Updated: 04/07/11:

Anybody who travelled to this event needn't have bothered getting up early. At 9am there was a weak waft from the land which soon fizzled out and competitors marked time on the beach waiting for the sea breeze to gain dominance. As a result, lunch was the first item on the agenda and the intended three races were to follow by being sailed back-to-back. As it was, the Race Officer, David Henshall had an exceedingly difficult task setting a course, as the light wind just would not blow in a consistent direction long enough to get a race started.

Race One eventually got away a little after 1:30pm. The tide was just about to ebb and the two Merlin Rockets (helms Gifford & Glen) made it look easy, carving their way to the windward mark closely followed by Ingram in the RS400. Mid-fleet, the Lasers were keeping close together with Chambers in the Enterprise not far behind and Jenkins, sailing the RS Vision single-handed, also in touch. The wind continued to be variable in both strength and direction with reaches turning virtually into runs and beats to the windward mark being made in almost a single tack. Apart from one retirement, the fleet completed the set course within the hour. Frances Gifford was a clear winner on corrected time with surprisingly,  Jenkins second and the Glens, third.

Race Two and conditions were little different and it took time for the Race Officer to settle on a course. At the start a number of boats struck out left for the middle of Southampton Water whilst others tacked off to the right to hug the shore, hoping for less influence from the outgoing tide. Maybe local knowledge was an advantage.. The race was a slow grind with the wind doing little to inspire competitors and the main adversary became the tide. Again Gifford got well ahead of the fleet, this time followed by Ingram then Mason in the Phantom. In such wind as there was, it became more important for the slower handicap boats to avoid the current and tack along the shoreline in the light wind. With little in the way of reaches, the Enterprise, being sailed efficiently by Chambers, revelled in the conditions. Gifford won by nearly three minutes on corrected time from Mason with Chambers nearly another two minutes behind. After two laps the fleet had become fairly spread out. Mercifully, there was no third lap - and no third race.

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