With last year's 75th Anniversary Championships lost due to strong winds, the National Swallow Fleet feared that the same might happen this year, but instead the 2024 Championships, hosted this year by Itchenor Sailing Club, will go down as one of the most memorable.
Saturday, the day of the RTI race, was a no-go for 26 foot keelboats however seaworthy they may be, but on Sunday, a brave but slightly diminished fleet survived the wind against tide ebb at the entrance of Chichester Harbour to make it to Bracklesham Bay where conditions were only slightly more manageable but the decision was made to race. PRO Peter Taylor and his team efficiently set up a windward-leeward course and all was set for some very exciting racing.
With conditions if anything now even wilder, race two saw Gwaihir again dominant but this time it was Carolyn Brigg's Marengo with the second and Osprey in third.
The reduced programme meant that if only three races were sailed, all would count, so it was still all to play for. This time it was the pre-event favourite Nigel Masding's Svala that was first to the weather mark but most of the other contenders were caught out by the now flooding tide and we're well into the pack at that point.
Gwaihir recovered to second to take the Championship, with the ever consistent Osprey holding off Marengo to take third, and along with that the runners up spot overall.
The Swallow Fleet is now predominantly based at Itchenor Sailing Club where a fleet of thirty boats, embracing quite a few champions from other classes, enjoy tight fleet racing every weekend from April to October. The championships are always held on open water and usually away from home.
For more information and photos see :- swallowclass.org
Overall Results: -
Pos Boat Sail No Helm Crew R1 R2 R3 Pts
1st Gwaihir 93 Mike Wigmore Charles Hyatt, John Hodgart 1 1 2 4
2nd Osprey 95 James Hartley Jeremy Sibthorp, Bruce Grant 3 3 3 9
3rd Svala 89 Nigel Masding Hugo Fisher, Paul Ward 4 5 1 10
4th Marengo 82 Carolyn Brigg David Sloper, Oliver Sloper 5 2 4 11
5th Meridien 77 Simon Slater Nick Warner, Richard Wheeler 2 4 RET 18
6th Bluff 64 Austen Sculley Peter Baron, Celia Hansell 7 6 5 18
7th Archon 74 Malcolm Green Elizabeth Pattison, George Wright 9 7 6 22
8th Migrant 86 James Leaver Ginny Fox, Iona Turner 6 DNS DNS 30
9th Solitude 67 Andrew Reid Roger Roberts, Diane Sherman 8 10 DSQ 30
10th Ka Nyenga 90 Michael Lindsay Charles Peacock, Lance Murray 11 8 DNS 31
11th Merlin 94 Julian Kinross Robert Rusack, Jeremy Thompson 10 9 RET 31
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