Byte National Championships 2023 at Hayling Island Sailing Club

This year's Byte National were held within Chichester Race Week hosted by Hayling Island. This was a new experience for many, being part of a big event, sailing on big courses (legs of 0.8 nautical miles) and sharing a start line with the Aeros 6s.

The first decision for a number of competitors was what size rig to choose - the standard CII or smaller CI? With decent breeze forecast for the week (apart from Wednesday) and only 3 races to count out of 5, there were more CIs (nine) than CIIs (eight) - the first time ever at a Nationals.

Day 1 started with wind in mid-teens gusting up to 20knots. Duncan Glen (Spinnaker), Rick Whitehouse (Coombs) and Kirsten Glen (Spinnaker) in CIIs hit the front from the start, but life is never simple. Duncan's main halyard shredded resulting in a gradual reduction in boom height. Rick took advantage and looked set for the win until rolling it in after his final gybe handing the lead back to Duncan.

Kirsten's mast head main halyard cleat pulled out but remained attached until it finally fell off rounding the last mark. She did well to cross the line in 3rd with her sail at half-mast, leading to some of the race team enquiring if the Bytes were experimenting with new reefing methods.

Behind this excitement were the mustered ranks of CIs with Esther Heathcote (Bowmoor) in 4th, Matthew English (Bowmoor) in 5th, Charlotte Hitchmough (Bowmoor) in 6th and Mary Cooper (Thorney Island) in 7th all quite happy with their sail choices.

Day 2 and the sun began to shine. Slightly less breeze and a very one-sided beat made it a bit of a procession (0.8 miles on port tack is a long way) with the usual suspects taking the spoils ahead of William Hinnigan (Bowmoor) in 4th.

Day 3 was always forecast to be light. After the initial postponement we were told to launch and head out to the race area. At the start, in only 2 knots of breeze, there was a noticeable absence of Aeros on the line which was a pleasant change, demonstrating the light wind skills of the Byte fleet. As ever in such conditions, Rick sped off into an early lead closely followed by Alex Davies (Bowmoor) and Louise Carr (Shoreham).

As the wind increased Duncan moved back into contention and took advantage of a couple of shifts on the second beat to gain the lead. Not such a good day for the CIs however.

Day 4 and the wind was back, slightly more than Monday and the CIs were flying upwind. Matthew and Esther, were first to the windward mark but sadly unable to hold off the CIIs downhill. A congested wave pattern made the reaches and runs quite interesting with a high degree of skill required to avoid sticking the nose into the wave in front. Duncan took the win from Rick and Kirsten with CIs filling the next five spots, with Esther taking 4th ahead of Charlotte.

The top two overall were now settled, but with more wind forecast for Friday, the CIs were looking forward to their day with Esther, William, Charlotte and Matthew all looking to move up the table if things went their way.

Friday morning started wet. When things did clear up, the breeze increased and it really started to howl (literally). After an initial postponement the inevitable decision was taken to abandon racing. The CIs were left dreaming of what might have been and the CIIs were relieved that it wasn't.

Overall Duncan retained his title from Rick, with Kirsten in 3rd. The CIs of Ester, William, Charlotte and Matthew took the next four places. The advantages of two rig sizes had been clearly demonstrated once more with even the lightest competitors enjoying a full-on week of sailing.

Congratulations to all who took part in what was a new experience for many - particularly to the Bowmoor posse who showed no sign of fear whatsoever and are an inspiration to us all.

Overall Results: