After all the recent rain and wind, the first day of the Championships started in brilliant sunshine and a sparkling force 2 to 3 greeted a healthy fleet of 25. The first race got away under a black flag after a general recall, and the early signs were that the boats on the channel side of the course were favoured, but halfway up the beat the wind shifted towards the shore, and those that had aimed to get out of the tide were favoured. Nick Crickmore reached the first mark first followed by local Roger Brydges who had tacked up the shore . Matt Yallop , Nigel Tinkler & Richard Willows were in pursuit.At the leeward mark, Nick Crickmore had gone out too wide & lost a couple of places and then Nigel was able to pull away on the beat. Richard Willows was able to squeeze past Matt Yallop on the final beat, and hold on a second place, Nick Crickmore having faded on the second beat to finish 5th with Matt third and Mark Somerville fourth, having pulled himself up from 12th position at the first mark.
The start of race two was delayed by the need to change the course and as the five-minute was fired the best wind of the day kicked in but unfortunately in the wrong direction requiring a further postponement. By the time the course had been reset, the wind had started to die and continue to drop during the race. The tide was also setting in hard and at the start the boats lining up were only just making against the tide. Mark Somerville, Matt Yallop and Richard Willows and Nigel Tinkler were towards the committee boat end and led the fleet up the first beat, and were surprised to find Chris Moore coming across in second place on a long port tack having been right out in the tide on the channel side of the course. Mark Somerville found some extra wind at the end of the first beat and built a commanding lead by the time he rounded the wing mark, and although he kept a good cover on the boats behind, he was never really troubled. Second was Matt Yallop followed by Nigel Tinkler, then Richard Willows, Andrew Davies, with a gap behind. Positions were unchanged at the start of the second beat which proved to be a long affair against the tide, but was predominantly on starboard tack, again with positions unchanged at the windward mark, although Richard Willows was hotly pursued by Andrew Davies, who gybed at the mark and reached the leeward mark just ahead. The course was now shortened and with the wind dropping and the tide on full ebb, the short leg to the finish turned into a very tight fetch with some boats needing to tack. Richard Willows, Chris Moore, and John Regan all losing places in an attempt to finish without hitting the mark, Simon Collinson making the most of the mahem! After two races, current leaders:1 Nigel Tinkler, 2, Mark Somerville, 3 Matt Yallop, 4 Richard Willows, 5 Andrew Davies, 6 John Regan.
