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| 27 Nov |
A triumphant team of X One-Design racers from Itchenor Sailing Club were presented with the coveted Phillipson Challenge Shield last Saturday at the annual meeting of the XOD class association held at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club.
It has been thirty five years since the Itchenor Division last won the Shield. In August they beat XOD teams from Parkstone, Yarmouth, Lymington and Hamble whilst enjoying close racing during Cowes Week.
The shield has been competed for annually at Cowes Week since 1947 and Itchenor have previously won it only four times.
A very proud Itchenor XOD Class Captain, Bill Barnes, said ‘This really was a great team effort, with everyone contributing with good results. Our challenge was to adapt our sailing techniques from those we use in the flat waters of Chichester Harbour to those necessary to be successful in the strong tides and choppy water at Cowes. Next season, we are determined to retain the trophy so I have planned extra races, so that our team can put in even more practice. We are fortunate that we have attracted some keen new members to our fleet this year; everyone enjoys the extra competition that new blood brings!”
Among the individual race trophies also presented on Saturday for Cowes Week success, Itchenor sailors beat some 70 other boats to win:
Royal Thames Challenge Cup on Sunday - X80 Lass, sailed by Richard Jordan, Richard Bullock and Jonathan Fletcher,
Steele Pitcher Salver on Wednesday - X177 Relaxation, Alastair Ashford, Tina Scott and Tom Smith, and
Grantham Cup on Thursday - X69 Perdix, sailed by Mike Shaw, David Humphrey and Rikke Dakin
The Itchenor XOD fleet celebrated seventy five years of class racing in May this year, and most of the classic wooden keelboats that won the Phillipson in 1950, 1959, 1963 and 1972 are still racing today. |
| 21 Nov |
Christopher's family has asked me to convey to you the news that, to their great sorrow, Christopher died yesterday morning in Hammersmith Hospital. He died peacefully with his family around him.
As many of you will already know he was suddenly struck with an aggressive form of leukaemia three and a half weeks ago. Everything humanly possible was done to save him but the illness proved too much to overcome.
Christopher's family would like to thank you all for your kind and loving messages during these past weeks. The family are currently making arrangements for a private funeral and in the New Year there will be a memorial service, details of which will be advised to you nearer the time.I hope you will understand if I ask you not to telephone either myself or Stella at the moment. |
| 5 Nov |
Itchenor pulled off a fantastic clean sweep at Spinnaker on 3/4 November to regain the title of RYA National Youth Team Racing Champions which they first won in 2005. Congratulations to Andy Shaw, Rob Struckett and George Yeoman and crews Tom Hodkinson, Jeremy Williamson and Georgie Akin-Smith.
When the 12 youth teams arrived at Spinnaker in the New Forest for the RYA National Youth Team Racing Championships, the Itchenor team quickly had to put aside early nerves when drawn against the local experts in the first race. Luckily, however, their confidence grew with each race win and by the end of the first day our team hadn’t lost a match despite the light and shifty winds. This winning streak continued through the second day of the competition until Itchenor met the only other team which had yet to slip up, namely West Kirby – that well-known bastion of team racing from the Wirral. As expected the start line was hotly contested, but Itchenor prevailed and dominated the first beat. Our team continued to sail fast and on this occasion their full gambit of team racing skills was not called upon. This proved to be the deciding race as the wind then started to die and the results of the league determined the placings without the knockout stages.
Results: 1st Itchenor (11 wins), 2nd West Kirby (10 wins), 3rd Sevenoaks (8 wins), 4th Magdalen College School (8 wins), 5th Spinnaker (7 wins)
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| 5 Nov |
Itchenor boats went to Grafham Water this weekend to compete against 107 420s and 29ers. Sadly light winds restricted sailing in this huge event to Saturday only. Ed Fitzgerald won the 29er inlands on count back crewing James Peters; Jack Yeoman and Henry Spreckley finished 8th, , and first u16 boat in the 420 end of seasons; 4 points ahead of Rebecca Kalderon and Rosie Sibthorp who were narrowly beaten by the Irish to top girl boat in the 420s.
Meanwhile at the youth team racing this year at Spinnaker this weekend the 3 Itchenor helms (George Yeoman, Robert Struckett and Andrew Shaw) and their crews including Itchenor member Tom Hodkinson won in force 1 to 2 winds, albeit with a somewhat depleted entry of 12 teams due to the clash with the Grafham event.
Meanwhile, a couple of 420s enjoyed fantastic weather and fine winds at the Itchenor firecracker!
and..
50 ex-420 sailors from around the country also competed in the annual university ( BUSA ) fleet racing championships this weekend (November 3 and 4). Itchenor was represented by Jo Brigg (Southampton) who finished 2rd in an RS200, beating this years ISAF 29er silver boat, as well as Alice Currey (Exeter, 420) , Hattie Marsden ( Bristol, 420), Nick Blevins (Solent, RS200) and Tom Price ( Oxford Brookes, RS600) who competed in the 59 boat Handicap fleet. |
| 2 Nov |
Mirrors may not have been so evident at the club this year but Itchenor mirrors are alive and doing very well on the national scene!
Selection for this winter's squads has just been announced and there are 4 Itchenor boats in the Mirror National Junior Squad
Emma Spruce & Lucy Ford
Hugo Sloper & Aidan McCarthy
Charlotte FitzGerald & Tara Bottomley
Izzy FitzGerald & Lisa McDanell
And 6 Itchenor boats in the Mirror South Zone Squad
Hal & Johnny Miller
Annabel Lindsay & Alice Taylor
Annie Sibthorp & Marcus Spruit
Harry & Jack Dent
Buster & Douglas Woolfenden
Will Hartley & Henry Fry
So well done to all of them! |
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ITCHENOR SAILORS CELEBRATE
ITCHENOR ARE NATIONAL YOUTH TEAM RACING CHAMPIONS .... AGAIN!