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The sailing section has had an active season during 2003.
The first event of the season was the well attended Rum Race on Easter
Monday, this had been postponed from Boxing Day due to bad weather. Despite
close racing in the Laser fleet, nobody could beat the RS600 of Colin Cough
on handicap which finished in just under 48 mins on corrected time.
The RNLI race was held on Monday 5th May. In a fresh breeze, only 7 of
the 12 starters actually completed the course with Rob Nicholas claiming
victory in his Contender.
The spring and summer series were well attended and most races were
sailed successfully.
Despite the overcast conditions the 2003 Ship Race saw another great
turnout with 48 entries. Shortly after the start the weather took a turn for
the worse and soon the fleet was racing in appalling visibility and up to F6
gusts in the squalls. The sailors who made it through the challenging shore
break to the beach in Sandgate enjoyed excellent hospitality from our
sponsor Stuart at The Ship. Many thanks to all those who were involved in
organisation of the event and especially to the excellent work of the Safety
boat team in trying conditions.
Away from club events, HSSC members have been active in representing the
Club around Kent. Our entry in the Dover regatta produced creditable results
with again a number of larger pots finding their way back to Hythe. In
September, Tom Coley and I entered the Man of Kent Regatta. In a break with
what has become the norm, we were greeted with a gentle F1 in which our
heavier boats suffered. The afternoon brought a better breeze and we posted
a 19th and 20th overall.
We also ran a very successful Goodwin Sands Raid in association with
Reboubt, and Downs SC. Antoine was very lucky to get to Downs at all, after
an attempt to sail his Hobie from Hythe to Deal left him becalmed
mid-channel. 3 HSSC boats and Simon Clarke on his board left Deal at 1400 on
a sunny August afternoon making it to the sands in under 3 hours despite the
light wind and return just as the sun set. It is hoped to run more of these
events next season.
Our Thursday evening series was well supported with up to 14 boats on the
water. A number of windsurfers also took advantage of the long evenings, the
open bar and the excellent catering provided largely by Gill but with
notable assistance from a few others. The Thursday racing ran through to
early September when the daylight started failing.
2002 finished with several members opting to compete in the winter series
held at Dover Water Sports Centre. This season, the entry has increased with
9 HSSC members competing in the first race of the series and taking the
first 3 places!
Off the water progress has been made in the dinghy park with tidying up
its appearance and maximising use of the space available. We have also
invested in our Topper fleet to extend its training life for a few more
years.
Training has been limited this year due to a lack of qualified and
willing instructors but steps are in place to remedy this for next season. I
have elected to stand down next season due to work commitments and to allow
extra time to get involved in the actual sailing.
I would like to thank all those that have supported the sailing section
during 2003. Particular thanks must go to Gill for her work as Race Officer,
Willy for his continued attention to the Safety boat fleet and John and DWSC
for the support they offer wherever possible. I hope that we will see even
further growth and support under my successor in 2004.
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