The final weekend of the Crewsaver Warsash Spring Championship in England was marked by a bitter wind chill, sunshine and clouds, and shifty winds. The wind remained in the north similar to last weekend but this time a NNE on the Saturday was around 10-15 knots of wind. The forecast for Sunday had been a NNW veering north but it was in fact close to a NNE backing N that made course setting quite a challenge for the Race Committee. Gusts of up to 20 knots became a challenge for the competitors, with many significant broaches and trawling of spinnakers and asymmetrics seen during the days racing. White Group starts were laid at the Jonathan Janson mark with courses running diagonally into the Meon shore. Crewsaver Spring Championship: Peter Bateson, Series and Championship Chairman, summed up the Championship saying, “Each year I think that the Spring Championship can’t get any better, and each year it does. With 110 boats and around a thousand people taking part, there has been a real buzz to the event and some really exciting racing out on the Solent. So far, the feedback has been positive so we are really pleased. A big thank you to Crewsaver and race partner Rolly Tasker for their continued support of the Spring Championship.” The J/70s produced a winner that was not too surprising to the locals. As winner of the J/70 World Championship Corinthian Division, Simon Ling’s Team RAF BENEVOLENT FUND SPITFIRE won their class with room to spare after posting five firsts after a 10 in their first race. Taking second was Russell Peters on BOB. Third was Ian Wilson’s GILL RACE TEAM, fourth was Jonathan Calascione’s HARLEQUIN and fifth was Allen Higg’s ESF ENERGY. According to Simon Ling, captain of the RAF SPITFIRE TEAM, “The second and final weekend of racing at the Warsash Spring Championships was amazing. Twenty-four J/70s battling it out over two weekends and 12 races. Some fabulous racing in a very competitive and talented fleet. Team RAF BENEVOLENT FUND SPITFIRE scored 1,2,3,2,1,1,1,3,2,3 and, in so doing, won the Championship. This is the first event of our 2016 campaign that will culminate in San Francisco in September for the J/70 World Championship. Great start for Team RAF BENEVOLENT SPITFIRE that includes myself, Ian Southworth, Craig Burlton and Tony Hanlon!” Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series: The final Sunday (April 24) of the Helly Hansen Warsash Spring proved to be a tricky day’s racing when the wind ignored the forecast and dished up between 5-20 knots plus massive, cold microbursts that switched direction up to 30 degrees. In the White Group, it was anything but obvious who was going to win the J/70 fleet. After a 1-3-1-2 at the start of the series, it was Patrick Liardet and his J/70 COSMIC crew winning the series by 12 points. Class newcomer Steve Venables’ crew on INJUNCTION took second overall. Third was Andrew Barraclough’s JENGA VIII. The balance of the top five was Nick Denney’s JALAPENO in fourth and Nigel Evans’ SPINNAKER WEALTH MANAGEMENT in fifth position. For more Helly Hansen Warsash Spring Series sailing information, visit http://warsashspringseries.org.uk/2016/index.htm.