A discouraging weather forecast and heavy weather on the two previous weekends combined to limit the entries at Chichester's Snowflake Series on New Year's Eve.

There were only three dozen boats on the water and fewer than half of them completed the course. The temperature was low, the wind chill factor was high with a squally south-easterly blowing and there were a lot of capsizes, though only two broken masts.

The course had three short beats, interspersed with fairly hairy broad reaches, and there were some interesting moments when squalls hit boats flying their spinnaker and either caused them to broach or carried them away beyond the lee mark before they could come on the wind.

With such a large number of retirements the race officer shortened the courses for all three divisions.

In the Fast Division Paul Davies and William Warren led the fleet in their Merlin Rocket and took first place fairly easily, although an unfortunate fall in the boat on the last tack resulted in a fairly extensive crack in the hull.

Next were series leaders Colin Smith and Simon Matthews in their RS400, while three more Merlins, the familiar Javelin and Ruth Rhodes from the Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club in her Fireball were the others among the seven finishers.

Rhodes is fourth placed overall, just ten points behind Richard Bramley and Graham Elliott from Shoreham in third place.

Lancing's Mark and Jeremy Littlejohn dominated the Medium Handicap division to take first place ahead of Shoreham's Peter Bennett in his Solo.

Ed Thorburn, from Newhaven, had a fine tussle with series leader Howard Ellers, from Warsash. In the end Ellers was third and Thorburn fourth Only three boats ventured out in the Slow Division and the boys in the Toppers both retired, leaving Anna Perkins and crew to finish alone but triumphant in their Mirror.