Optimist open meeting at Bosham Sailing Club

Bosham Sailing Club was proud to host their annual Optimist Open last Sunday. The event attracted 70 entries from across Chichester Harbour and further afield as far as Parkstone and Reading. The sun shone and the breeze blew gently although with a strong incoming tide and a Southerly wind which reached a maximum of 8 knots, the sailing was challenging.

The fleet were divided into two groups, the Main Fleet which sailed in the Chichester Channel as far as Thorney whilst the less experienced, Regatta Fleet sailed in the more sheltered Cobnor Reach. Great sailing was had by all children who competed in four races throughout the day with beaming smiles on their faces. At the end of the day, competitors and their parents enjoyed tea and prize-giving at the clubhouse in Bosham. In addition to prizes for the top sailors, prizes were awarded to the youngest sailors, most polite sailors, those who tried the hardest and of course the best capsize! The standard of sailing was very high with national and regional level sailors attending.

Henry Keegan from Parkstone Yacht Club won the Main Fleet with Ocean Hughes from Lymington winning the Regatta Fleet. Zac Shepherd was first Bosham sailor in the Main Fleet (and fourth over all) with Pippa Shepherd coming first Bosham sailor in the Regatta Fleet.

Simon Radford, Race Officer commented, "It was fantastic to see so many young children on the water having fun and improving their racing skills. I was particularly impressed with the high standard of sailing that I saw."

Optimist open meeting at Bosham - photo © Dave Dobrijevic / www.dynamicsails.com

Piers Shepherd, Optimist Class Captain at Bosham Sailing Club, added "Bosham has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world to sail and the Optimist is the best boat for children to learn to sail in. We were thrilled with the strong level of participation in our events which demonstrated how much people love sailing in Bosham and in Optimists!"

Bosham Sailing Club boasts one of the largest fleets of Optimists on the South Coast. The Optimist dinghy is ideal for children as young as 7 through to 13 and Bosham Sailing Club runs training courses for members and non members throughout the year. In addition, Bosham welcomes non members to try their regular Sunday races. Tris Mayhew, Rear Commodore of Cadets and Vice Commodore commented, "We are a family friendly club and are able to cater from the young sailor who just wants to learn to sail and have fun, right the way through to the competitive sailor who wishes to compete at a national level. In addition to the optimist dinghy, Bosham provides sailing for youngsters in Toppers, Fevas, 420s and Lasers so there is something to suit everyone."

Bosham Sailing Club will be hosting its annual Junior Week consisting of competitive races in the morning, fun races in the afternoon and a packed social programme beginning on 9th August. 10% of the places have been reserved for those who are not members of Bosham Sailing Club but are members of other Chichester Harbour Sailing Clubs. For more information, please visit www.boshamsailingclub.co.uk

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Optimist open meeting at Bosham - photo © Dave Dobrijevic / www.dynamicsails.com

Bosham Prize Winners:

First Bosham Member Main Fleet - Zac Shepherd
First Bosham Member Regatta Fleet - Pippa Shepherd

Main Fleet Results:

Regatta Fleet Results:

Optimist open meeting at Bosham - photo © Dave Dobrijevic / www.dynamicsails.com