Can't wait for the 2020 sailing season to start? Well, you can download the draft 2020 programme here.
Winter Social Programme 2019-2020 - please click here to download
ISC Autumn 2019 Magazine - please click here to download
Itchenor Sailing Club is a lively, friendly, active sailing and racing club located in a beautiful setting in Chichester Harbour. We are proud of our heritage and have successfully developed the Club into one of the leading dinghy and keel boat sailing clubs in the UK.
News
Birdham Bandits win Wessex Winter Warmer
Team was:
Tim Saxton & Holly McArthur
Owain Matthews & Toby Lewis
George & Sophie Yeoman
Also in attendance were other itchenor members:
OCSS- Arthur Henderson
NWA- Mary Henderson
Wessex Exempt- Jon Pinner, Alexa Pinner, Tom Heywood
Soton Alumni- Jo Kalderon
Posted 21st January 2019
Itchenor Winter Warmer
A frosty cold morning greeted the Merlin fleet at Itchenor on the first weekend of the 2020 Itchenor Winter Warmer, but the clear skies and 8 boats made for a glamour day on Chichester harbour. PRO Roger Yeoman ensured the fleet that once they arrived at the race course, they would be greeted with a F2 shifting Northerly and he duly delivered.
With tide against at the start, the fleet were a little shy of the line on race 1 but Roger Phillips & Chris Kilsby made the most of the opportunity and broke away from the fleet getting round mark 1 first and as the wind died used the tidal gate to extend away and never been seen again. Andy Shaw & Pippa Horne saw the new breeze filling in on the shore before the rest and sailed into a well deserved 2nd in their first Merlin race, followed by Taxi & Pip and Caroline & Chris Gould.
Race 2 and the course had spun round into the full expected Northerly with the tide now pushing the fleet over the line. Rog & Chris K got away again, with a small bundle stuck at the pin end (which was actually the committee boat, very confusing). A bit of a battle royale was appearing for the top 4 places, but this time it was Caroline & Chris G who got the better of Christian & Dan, with Taxi & Pip all crossing the line around the same time.
Races 3 & 4 saw Caroline & Chris G start to take control of the group, winning both races. Christian & Dan pushed them in race 3, whilst in race 4 George & Sophie Yeoman succumbed to the pressure of the chasing pack after Caroline & Chris G nailed the lay line on the first run.
The final race of the day Christian & Dan won the pin end, sailed in to the first header and comfortably led round the top mark and as the rest of the fleet battled it out sailed to comfortably take their first win of the weekend. Rog & Chris K found their form again to finish the day strong with a 2nd and the overnight lead.
The fleet then retired to the club bar, where a nice post sailing session in front of the log burner followed by a warm curry descended in to beer pong and flip cup, river sailing and drinking = warming up for Salcombe week!
Day 2 and a few sore heads were greeted by another fresh morning. This time the PRO sailed the fleet through the doldrums outside the club and down to East Head for a change in tidal geography and a building F2-3.
Christian & Dan picked up where they left off eeking out a small lead down the first run and breaking away up the next beat. Caroline & Chris G scooted round the outside down the same run to again battle it out with Rog & Chris K grabbing 2nd after a couple of laps.
Race 7 a tight first beat saw a bunch rounding at the mark, but it was the later boats that were able to spot the breeze coming down and take advantage. Taxi & Pip took the lead and never let it go with Christian & Dan managing to make their way back across in time to hold on to second after a long battle with Rog & Chris K who were deemed to have been OCS.
The new breeze had shifted the course right for race 8, with the windward mark being close to the Thorney Island shore. George & Soph managed to get away off the pin and as the fleet tacked off they managed to hold on and hook in to a small left shift that allowed them to reach the top mark first and sail to their first race win. Behind a 3 way tussle between Rog & Chris K, Taxi & Pip and Alex Warren & Jonty. Rog & Chris broke away from the group on the 2nd beat to take 2nd with Taxi & Pip 3rd.
The final race of the day was a race home with a twist, the top mark would be leap-frogging down the windward shore with the leeward mark doing the same, slowly zig-zagging our way home. The light and patchy breeze made it tough picking a way up the first beat, but Taxi & Pip led round the top and held off the fleet giving everyone limited passing lanes. Chris G & Caroline and George & Soph were nip and tuck until the final reach home to the finish where George & Soph managed to just get away to take 2nd.
Overall it was very tight at the top, the shifty breeze and tidal harbour had left everyone with some big or inconsistent scores. However, it was Taxi & Pip that took the win by 1 point from Christian & Dan, who were 1 point ahead of Caroline & Chris G, who were equal with Rog & Chris G! All to play for with two more weekends left! Thanks to Roger Yeoman, Roddy Bridge & Olly Gilchrist for running all the racing. The next Winter Warmer is 15/16 February.
Results: Click here
Posted 20th January 2020
ISC win Carmella Cup
The Itchenor team arrived at Queen Mary for the Carmela Cup on Saturday morning to find a very cold but sunny day. For the uninitiated, the Carmela Cup is the RYA Open Championship of Two-Boat Team Racing in Keelboats, a niche but hotly contested event hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club with some of the best team racers in from the UK and Ireland taking part.
Once the ice was scraped from the decks and the boats were rigged the ISC team were up first in the round-robin against the Royal Cork YC in tricky light conditions that would be a consistent theme across the weekend. With the breeze light, the substantial amount of time the ISC team had spent in the RTYC J80s over the last couple of years told quickly, with the boats helmed by Arthur Henderson's and Jonathon Pinner starting ahead and extending over the 'port square' course to take the win.
Consistent starting was happily a theme of the weekend and it was ISC's fifth race against Cambridge University before the pressure was applied. A hard-fought battle down the run extended on the final beat but was tidied up by Henderson with ISC taking first and third place and hence the win.
A quirk of the schedule led to back to back races against pre-event favourites, the RTYC, helmed by multiple Wilson Trophy winner, former team racing World Champion, and all-round team racing legend Andy Cornah, sailing alongside the equally decorated, national champion in multiple dinghy classes, Ian Dobson. Both races saw aggressive team racing around the course, with the first going to ISC on the final tack to the finish and the second to the RTYC at the last mark.
That would be the last points ISC would drop in the round-robin, making a clean sweep of first and second-place finishes in the remaining races and setting up a final against the RTYC. The wind dropped and after a slight delay, the teams took the water in 3-5 knots of shifty breeze. These light conditions would punish an off-colour start from the RTYC, leaving them chasing ISC. Dobson applied pressure down the run, but the trimming of Rob Henderson and Tom Heywood kept the ISC bows forward and the race was secured with 2 legs to go.
The second race of the final followed a similar pattern with a pre-start penalty for Cornah giving him a lot of work to do to get back into the race. It was the final beat before a lapse in concentration from Pinner allowed Dobson from the RTYC to established a foothold in the race. It was too little too late with Henderson again tidying up the loose ends allowing ISC to hold on to win the race and take the final 2-0.
Our thanks must do to the RTYC for putting on such a well run event and completing two whole round robins in what were testing conditions for the race officers.
Full results are available at http://events.ksail.co.uk/2020/CarmelaCup/index.html
International 14 Worlds, Perth
Massey and Hillary take World Title with one race to spare
Image courtesy John Chapman
Final report from the International 14 Worlds - click here
Final results from International 14 Worlds in Perth. Click here
Image courtesy Bernie Kaaks
Pilsey Rally, 27th December 2019
The day dawned overcast and calm and stayed that way so not a lot sailing done. However there was plenty of boating between the 3 sailing boats, 2 motor cruisers and 2 rowing boats.
Activity on the jetty started at 0945 with Masquerade and Elin moored alongside and the 12 rowers preparing for the outing in ideal conditions. The Rowing Support boat crew were happily reassigned to Masquerade and Elin as Tango Whiskey did not respond to our patient attempts to start, it was warmer anyway! All departed by 1115 and headed to Pilsey on a gently rising tide.
The rowers were on location first and explored the creek behind Pilsey Island by the Port Goal Post and the set off to Snowhill Creek while the cruisers selected a good loaction for the raft. Very calm oily water with a lot of scum but lovely rowing conditions! We were treated to 2 seal sightings, one at Chalkdock Beacon and another at Pilsey Beacon, very special. The brisk row to Snowhill was rounded off with a festive mulled wine and nibbles and a business like row back to join the raft at Pilsey.
Masquerade, Elin and Nootka welcomed Bembridge and Iccanore with more festive fare and goodwill abounded. The raft was joined by Grace and San Luca anchored in near proximity, all in all there must have been over 30 Itchenor people enjoying a wonderful day.
After lots of chat the rowers returned to ISC for coffee and nibbles at ISC before we got too cold!
Thanks to all who participated and made it a fun occasion.
Mirror Prizegiving 2019
Disappointed by the cancellation of the days Coached Racing, hunkered down in the clubhouse with torrential rain and 40 kt gusts, Mirror Class spirits were raised by the annual prize giving on Saturday 26th October. Led by outgoing Class Captain Milly Bullock the year’s winners and achievers were accordingly honoured and presented and smiling faces were a plenty. A parent kindly baked a fabulous Mirror Dinghy cake which was enjoyed by all and washed down by a drink or two by on looking parents. Well done to everyone, lots of fun to be had in Mirrors in 2020.
Posted 25th September 2019
Dainty and Cambria at Cannes © Sarah Johnson
Bosham-based Peter Nicholson, owner of Solent Sunbeam 'Dainty' hull no. 1, sets off for the annual Regates Royales and Voiles de St Tropez Regattas in the South of France!
What started 15 years ago as an unusual and challenging adventure, has become not only an annual event, but one that has created life-enhancing memories, incredible sailing experiences, lifelong friendships, prestigious awards and a few headaches along the way!
You can read the rest of this article courtesy Yachts & Yachting here
Posted 8th September 2019
Huge congratulations to George Bullock (and his crew Richard) on their 4th place overall in the Mirror Nationals.
You can read the article courtesy Y&Y here
Posted 8th September 2019
Congratulations to ISC sailor Paul Ward and his crew on taking the J70 Worlds.
"Very very pleased, it has been hard work and we have a very good team.We have sailed well all year and this has been a tough week but a lot of fun. We were just a few metres from the finish when we realised we had probably won, we worked hard right up to the end, the Americans and the Spanish pushed us really hard, it was full on. There were plenty of tough moments, but that is why we came to Torbay, this is a tricky and challenging place to race. I would also like to thank everyone at Key Yachting and especially Paul Heys who I would love to have a pint with tonight, but sadly he is no longer with us."
You can read the Y&Y article here
Posted 6th September 2019
Itchenor Sailing Club welcomes Chichester MP Gillian Keegan for a day out on the water
Gillian Keegan and her team commenced their visit with a cruise around the harbour with a group of Itchenor’s experienced keelboat sailors to learn more about how to sail the Club’s renowned XODs and Sunbeams.
Gillian Keegan commented: “One of the huge privileges of being a member of Parliament is getting to know how all the different bits of a constituency work. Sailing is something we love and appreciate and it is a big part of Chichester and its culture.”
During the visit, Gillian also sought to learn more about the pressures and concerns for Chichester Harbour, from cleanliness to capacity including how the harbour copes with overcrowding during the busy, summer months.
Later in the afternoon, Gillian and her team replaced sails with oars in order to enjoy a relaxing row in one of Itchenor’s coxed four rowing boats. Itchenor recently added recreational rowing to its sailing programme last year to allow its Members to enjoy the stunning vistas around Chichester Harbour in a relaxed format.
Commodore of Itchenor Sailing Club, Neil Hart commented: “We were delighted to host Gillian and her team at Itchenor this week, and share our passion for not only sailing but also Chichester Harbour. There’s no better way to experience the sheer beauty of our harbour than by getting out on the water in either a keelboat or rowing boat.”
Congratulations to Eleanor Keers and Faye Chatterton on their 2nd overall at the Int 420 Nationals at Hayling Island
More Sharpie images courtesy Andrew Penman here
420’s having fun today in near perfect conditions. Image courtesy Mary Pudney
Click here to link to our galleries
Swallow National Championships at Bembridge Sailing Club
Posted 8th July 2019
Image © Mike Samuelson
Champagne racing conditions on Saturday, heavy drizzle at times on Sunday and a countback to decide the overall winner certainly meant that the 2019 National Swallow National Championships held at Bembridge over the weekend are likely to be remembered for some years to come!
Please click here for the rest of this report and images courtesy Yachts & Yachting
A busy Feva jetty for Day 2 of schools week.
Points Week Memories - Michael Forbes Smith playing his bagpipes on the foredeck
POINTS WEEK WINNERS 2019
Sunbeam Nick Leach, Martin Evans and Simon O’Hea
XOD Colin McKinnon, Ros Hart, Neil Hart
Swallow Harry, Prue and Peter Roome
Posted 18th June 2019
Tim and Ben Saxton of Itchenor SC took a comfortable overall victory at the Merlin Rocket, Parkstone Silver Tiller event on Sunday.
Posted 12th June 2019
Eleanor Keers selected to represent GBR at the WSYSWC
Huge congratulations to Eleanor Keers on being selected to represent GBR at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Gyndia, Poland this summer!
Last year – Eleanor sailed in the Open Fleet and made Gold Fleet in the Worlds in Perth (which was quite something considering the size of the competition and the weather conditions) and 17th in the Worlds in Newport.
In October 2018 she teamed up with Faye Chatterton, a cadet sailor from Waldringfield SC. Together they qualified for the Youth Squad in Lymington. At Christmas the pair also had fun in the Palamos Christmas Regatta in Spain finishing 3rd.
More recently, Eleanor and Faye won the annual 420 selection series. This comprises of the Inlands (a weekend at Rutland), the Spring Championships (two days in Weymouth) and the Youth Nationals (five days in Weymouth). The total series dictates the teams for the Worlds and the Junior Europeans. The leading all male and all female boats at the Youth Nationals are then invited to the World Sailing Youth World Championships (WSYWC). The final event proved testing with very little wind and few days on the water, but the pair managed to hang on to their lead and achieve a place in the WSYWC team.
Best of luck to Eleanor and Faye in Portugal, Poland and Spain.
Congratulations also to Bertie Fisher who has also had great success on the circuit and qualified for Spain and Portugal with the potential to medal in the under 17 category. WSYWC are in Rio next year Bertie!
Mirror Raid to Dell Quay Report
18 Mirrors, 40 sailors and 6 support boats set out on the first Saturday of half term for the Max Mirror raid to Dell Quay. We had 3 up, 2 up, some with parents, some with older kids as helpers and some just taking themselves, everyone was excited to be going on an adventure to a part of the harbour we don’t normally go and sail to. The Jones’s had very kindly offered their beach and garden as the venue for our raid, a Mirror main and jib marked the spot where we were to land. With the wind in the West we had to approach in a seaman like fashion and drop mainsails to land on the lea shore. This proved more tricky for some than others but a really good lesson that you can come in under jib alone and it makes the landing much easier and more controlled, hopefully some of them might remember this for the next time they have a lea shore landing at Itchenor!
As well as an adventure on the water, this year rather than having a picnic lunch for Max Mirror we had a Bake Off. There was a splendid array of cakes, bravely driven to Dell Quay by some of the mums, so that when we arrived there was an amazing spread of cakes and biscuits. After much deliberation Vicky Jones and I have decided on a winner, whose cake had the most amazing beach decoration, complete with waves, sand, a surfer and sunbather, all made out of icing - well done to Archie Aylwin! The runner up was Phoebe Perry for her Max Mirror decorated delicious chocolate brownies.
Once the kids were full of cake and the adults were full of Pimms and tea the boats were carried back to the beach and launched for the sail home, a few capsizes and running aground in unfamiliar territory and we were back in time for supper.
I would like to say a big thank you to the Jones’s on behalf of the Mirror fleet for having us all for the afternoon and for everyone who came and took part.
Posted 22nd May 2019
REPORT OF ISC SPRING SHAKEDOWN RALLY - 9th to 12th May 2019
The main attraction of this year’s Shakedown rally was the visit to the Royal Yacht Squadron on our first night. This was kindly organised by Ras Turner to whom we are very grateful.
Please click here to download the whole story.
Posted 23rd May 2019
Racing Round-Up
Ben Saxton and his crew Nikki Boniface becoming Nacra 17 European champs: Link here to article
Also at the British Open Team Racing Championships the Birdham Bandits from Itchenor SC (George Yeoman, Sophie Ormsby, Tim Saxton, Holly Scott, Owain Matthews and Toby Lewis) w’re top Brits and 2nd overall, losing the in the final. The second final in 3 years (won in 2017). Link here to article
Itchenor were well represented with members sailing in 3 of the 8 quarter finalists.
ISC V Oxford & Cambridge Sailing Society
The rogues gallery of winners (ISC) and losers (Oxford and Cambridge Sailing Society) by 4-2. The event was sailed in Swallows on Sunday 12 May in glorious if cool conditions. The crunch (!) point of the annual team race was a sharp luff by Malcolm Green which enabled Itchenor to take a pivotal race of the 6 race one day series.
Rowing Open Day - May 2019 report
The day started at 0730 when Swift Rowing who lent us the sliding seat coastal boats moved their trailer out of Haines in quiet sunny conditions and started to unload the 2 single sculls, one double scull and the quad to transform the staging into a hive of rowing activity. The first "Tasters" arrived 0930 and last at 1630.
We saw rowing regulars mix with members coming for their first experience from all sailing classes in the club all of whom apparently enjoyed their experiences according to the pictures!
The Swift Rowing boats proved very popular with all that tried them and having coxed at least 5 quad outings with a mixture of experienced and novice crews I was amazed at their stability and how quickly each crew adapted to sculling to produce some creditable coordination and speed.
A fun day in the sunshine which finished about 1730. Big thanks to Christine, Stella and Sarah and the many other helpers for making the day a great success. Thanks also Mike Gilbert for the loan of the Ergos.
Also thanks to Swift for the boats and agreeing to brave the Bank Holiday traffic back to Bedford arriving at 2230, so a long day for Dom.
Posted 7th May 2019
Reports in from Antigua from 14 ISC members sailing Lombard 46 Pata Negra in CSA Class 2.
At the start of the final day there were 4 boats on equal points contesting for second overall behind the professionally crewed Kerr 46 Lady Mariposa. Crucially the team pulled in their first win of the week to secure second overall. The photo is Pata Negra crossing the finishing line at 21 knots.
Chartered by Adrian Fisk and James Leaver with Jonathan Pudney and Al Langhorne skippering and Chris Fox on tactics. Other crew members included Barnie Hartley, Roger Ewart-Smith, Piers Shepherd, Mark Timberlake, Jonathan Turner, Julian Hantrais, Jamie Barratt, Richard House and George Kent.
Posted 30th April 2019
Fourteen of the country’s most promising young sailors have been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2019 Youth Sailing World Championships.
And one of those is our own Eleanor Keers with her crew, Faye Chatterton in the International 420 class. Huge congratulations!
RYA Club Members Satisfaction Survey 2019
Your club - your chance to have a say
Regardless of your reasons for joining the Club and how you spend the time when you visit, we want Members to feel satisfied. We know it’s not always easy for you to tell us directly how you feel, or what you want us to do differently, so we’re participating in a survey being run by the RYA to give you a chance to share your thoughts anonymously.
The survey will be emailed to Members in May, and will be open for the whole of June. It won’t take long to fill in and, if you prefer, you can complete the survey in chunks. Each time you click on the link it will take you back to where you left off. It couldn’t be easier.
We hope you’ll be just as interested in the feedback as we are. After the survey, we will share the findings with you and let you know what action we plan to take.
Please take this opportunity to tell us what you think; it’s your chance to have a say and it will be ten minutes well spent!
ISC has chosen to take part in this survey which has been organised and funded by the RYA. The survey will be delivered by TLF Research and carried out in accordance with data protection regulations and industry best practice.
Neil Hart, Commodore
Another good weekend in the office for Eleanor Keers and Faye Chatterton
Competitors for the 420 Spring Championships enjoyed a weekend at WPNSA with sparkling conditions, great wind and a first class race team led by Adrian Stoghall.
Conditions on Saturday on shore were described as 'sunscreen and two fleeces', but out on the water the breeze kicked in and the sea fret lifted to allow Stog and his team to get four races run with super efficient timing ensuring that there were none of those long waits between races which chill everyone down.
Click here to read the article and see the results - with Eleanor and Faye 2nd and Bertie Fisher/ Charlie Bacon 9th. Well done!
Fancy morning coffee?
From 10am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, the Clubhouse is open for teas coffees and soft drinks. This is self-service with an honesty payments system. If you are out for a walk and fancy a coffee, do pop in. Input the door code to get through the glazed door.
Posted 25th March 2019
Merlin Rocket Open meeting report courtesy Yachts and Yachting
Round four of the Craftinsure Silver Tiller circuit brought the class to the delights of Itchenor Sailing Club. This jewel on the banks of Chichester Harbour has long been the home of the International Fourteen and has now, after seventy years of debate, allowed the Merlin Rocket to take up residence. This insurgency, led by our 2016 National Champion crew George Yeoman, has been met with enthusiasm within the club and delight amongst the class membership.
Click here to read the whole report
INVITATIONS - Are you interested?
The RCS has received two invites from the RTYC for ISC members to get involved with two upcoming events. If you are interested please contact the RCS via the sailing manager at sailing@itchenorsailingclub.co.uk Some funding support is available for teams representing ISC.
On behalf of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, I am honoured to invite the female members of your Club to compete in the inaugural 2019 Women’s J70 Open Championship. Races will be held in Cowes, Isle of Wight, all day on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th October.
The Championship is open to female professional and amateur sailors alike with up to 4 women per boat. The Championship format is fleet racing with spinnakers being used, weather permitting.
Itchenor Sailing Club has reciprocity arrangements with the following clubs:
Cercle Nautique Honfleur
Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Royal Perth Yacht Club
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
Further details are available from the Office.
A History of Itchenor Sailing Cliub
Posted 16th December 2016
We thought you might enjoy this wonderful record of the history of our Club from its formation in 1927 until 1981, written by Tony Wright (who was Admiral of the Club from 1970-1985). The foreword written by Robin Wilson (Commodore 1977-1981, and who kindly gave us this copy) sets the scene nicely.
