The first race of the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series took place on Sunday 16th March under grey skies with persistent rain but this did not deter the 200 boats entered for this Silver Jubilee year of the event. The early north-westerly breeze shifted during the morning to the north and built during the day from 12 knots to 20/24 with gusts to 30 knots. These were just the kind of challenging conditions to blow the winter cobwebs away for those back racing for the first time this season. There were exhilarating runs and demanding beats but also a number of retirements during the latter part of the day. Unluckiest was Robert Hillman's Exuberant which lost a crew member overboard during a broach whilst another hit his head on a winch necessitating a fast airlift to hospital where he was discharged later that evening. With the sea water temperature at 8C, the man overboard was grateful to be recovered speedily by the Sigma 33 Sixes and Sevens.

The Black Group committee boat set up station near North Ryde Middle and IRC1 got away cleanly led by the TP52 Ran although she later retired leaving the class win to Nick and Anne Haigh's DK46 Dark and Steamy. The remaining classes were set a longer beat to Hill Head buoy. The J/109 class normally run a closely matched race but on this occasion Michael Jones helming Joyride got a good lead by the mark but eventually retired leaving the way clear for Ben Richards on Zelda. In IRC2, the Reflex 38 Puma Logic led Andrew Webster's Seaquest 36 Circus across the line. However, Puma's handicap gave her a third on corrected time whilst the class win went to sistership Jaguar Logic. A dead heat occurred in IRC3 where Nick and Suzi Jones' Astarte tied with Russell Hodgson's Dehler 34 Rushlex for fourth place. The winner was Mike Bridge's Elan 37 Elaine. As the races progressed and the wind increased, the number of boats attempting to fly spinnakers downwind decreased proportionally until, by the last run, none could be seen.

This year, as the Laser SB3 fleet continues in popularity, the class has been given a separate start line and sailing area, away from the other sportsboats. Courses were laid off the north Meon shore where the wind and tide made conditions anything but easy. Nonetheless Chaotic managed to rescue a man overboard from one of the J/80s. By the second race the class was diminished in number. Geoff Carveth in Palava rounded the top mark first and set a blistering pace downwind until an accidental spinnaker drop lost him time. Sun Systems had been second rounding the mark and were going even faster when a gust tore their spinnaker from top to bottom leaving the way open for a second win by Craig Buriton's Team Touareg. In the Hunter 707s, Miles Dalby in Tequila made a great port tack start for the second race and established an early lead but Harry Hall in This Is Jeff finally managed to catch up towards the end of the first lap to take another first. Boats.com was the provisional winner in the J/80s but this class is subject to protest.

Once back ashore, competitors were pleased to enjoy the hospitality offered at Warsash Sailing Club where sponsors Raymarine provided a well-earned bottle of champagne to the class winners. The Raymarine Warsash Spring Series now takes a break over Easter and resumes on Sunday 30th March.

2:17pm Tuesday 18th March 2008

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