Heavy skies, a chilly 6C and light winds greeted the 24 dinghies that took part in the open Blackwater Icicle on December 29, hosted by Harlow (Blackwater) Sailing Club at Maylandsea, Essex.
With a fickle breeze, the race officers took a gamble by setting a reasonably long course out into the main river to reward those who had got up early to tow their boats to the club.
Fortunately the wind picked up just before the start and held at about force 2-3 for the remainder of the race, creating good technical rather than exciting conditions.
A wide mixture of craft featured - Lasers / ILCAs of three different rigs, Fireballs, Kestrels, Hadrons, Blazes, Phantoms, a 470, RS Aero and a Solo. They came from seven different clubs and all participants finished the course inside the two-hour limit.
The lighter breezes favoured the Kestrels, which took the top two spots - Howie Enkel and Danni Tebbutt (1574) beating Chris Grice and Kenny Hobbs (408) by 25 seconds. Both boats were from neighbouring club Maylandsea Bay.
In third place was Charlie Matthews from Royal Corinthian YC in his Blaze (834), while the youth prize went to Noah Mathers of Burnham SC with a Laser 4.7 (189093).
All the above winners went home with prizes including wine, chocolates and sailing gear vouchers.
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