Busy weekend at Lee on Solent Sailing Club

By Marine Correspondent Susannah Hart

Lee on Solent Sailing Club has had its busiest weekend of the year, hosting not only its club regatta but also an open meeting for the single-handed Phantom class.

With crews from teenagers to septuagenarians, over 30 boats from various classes – including RS400, Laser 2000, 505, RS Aero and Topper – took to the water for the dinghy club’s annual regatta. The home fleet was joined on the water by 11 Phantoms (including three from Lee) who had travelled down to Lee shore, taking advantage of the open meeting to practice for the Phantom Nationals in two weeks’ time at Stone Sailing Club in Essex.

The club’s regatta kicked off on Saturday with difficult wind conditions – a very light shifty breeze from the NE veering to an ESE thermal sea breeze for the last race of the day.

Using the Portsmouth Yardstick Handicap, the boats from Lee were split into three groups – Fast, Medium and Slow – with the handicap system levelling the playing field to even up the performance capabilities of the different classes.

Three races were completed, with three starts to accommodate the different groups and the Phantom class, and the slower boats sailing a slightly shorter course.

At the end of the day’s racing, the visiting and home crews enjoyed an evening buffet and entertainment provide by singer Brett Brooks at Lee on Solent Sailing Club’s brand new club house, which open in May this year.

The sun was beating down on Sunday but it did not herald much better wind conditions with a maximum gust of 8 knots. However, again the race officer managed to hold three races and completed both the open meeting and the club’s regatta by mid-afternoon.

Following the last race of the day, all participants gathered in the club house for post-race refreshments and the overall results.

Results for the Lee on Solent Annual Club Regatta were as follows:

Fast Fleet

1^st – Neil Bevington and Allan Skeens – RS400

2^nd  – Rick Handslip and Will Perrett – RS400

Medium Fleet

1^st  – Fernando Gamboa – RS AERO 9

2^nd –  Graham Tribbeck – RS AERO 7

Slow Fleet

1^st –  Greg Czura – Topper

2^nd – Lucy Czura – Topper

The results of the Phantom open meeting are yet to be posted.

Opportunity to try sailing

For anyone who is interested in learning to sail or getting involved locally, Lee on Solent Sailing Club is holding three Try A Sail mornings.

Everyone is welcome at the sessions – from 9.30am to 12.30pm on the 11^th, 18^th and 25^th September 2021 – when there is the opportunity to get out on the water with a qualified instructor in one of the 20 club boats. Buoyancy aids will be provided.

To book a place email rear-commodore@lossc.org.uk

Photo (top):   Lee on Solent Sailing Club’s Regatta. Reproduced by kind permission of Brian Starr