We last heard from our European travellers of John Hassen and Mark Gooding following the conclusion of the French National Championships and a result that was soon forgotten after some intense research into the local viticulture industry. Next stop was Portsmouth by ferry and then to Hayling Island for the Southern Championships which is a qualifying event for the British team in the upcoming World Championships and a quality fleet had assembled. Southern England has a reputation to uphold on the weather front so it was cold, wet and no breeze for the first day of the regatta with no racing conducted. Day 2 started with a light breeze that steadily built through the afternoon and allowed 4 races to be completed. The regatta was won by former World Champions Graham Vials and Chris Turner while John and Mark had some average results that required a couple of pints of the local brew to reconcile.
Our local winners were celebrated at the presentation night last Friday night. There were a few new names in the results and the winners in each division were:
1st Club Championship – Ffollow Us – Tim Walker and Allan Sharpe
1st Silver Divison – Ffoenix – John Lyus and Richard Warren
1st Consistency – Faffin – Carl Petterson and Kristine Petterson.
from left to right – Kristine Pettterson, Carl Petterson, Tim Walker, Allan ( Plonky ) Sharpe, John Lyus, Richard Warren
