LATE and early tides with breezy conditions on The Solent and in Bembridge Harbour made for some tricky sailing for Isle of Wight racers over the bank holiday weekend.

                                             BEMBRIDGE SAILING CLUB 

Eight enthusiastic Redwings, with no One-Designs, started racing ten minutes early from Garland last Friday evening in steadily building seas, and it was James and Vicks Wilson, in Quail, who finished ten seconds ahead of Matt Alexander (Harlequin) at the finish line to win the Champagne Challenge. 

On Saturday afternoon, the Redwing fleet increased to ten, with three One-Designs, racing from mid-way between Tara and Britten. 

With the breeze only registering 6 knots, sea conditions were considerably less bumpy than the previous evening. 

The Redwing fleet split tacks soon after the start, but at Tara it was clear those who went offshore had benefited. 

Wilson (Quail) led the way and, although the breeze picked up slightly, and as the leaders had already been racing for nearly 90 minutes, it was decided to end it at the end second round. 

Quail was not for catching and finished more than two minutes ahead of Mike Toogood, in Tara. 

The three One-Designs were set the same course, with Rosanna Beart (No.5) leading the way to victory after just one round, with Roy Burrows (No.2) second.

Sunday produced a similar scenario with weather and sea conditions.

The 12 Redwings and five One-Designs were again challenged with the same course, which took them offshore to Ruthven. 

After a clean start, the Redwing fleet split quite quickly, with Joe Robertson in Red Gauntlet II winning it by a five-second margin. 

The five One-Designs started five minutes after the Redwings, with Alexander Ross (No.8) won after developing a substantial lead over James Beart (No.5). 

As it was too windy for racing on Monday morning, it meant James Wilson (Quail) narrowly won the Gunston Trophy, with the Bearts, in No.5 One-Design, winning the Lowry-Corry Cup.

                                                 GURNARD SAILING CLUB
A FORCE 3 breeze filled in to Gurnard Bay in time for a fleet of 46 dinghies — a record fleet for this season so far — to race. 

The seven-strong Shadow fleet completed four laps, with a win for Pete Newlands.  

There was close racing among the five Fast Handicap boats, won by Mark Harrison in his RS100.   

Despite the light winds, Mark Reynolds' ILCA7 beat the Aeros in the Medium Handicap, with Ben Willows and Emily Leather's National 12 in second.  

There were 16 boats in the Slow Handicap fleet of ILCA4s, Picos and Fevas.  

Several Picos saved their time on the ILCA4s, with Amanda Harding taking first place.  

The Tera class turned into a match race, with only the two competitors last week — both boats changing the lead, with Will Haines overhauling Rafe Bradley on the final leg.