It’s hotting up for Snowflake fleet

It's a beautiful scene in the Chichester YC Snowflake series

Unfortunately, a light and faltering northerly breeze and a large dredger limiting the size of the racing area took a little of the fizz out of the champagne conditions.

In both races, race officer Pete Harrison set the fast and medium fleets a trapezoid course with an outer loop while the slow fleet contested an inner triangle.

In race five of the series, the Merlins re-established their dominance taking five of the first six places with Frensham’s Nick Craig and Alan Roberts first over Shoreham’s Sophie Mackley and James Warren and William Warren and Mark Oakley, with series leaders David and Fiona Sayce relegated to fifth.

In the medium fleet it was a battle of the single-handers with Emsworth’s Richie Bailey once again taking line honours but this time able to save time on the rest of the fleet to keep the top spot on corrected time over the duelling Solos of Hayling’s Nick Peters and Chichester’s Mark Harper.

Slow-fleet numbers were reduced and it was a match race between the Feva XL of Emsworth’s Alexandra Sosens and Julia Martin and the Felpham’s Finlay Swanton in his Topper. The ladies carried the day in race five with the results reversed in race six.

In the medium fleet the fight for the spoils again saw Bailey and Peters duking it out for the top spot before Bailey again carried the day while Chichester’s Lucy Boreham in her Europe moved into third.

Race six in the fast fleet could have been devided into the Merlins and everyone else, with the Rocketeers taking the first five places. This time Warren and Oakley took first with Parkstone’s Richard Whitworth and Clloe Brennal in second and Craig and Roberts having to settle for third.

Overall standings (after six races): Fast Fleet: 1 Nick Craig & Alan Roberts (Merlin Rocket) Frensham Pond; 2 Sophie Mackley & James Warren (Merlin Rocket) Shoreham; 3 David & Fiona Sayce (Fireball) Hayling Island. Medium Fleet: 1 Ritchie Bailey (Laser) Emsworth; 2 Nick Peters (Solo) Hayling Island; 3 Lucy Boreham (Europe) Chichester. Slow Fleet: 1 Sally Lorimer & Pippa Jones (Mirror) Warsash; 2 Finlay Swanton (Topper) Felpham; 3 Isabel Porter (Topper) Chichester.