Flying 15 Southern Championship at Cowes Corinthian Yacht Club

Flying Fifteen Southern Championship in Cowes © Andrew Millband

Flying Fifteen Southern Championship in Cowes © Andrew Millband

Twenty three boats from clubs as far afield as Chew Lake, Bewl Valley, Windermere and Loch Lomond joined four local boats on the waters of the Solent for this year's Flying 15 Southern Championship.

Boats launching from the CCYC, Shepards Wharf, Calshot Spit, Hamble Point and Hayling all arrived on time having dropped their kit off with the CCYC committee boat and mark layers so that they had dry clothing for the evenings social activities.

A brisk 18knt South Easterly wind on the Hill Head plateau greeted the competitors for the first race, which was course T2 (triangle, sausage, sausage). Charles Apthorp (3957) had the best of the start at the port end and several boats were pushed the wrong side of the IDM including Robert Hogben (3953) and Adam Cowley (3210).

Steve Goacher (3821) chose the left hand side of the beat to arrive 4 boat lengths ahead of Apthorp and Greg Wells (3920). With the wind gusting above 20 knts Goacher was able to extend his lead to over 8 boat lengths by the gybe mark, however a rare mistake by Goacher saw him round the pin end of the line rather than the leeward mark. This allowed Apthorp to retake the lead, which he was able to consolidate into a win with Goacher taking 2nd and Wells 3rd.

The fleet was a little too eager on the start of the second race and after a general recall Race Officer Andrew Millband allowed the fleet to start with the Blue Peter which saw Chris Waples (3994) and Alan Bax (3998) first off the line. The wind now 16 – 18 knts felt very heavy and Goacher was able to secure his first win of the day followed by Wells in second place and Bax in 3rd.

The last race of the day saw a change of course to W3 (W/L) and the wind abate slightly to 15 knts. Another general recall was this time followed by a Black Flag start with Bax, Apthorp and Athol King (3939) venturing the wrong side of the line to score BFD. Goacher and Wells went onto finish 1st and 2nd with Simon Knellor (3937) taking 3rd.

The Saturday evening festivities included the rare treat of a champagne reception at Commodores House, (Uffa Fox's, last residence) courtesy of John and Jane Terry before a home cooked curry in the CCYC's new cavern and marquee conversion.

Sunday brought a South Westerly 16 knt breeze with some challenging wind over tide conditions. Setting up south of Hill Head buoy the race committee and chief mark layer Richard Palmer were able to squeeze the T2 course onto the Bramble Bank.

Race 4 saw some close racing between Goacher and Wells. Wells needing to win to take the championship decider into the last race. Goacher led Wells by 4 boat lengths all the way to the last windward mark. However Wells was able to get past and gain a 2 boat length lead before rounding the leeward gate. With a short 350m beat to the finish Goacher tacked early and went for the port end of the line to break Wells lead and win the Championship with one race to spare. Both Goacher and Wells having secured 1st & 2nd overall sat out the last race leaving Bax and Apthorp to finish 1st and 2nd, giving Bax 3rd overall.

Overall Results: