The 2010 Bosham Sailing Club Regatta served up challenging conditions for the 113 entrants. The Optimist fleet had some great racing in extremely windy conditions to the north of Bosham Quay. Race one turned into a race of who could get the boat bailed out the quickest with everybody either capsized or swamped at the gybe mark. Joe Stirrup won the battle and went on to win the first race. Race 2 saw the wind drop to a steady Force 4 to 5 with Sophie Hempsell coming home first. Joe Stirrup was the overall winner with all sailors doing extremely well to finish two races in such testing conditions.

The main fleets started from a committee boat in Chichester Channel south of Cobnor and their courses ranged south and west to East Head, the Winner Bank and Emsworth Channel. The untimely death of Harbour Master John Davis the day before caused many sailors to reflect on this occasion: flags were at half mast and the Itchenor-based fleet of Sunbeam sailors of which John was a part, decided not to race as a mark of respect.

With 20-23 knots of wind at the Committee Boat and 30 knots in the Harbour Mouth, the various classes were set audacious courses. But despite the strengthening breeze and the long courses, most made it back to the finish lines at Deep End and Bosham Quay well within two hours, returning with either huge smiles or battered boats and bodies. The Swallows, X One-Design, Fast Classic Dayboats, Lasers and Laser Radials and the International Finns displayed text-book starting techniques all hitting the line at top-speed and in perfect formation. Coming home the Finns had some crazy down-wind legs with even a couple of seasoned helms taking a quick swim, whilst the Swallows and X One-Designs took the chance of bumping across Stocker Sands on the rising tide using their kites to induce extra heel and slide over the shallower water and on to the next mark.

Teas were served at the club house from 2.00pm and prize-giving saw helms and crews crowded on to the terrace for the awards, before the visiting boats sailed back to their own clubs on the ebb tide.

National Swallow

1^st Langhorne and two Fishers
2^nd Paul Ward, Tom Ward and Paddy Boughton
3^rd Peter Snell, Rustin and George Storton

Solent Sunbeams

Not Raced

X One-Design

1^st Steve Lawrence, A Jones and Clive Wallace
2^nd Tom Tait, C Tait and R Smyth
3^rd John Lowe, Tina Scott and M Greig

Fast Handicap

1^st Simon and Jackie Lytton
2^nd Oli and Barney Woods

Laser Radial

1^st Tobias Hamer
2^nd Henry Nelson
3^rd Phil Weake

RS200

1^st Edward and Isabel Fitzgerald
2^nd Andy and Charlotte Fitzgerald
3^rd Jason Merron and Andrea Barrass

International Finn

1^st John Tremlett
2^nd Mike de Courcy
3^rd George Cooper

Laser

1^st Simon Radford
2^nd Karen Thomas
3^rd Ken Harper

Wayfarer

1^st Chris and T Ames

Medium Handicap

1^st Henry Russell and Al Grant

Chichester Scow

1^st Martin Windebank
2^nd Judy Roberts
3^rd Stephen Smyth

Classic Day Boat Fast Division

1^st Brian Hoolahan and Tom Reid
2^nd Mark and Shirley Stanton
3^rd David and Fiona Macfarlane
4^th Chris Macrae and Jerry Bottrill

Classic Dayboat Slow Division

1^st Peter Shaw
2^nd Andrew Francis

Topper

1^st Hugo Moss

Mirror

1^st William Moss and Ben Webb
2^nd Ben Stirrup and Katie Hall

Optimist
1st Joe Stirrup
2nd Sophie Hempsell
3rd Harry Hoolahan