WWSC hosts West Solent Scows
Published 20:48 on 5 Jun 2023
The invitation
After a meeting with LR Scow Association members held back in January, West Wittering invited some LR Scows to visit in May for two days of sailing and racing in Chichester Harbour.
Having anxiously watched the weather forecasts on the Met Office and Wind Guru and with sun and nice breezes forecast we were all looking forward to welcoming our guests: Chris Knox in 'Goshawk' 316, Richard and Jo Edwards in 'Maridadi' 553, Nick Griffin in 'Scarlett' 569, and Angus Raby 'Fritha' 536
West Wittering is a self-help and volunteer run sailing club so we needed to pull together lots of willing helpers to run this event. The four Scows turned up at Snowhill Creek as arranged and were soon rigged and ready for 'sea'. With 6 of our home-grown boats, we had a reasonable fleet for some fun sailing.
Day 1 Picnic Sail
After a picnic lunch and a short briefing (how to get in and out of Snowhill Creek - map supplied!) we set off on a potter round the buoys. Many will know that Chichester Harbour is an enormous expanse of protected creeks and channels, no time for the complete tour, that would take days; but in two hours we managed to visit a few racing buoys and points of interest and incorporated a fun Le Mans style race from Pilsey Island back to Snowhill Creek.
Fish and Chips were ordered for supper which we enjoyed in the Mavity's lovely garden before heading to our various houses/lodgings for the night.
Day 2 - The races!
Wednesday dawned with the same wonderful weather. After a walk, coffee, followed by lunch we once again launched the Scows for the programmed racing. Thanks to Ivan and Jonny who manned the committee boat and set us two ideal courses for the afternoon of racing, thanks also to the Safety Boat crews who followed us round the course, showing our visitors where the marks were. The wind was fitful, swinging around as the Northerly wind was cancelled out by the sea breeze, however all the boats finished the two races with the wind picking up a little at the end.
After tea and prize giving at the Club Hut, the visitors packed up their boats and departed for Lymington. We have all made some new friends and sailing companions and hope to repeat the event next year.
Angus Raby in LR 536 took line honours for the visitors in his Scow 'Fritha'
West Wittering S. C. Scows taking part in the racing were: Nina Haigh 'Nam Soo' 537, Jac Mavity 'Grey Matter' 506, Roz Haynes 'Florrie' 456, Ann Carnegie 'Nellie' 453, Guy Russell 'Green Jacket' 448, and Roger Bird 'Pootle' 392 May 2023.
You can see the full results here.
Ann Carnegie, WWSC Scow Class Captain
Last updated 11:01 on 28 March 2024