Eastbourne Sovereign Sailing Club hosted the annual 49er/B14 open meeting on weekend of 20-21 July. Sunshine and a south-westerly sea breeze of 15-18knots was the order of the day for Saturday in the 49er fleet where the race committee headed up by Peter Dives took the fleet far enough out to enjoy the wind against tide effects on a windward/leeward course. A number of pitch poles before the first start ensured crews were cautious on the first few downwind legs. It was not long before the front runners started pushing harder and harder with the team of Neale Fitzgerald and Andy Jeffries taking the first race. The Fitzgerald/Jeffries team day ended in race two with a damaged mast allowing the other Eastbourne Team of Guy Farrant and Peter Greenhalgh to take the next two races. Saturday night saw the competitors enjoy the summer evening with a well earned BBQ.

Day two and the north-westerly gusty 10-15 knots was in complete contrast to the previous days conditions with a flat sea and a bouncing breeze coming across the South downs. It was a case of never give up and the team of Simon Marks and Ali Sutor took two first places despite being in almost last position on the first windward mark of race five.

However, move of the day was on the Farrant/Greenhalgh boat, losing count of the number of completed laps in the last race, they unknowingly continued on around the leeward mark rather than finishing. This allowed Simon Jenkins and Paul Hargreaves through to a race six victory followed by Marks/Sutor. The race six lapse by Farrant/Greenhalgh gave the open to Simon Marks/Ali Sutor with Guy Farrant/Peter Greenhalgh second and Simon Jenkins/Paul Hargreaves third.

Once again Eastbourne Sovereign hosted a great weekend with generous prizes including wine and casual shirts provided by Cherry Pie Clothing.

Overall Results

1) Simon Marks/Ali Sutor GBR556 Northampton SC 8.0pts

2) Guy Farrant/Peter Greenhalgh GBR644 Eastbourne Sovereign SC 11.0pts

3) Simon Jenkins/Paul Hargreaves GBR662 Eastbourne Sovereign SC 17.0pts

4) Paul Towers/Paul Remoker GBR656 Datchet Water SC 22.0pts

5) Neale Fitzgerald/Andy Jeffries Eastbourne Sovereign SC 26.0pts