Going into the final races of the series 12 classes were undecided. In particular Jon Perry and Shaun Frohlich could not be separated in IRC 1 and Russell Hodgson and Edouard Wylleman had identical scores in the X-332 class in race Eight on 8th December.

The start sequence was a protracted affair. There were delays caused by a competitor snagging the ODM and a general over-keenness by competitors in most Black Fleet classes. When racing finally got underway both the above mentioned pairs of boats had great races. Frohlich finished four secs ahead of Perry but when the handicap timings were calculated Perry finished in 2nd place and Frohlich was 5th and won the class by one point. After swapping places five times it was Hodgson who triumphed over Wylleman but their battle throughout the series has shown the enthusiasm that this class is generating.

On the Sportsboat course Ian Atkins in the 1720 "Bluefin" needed a good pair of results to take the class. Their 2nd & 3rd places was just enough to beat Steve MacLean's "STBD" with a 2nd & 4th and after discards they had a 4 point margin. Ian Southworth & Nigel Smith, having missed a couple of days early in the series have been steadily climbing the 707 table. This week's 2nd & 5th place were sufficient to overtake last year's winner Mark Gillett in "Pocket Battleship".

The full results from Race 8 and the Provisional Series Results can be found on the Hamble Winter Series website.