Solent.
Hosted by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Fishbourne, competitors enjoyed the challenge of racing in the far from ideal conditions off Wootton, with the Wightlink car ferries and groups of jet skiers never far away from them.
Saturday’s forecast for very light airs forced a three-hour postponement to racing, but a 5-8 knot breeze settled in and the first of the three windward/leeward races got underway.
After a good start, the fleet soon split tacks and there was little in it until Surprise (760), helmed by Duncan Grindley, moved into the lead and held it to the finish after two rounds.
Although not exactly an exhilarating race for the entrants, it was certainly quite exciting — particularly rounding the leeward mark.
The third and final race of the day was another good one, as the breeze began to drop off. But aided by the tide, Aquabat (13), helmed by Dan Henderson, developed a substantial lead ahead of Seven.
On Sunday morning, the forecast was not as promising as first thought, which saw one of the three races scrapped, with racing eventually starting at 1pm.
On a short course, intentionally set in case the breeze died, Aquabat continued her winning streak in both races, giving Henderson and crewmate Steve Warren-Smith (RVYC) the title.
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