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Chichester Rally 25-27 May 2019

Published 01:00 on 30 May 2019

Held over the bank holiday weekend, this was a first in many ways. The first time HYC had visited Chichester, the first time I have led a rally and the first time a number of the boats had been to Chichester. Blessed with good weather 4 boats arrived on Friday and the rest Saturday afternoon with 2 of the intended fleet sadly having to drop out due to engine and battery failures. With no specific visitor berths, the marina staff did their best to group us across G to J pontoons.

The final fleet comprised:

Boat Name	Crew
Carries Kiss	Rick & Cris Swinbank
Dreamcatcher of Hamble	Dennis & Paula Pearce
Navigator	John & Lesley Leheup
Nemo	Jeremy Nicholls & Mark Field
Rhapsody	Linda & Alan Fisher
Sentosa	Grahame Solway, David Whitehead and John Smart
Vin Rouge	Stephen & Deborah Burder
Wild Thing	Jane & Brian Wild
Serenity	Paul & Karen Barnett
Freeway	Trevor & Julie Blandford

We assembled for the usual pontoon party in the late afternoon sunshine before heading for the Chichester Yacht Club for dinner. Somewhat late in the day we had discovered the Club were holding a social evening, with an Abba tribute act performing. After a good meal and a few more drinks most, if not all, the group got into the spirit of the show and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.

With the help of Rick on Carries Kiss, a walk was organised to the Crown & Anchor at Dell Quay. An advance party was despatched by bike to reserve some tables and we arrived around midday to enjoy some well-earned refreshment. Unfortunately, the bike brigade refused to swap roles and the walking group had to stagger back to the marina on foot.

Many of the boats left for home later on the Sunday, despite strong winds forecast. Several reports of heading into a F6 and it being like "having buckets of salt water thrown over you every other minute" came in on Sunday evening but everyone had arrived safely at their home berth.