Dell Quay Sailing Club Frostbite Series 2025/26 - Day 2

A stunning winter's day greeted 16 intrepid crews for a very chilly second weekend to the Frostbite series..... thankfully the forecasted 12 - 25 knot -5 windchill didn't materialise, however the 8-12 knot NW still produced a sub-zero wind chill!

A shifting breeze made for an interesting first beat, which never really made it to a 'beat' as the predicted swing in the breeze never happened - the start was crucial as the RO had already prepared us for a shorter the usual set of 2 races due to the cold weather - those that made a 'clean on the button' start were off and were never really caught, it was less tactical and more pure boat speed with limited tacking.

Dell Quay Sailing Club Frostbite Series Day 2 - photo © James Pound

2 laps of windward leeward complete, Bill and Charlotte Dawber (2000) had sailed impeccably and were never in threat for a first place! As we waited for the start of the second race, all noticed the breeze was starting to stabilise and with that the Race Officer made the great decision to use an inflatable pin for the new windward mark and with 4 laps set, the second race was ready A small handful of crews opted for a mid-line start which proved to be crucial over the more favoured windward option, they showed a clean set of heels which those 4 or 5 boats kept for the whole race. The majority of the fleet had a good tussle and some great tactical decisions were taking place balancing the breeze versus the super strong tide.

Right at the end of the race a huge shift came in as the 3rd and 4th boats were crossing the line, Steve Holcroft navigated the shift somewhat better than James Pound (both Solo's) who seemingly crossed the line backwards having got stuck in irons and in all sorts of bother with tillers and mainsheets in places he wasn't aware they could get before eventually crossing the line! (Those lost seconds cost him dearly as it turned out later!).

Dell Quay Sailing Club Frostbite Series Day 2 - photo © James Pound

This shift was the start of the 'new' wind coming in - within 15 mins the breeze was up and the windchill was coming down. Thankfully all crews and safety boats were back on shore soon after, the temperature dropped rapidly and would have proven far more challenging had these been the race conditions!

A gorgeous day for a sail and produced a fabulous 90 mins of sailing, a big thanks to the safety crew for keeping a watchful eye on us whilst freezing! Also again a big shout to the Juniors and to the visiting sailors from Felpham Sailing Club.

A great day, thank you to all the team who make these events happen, this is an Open Event, 3 weekends to run, please come and join us on the 17th Jan!

Day 2 Results: